Cleaning concrete dust and dried pizza dip off paintwork.

Cleaning concrete dust and dried pizza dip off paintwork.

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BlueMR2

Original Poster:

8,643 posts

201 months

Tuesday 11th April 2017
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My neighbours having an extension built and the builders have made quite a mess so far. Some others have been here today cleaning up and offered to clean the car as well, however I have seen a number of times that whilst well meaning, workmen washing cars doesn't always end well. So we politely declined that bit.

They also had some pizzas and left the 2 pizza boxes with a mug on top up on the wall being built. Unfortunately one evening the wind blew them off, the mug being smashed all over the place and the extra large dip container going all over my car.

I'm wondering what is the safest way to remove these both from the car. I'm a bit concerned that if i just try to wash it normally that the cement dust, upon getting wet, may block up the drains and set hard causing numerous problems.

I actually want to sell the car however was delayed taking a video of the roof working as I didn't want to take the roof off in the conditions and have the interior fill up with dust but now i'm going to have to give it a pretty through clean to get it looking presentable.

Here's a couple of pictures to give an idea of how it looks.








KungFuPanda

4,324 posts

169 months

Tuesday 11th April 2017
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I'd be pissed off with that but it's not the end of the world.

I'd go to a decent valeter. Use a good thick snow foam and let it dwell. That will carry the majority of the dust with it. Jet wash and then wash with the two bucket method.

Blue Oval84

5,276 posts

160 months

Tuesday 11th April 2017
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Agreed, I think I'd snow foam, a lot, then pressure wash a lot, then wash, then it'll probably need a clay bar treatment.

Whatever you do, I wouldn't let it get wet and then let it dry...

Dr Doofenshmirtz

15,187 posts

199 months

Tuesday 11th April 2017
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Just jet wash it off.

Winky151

1,267 posts

140 months

Wednesday 12th April 2017
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DON'T just jet was it off. if you're going to sort it yourself use an open ended hose initially to wash the dust off without 'forcing' it across the bodywork. Once you've done that then use a decent snow foam & let it dwell before again using an open hose to wash it off. Once you've got the dust off you can then tackle the pizza dip in the normal way (should come off with a good wash I'd imagine).

Alex_225

6,234 posts

200 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
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I'd go with the open hose option first, try and remove as much of the loose muck off there first of all.

If you have the option of a foam lance or pump spray so you can pre-soak the car in a pre-wash or soapy product, let it dwell for a little while before rinsing again.

Essentially you want to remove as much of that dust from the car before you go near it with a wash mitt. Shouldn't be the end of the world some patience and lots of water. smile

BlueMR2

Original Poster:

8,643 posts

201 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
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Thanks everyone, is it worth trying to vac as much dust as possible from the door and windscreen seals before washing?

Might have to get a foam spraying attachment for the hose/pressure washer, can use it on the Volvo as well then, but they mainly just covered that in mud.

Just got to time it right, don't want to leave it ages incase it rains but no point trying to spend a couple of days cleaning, claybaring, waxing it etc whilst there is loads of dust flying around still.

Any recommended foam lances and good makes of snow foam?

Cheers.

Blue Oval84

5,276 posts

160 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
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I just use ValetPro PH neutral for foam. Haven't bought a lance in ages but anything from cleanyourcar.co.uk or similar detailing site will be fine.

If I were you I'd still get it cleaned off sharpish and then park it elsewhere in the meantime, unless you aren't that fussed about the car.

BlueMR2

Original Poster:

8,643 posts

201 months

Friday 14th April 2017
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Blue Oval84 said:
I just use ValetPro PH neutral for foam. Haven't bought a lance in ages but anything from cleanyourcar.co.uk or similar detailing site will be fine.

If I were you I'd still get it cleaned off sharpish and then park it elsewhere in the meantime, unless you aren't that fussed about the car.
Hi Blue Oval84,

I think I will order a lance from clean your car as well as some snow foam, I was going to go for Bilt Hamber snow foam stuff but they are showing as out of stock and BH is not listed on the brands so I imagine they may be clearing out their stock of that brand.

Seemed to have light rain overnight, however with it being the easter holiday there is no real chance of getting the stuff I need this weekend so it will just have to wait.

With regards to moving the car, it was in the front garden out of the way, however at very short notice they put up scaffolding so I had the switch the cars around so I could keep using the Volvo day to day, so it is essentially stuck there, it can move about a foot forward and 2 or 3 back but that's it.

My cars always seem to suffer when the neighbour has work done. When they moved in 7 or 8 years ago perhaps, they painted the house white and covered my MR2 in white paint flecks, 2 days solid with a clay bar to fix that mess.
They had a new garage roof put on, the installers then came back and unbeknownst to me at the time covered it in hot metal shards from angle grinding it so pretty much every panel on the car, but very heavily on the bonnet and passenger wing were tiny orange rust flecks after a few months, that car ended up going spares and repairs very cheap.



