need help cleaning car

[thattroglodyte]

Ive recently been given a 98 astra thats been idol under a willow tree for 2 to 3 years and was covered with crap from leaves, bugs and sorts.

after numerous washes ive got it tidy again but there are still quite alot persistent stains that i can take off with my nails but impossible with sponge. also in places there are some marks on the paint around the trim on the door, i have know idea what the cause is and how to treat it.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[jagnet]

thattroglodyte said:

Ive recently been given a 98 astra thats been idol

Zoroastranism idol?

Tree sap and sticky aphid residue from trees is horrible when left on a car. A good claying should get the deposits off, but you may find that you need a polish to remove any marring of the paint.

If you're lucky, then just a go over with a resin cleanser/polish such as Autoglym SRP or Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish (amongst others) will do the job, otherwise it'll need the use of proper abrasive polishes either by hand or machine.

[JulesB]

jagnet said:

Zoroastranism idol?

Tree sap and sticky aphid residue from trees is horrible when left on a car. A good claying should get the deposits off, but you may find that you need a polish to remove any marring of the paint.

If you're lucky, then just a go over with a resin cleanser/polish such as Autoglym SRP or Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish (amongst others) will do the job, otherwise it'll need the use of proper abrasive polishes either by hand or machine.

Something about hitting a nail on the head..

+1

[thattroglodyte]

jagnet said:

Zoroastranism idol?

My bad i guess the will tree idolized the astra cause i think it was trying to make love to it or something.

Ye I want to refrain from using abrasive compounds as much as possible ill have a go at the polish and see how it goes.


Thanks

[jagnet]

Definitely give it a clay first. Whilst repeat applications of an all-in-one like SRP will eventually remove the sticky residues, it'll be quicker, easier and cheaper to clay first (with the added bonus that you'll also be removing fallout that SRP won't tackle).

Bilt Hamber medium or regular would be ideal - not expensive and no need for dedicated lubes, just use water.

Once your happy with it, finish off with the wax or sealant of your choice for improved longevity of protection over an AIO on its own.

[thattroglodyte]

also i have been reading that heat guns are brilliant at restoring black to trim, i have an old heat gun that i used for stripping paint but wouldn't this seriously damage the paint job on the car?

[jagnet]

Just be gentle with it - it won't need much heat to bring up the plastic.

Aiui, you can only do this once on plastic trim. I haven't tried it myself so can only go by what others have stated. Once done, then coat it with a plastic maintenance/restoration product to help protect it from further UV damage.

If you're going to be coating it anyway, then I'd be inclined to see how it goes without the heat gun first. I've never felt the need to use heat and prefer to err on the side of caution using dedicated trim products, not being sure of whether or not the use of heat is going to have a long term effect on the durability of the plastic.

CarPro Perl, Autofinesse Revive are both good. Back for Good from Spautopia or GTechniq C4 if you want really long term protection, but then the price reflects that.