Guys,

I totally scrweed up and need some advice. I was filling up the other day and decided to top the tank off... Well you know where this is going, it overflowed and in a panic I grabbed a paper towel (dry) and totally screwed up my paint. Now it's clouded and looks like it has a lot of little scratches in it. What can I do to get rid of this and bring back the gloss?

Please help!

 

paper towels will swirl (cause they are made from trees)...
so a swirl remover is likely to fix your problem.

need tips on swirl removal, or have you done that before? (its not a "read the instructions and do that" type of product)

btw, for the future, you had the right instincts- just the wrong product- gas should be removed immediately, but not by paper towel. i carry a couple of microfiber towels in the car just in case and some detailers spray.
usually detailers spray with mf towel will do the trick. at the next regular wash you would want to hit the area with the same wax that you have on the rest of the car.

and if it makes you feel any better- i learned this the hard way many years ago when i did just what you did!!!

 

Thanks a million. I picked up Meguires "ColorX" and applied the stuff right there in the parking lot... Needless to say the stuff kicked some major ass and got me out of the jam. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Right. congrats on the fix. I was going to recommend ScratchX myself, as I've never used the ColorX, but for hand application, either should have done the job and it seems as if it has.

 

Actually, don't worry about gas too much. Modern clear coat finishes from the factory (and even most older paints) are not affected by gas.

Craig

 

Bumping this from '05...

I just did the same thing, and it looks like it ate some of the clearcoat or something. It looks pretty bad from certain angles. Is this wax or clear... I know swirl marks can be hit with scratch remover, but this looks like it could be worse.

 

gas should not remove the clear ...

got any pics??

more likely wax than clear-

clean it up good, polish it if needed and then rewax- but if you have pics we might be able to see if there is anything to add to this recipe

 

Unfortunately the car disintegrated and then vaporized!

 

yeah seriously, keep gas away from the exterior of your car or else it'll disappear like mine!!


...I'll try to get pics tomorrow, lost the daylight. I did try using some rubbing compound on it and then some new wax, it helped a decent amount, but it's still very noticeable... at least to me it is.