That's how filthy they left the Volvo.

So I've sadly got to the point that I kind of expect stuff to get damaged every time he has work done now, the SL has definitely picked up a few scratches at the rear end from the builders walking passed it as well.

The car is not insured,taxed, or MOT'd at the moment just needs a couple of bits done before its sold, however it's not really practical to wax a car or have the roof off for a while to clean when concrete dust and sand are flying around the place.

Winky151

1,267 posts

140 months

Friday 14th April 2017
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Whats your relationship like with your neighbour? I'd be having a word with them about the fact every time they have work done your cars get damaged. Then either let them speak to the builders about being more careful or do it yourself unless you're happy with the damage being caused. At worst they should let you know about the disruption & allow you time to make plans to do something with your cars (move or cover them).

BlueMR2

Original Poster:

8,643 posts

201 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
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Winky151 said:
Whats your relationship like with your neighbour? I'd be having a word with them about the fact every time they have work done your cars get damaged. Then either let them speak to the builders about being more careful or do it yourself unless you're happy with the damage being caused. At worst they should let you know about the disruption & allow you time to make plans to do something with your cars (move or cover them).
Hi Winky151, we get on ok, we had a word with him and he had a discussion with the builders and they sent someone to clean up the area. He also offered to pay for the foam lance for the pressure washer too which was nice.

I went over to Clean Your Car on Saturday, (they happened to be working but are usually shut) with the pressure washer attachment to make sure I got the right fitment for the lance (Lavor in my case) as well as 5L of Valet Pro - Citrus Pre Wash, a pot of Bilt Hamber - Double Speed Car Wax with included microfiber cloth and applicator + an extra applicator.
Some SONAX Wheel Cleaner Plus (Full Effect) 500ml to give the wheels a good clean as well as a couple of soft brushes for agitation duties.

Valet Pro - Citrus Pre Wash first and used 3 lanceful's, mixed about 1 inch pre wash to the rest water as recommended. Partly learning the lance at first, however the level of dirt on the car was way above what a standard wash would require.

I covered it a few times then let it run off whilst going through a bottle of water elsewhere to clear out the lance before putting it away.

I lightly pressure washed it off and gave it a good rinse, plenty of dirt had rinsed off, then shampooed the car with one bucket of shampoo and rinsing off the mitt with the hose after each section, top to bottom one band at a time, separate mitt for the bottom third.

There was very little visible dirt on the mitt washing each section so the prewash and rinse seemed to do a good job.

I got the Bilt Hamber Double Speed Car Wax as I was after a reasonably priced wax and have happily used the BH Clay for quite a while and reading about and watching product videos it seemed easy to apply and buff off and qive a reasonable finish. I plan on also using Bilt Hamber Snow foam and Autowash when finances allow. Using expensive Zymol wax by hand seemed a bit overkill for this purpose, not to mention that i struggle to get it set when its cold and dark, seemingly no problem for the Speed wax.

The whole car needs a clay bar over it to get rid of some of the more embedded dirt. I did the roof and bootlid as it was getting late and put on a layer of the Bilt Hamber Speed Car Wax which went on easily and gave a nice, smooth result compared to the non clayed panels. Of course, so much easier to dry when waxed as well.

Most of the pizza dip looks like it will come off ok with light clay bar work, then just the alloys to clean and will hopefully look good when ready for sale. Just take the hard top off to do the interior and the hidden parts of bodywork (under the edges of the hard top) when it won't get covered in dust.

So hopefully it will all turn out ok with minimal damage, thanks for the advice everyone.

Just got to work out a cover for it as the neighbour said it will get messy when they render the wall eek.

Winky151

1,267 posts

140 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
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Well done that man. smile

Cover wise, as you're selling it I'd just get something cheap off ebay & maybe let it go with the car. Make sure its tied down tight otherwise any flapping could scratch the paintwork but then that'll be less damage than the render getting all over it.

BlueMR2

Original Poster:

8,643 posts

201 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Cheers.

I'm partly unsure of the best way to cover it to stop scratching. Don't really have the money to buy anything, especially not a fitted cover, but obviously don't want it covered in plaster in a few weeks either.

They have covered the work on the roof with a filthy tarpaulin, my cars now getting covered with old paint flakes and grit, made it really difficult to clean. However the Citrus Pre Wash worked well getting most of it off without damage.

Looked like this from clean in a couple of hours after they put the Tarpaulin's up. frown



Got most of the silver sections clayed and waxed now, then dried off, looking pretty good now for its age.


V8FGO

1,644 posts

204 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Why not get a cover. Must be worth the hassle and pain.
http://www.argos.co.uk/product/3598564