Many people complain that their car paint becomes dull and less smooth after several years. The issues come from the contamination of paint with organic and inorganic chemicals.
How To Remove Contamination From Car Paint? You can remove the contamination from car paint using tar removers, clay bar treatment, iron fall-out removers, and washing with shampoo. Many people also try the Decon wash method, bug removers, chemical decontamination sprays, and bug and tar remover to make the clear coat shiny. In addition, exposure to air-borne particles, pollens, insects, birds, tree saps, birds pop, and metal exposure from the industry causes this paint problem.
The dealerships do not appropriately remove the dust and other particles before applying the new layer of varnish.
What is paint contamination?
The clear coat is present in all types of vehicles in different colors. It protects the exposure of the metal surface to oxygen and prevents oxidation reaction.
In addition, several bright shades give a unique appearance to the exterior. Many times, the pain gets contaminated with foreign particles that are present in the air.
The tiny particles from the environment deeply penetrate the clear coats. As a result, it damages this layer and also corrodes its surface.
The contaminated clear coat with a layer of corrosion looks bad. However, these are microscopic, and you cannot see them with your eyes.
Most people also complain that their car looks dull after an appropriate washing procedure. The dullness comes due to the presence of these tiny particles.
How do you remove contamination from car paint?
Removing them from the exterior surfaces is necessary to make your automobile look shiny and new.
Use of tar Removers
You can remove the commercial tar removers to get rid of black and large tar spots. Different kinds of these sprays are available on the market, which helps clean the clear coat.
It is a gel-like and sticky material, and you can spray this gel-like material on the affected surface.
The gel-like material sticks to the surface and dissolves the spots of tars that are present there. The gel works like an emulsifier and emulsifies the tar spots.
You should also cover large tar spots by applying them again on the surface. Wipe off the surface using a clean and soft lint-free cloth.
In addition, it is also necessary to give the car wash for appropriate clearing of tar remover gels.
Try the clay bar method
It is the most reliable method to remove all types of organic and inorganic chemicals from the exterior of automobiles.
The clay bar does not mean you are using clay to remove these particles. In addition, this method also requires more effort and time.
You should give the automated car wash before applying the clay bars. Clay bars are bar-like materials, a mixture of two components.
It contains the plastic resin polybutene and several abrasive particles. These abrasive particles are helpful to fully decontaminate the paint with all types of chemicals and foreign particles.
The clay bars come in different types according to their grading and abrasiveness. It comes in the market from medium to highly abrasive bars.
Clean and wash the surface before applying clay lubricant. First, spray the lubricant on a small area and rub it with a medium-grade clay bar.
The pressure and force during rubbing clay bars remove the abrasive particles from the clear coat and make them clean and shiny.
Apply it on the whole surface, specifically on the sides of the tires and wheel well area. It is necessary to apply this bar in a circular motion during the cleaning process.
Wipe off the clay-treated surface with a microfiber cloth to clear any residues. You have to apply the polish or wax after this to give the glossy ad shiny appearance.
In addition, wax can also protect the paint from contaminants in the future.
Use Iron fall-out removers
Small iron particles are visible, and these are embedded in the paint coat. Iron fall-out removers dissolve these iron particles from the paint layer, which comes from the surface.
You should avoid applying the iron fall-out remover in the sunlight. Instead, park your vehicles in shady areas and spray the fall-out remover on the dry panel.
The changing in color occurs after some time when you apply this spray. This is because the color change comes from the reaction of these removers with iron particles so they can come off from the paint layer.
You can see the dark red spots due to iron particles. You should wash the exterior paint with running water quickly because iron fall-outs dry there and stick to that area.
Washing with shampoo
Many people try this home-based method to decontaminate their car’s exterior paint. It is not a reliable method because it can only remove airborne particles.
It is not suitable for the removal of iron and chemical residues. However, it can easily clean the dust, tree remnants, and birds pop from the exterior coat.
Make a mixture of shampoo and warm water in a bucket. Then, take a clean cloth and dip the cloth in the bucket for a few minutes.
Rub the vehicle’s paint with this dampened cloth and wash it with tap water.
Chemical decontaminant sprays
Several decontamination sprays are present in the market, and you can use them for a breakdown of dust and other harsh particles.
These are more suitable than clay bar treatment because it is abrasive and sometimes leave scratches on the surface.
The use of these chemical sprays cannot cause any damage to the paint. In addition, it is also helpful to control the corrosion that comes due to scraped paint layer.
It is helpful to remove the rust spots and make the surface clear. You should apply polishes or wax coating after using these chemical sprays to restore the shiny appearance.
Decon wash method
The presence of metal contaminants on the vehicle’s clear coat is harmful. You cannot see it with the naked eye due to its smaller size.
Most automobiles suffer from this problem, and the drivers do not even know about it. In addition, the accumulation of these metal particles increases the risk of oxidation on the metal surface.
Iron fall-out removers are available on the market, and you can try this method when the exterior of your car is not warm because these removers become hard and dry quickly.
Wait for a few minutes after their application and see the change in color due to the presence of ferrous. You can see the blood-red spots on the area where iron is present.
Use bug remover
Sometimes the tiny insects and bacterial colonies also stick to the clear coat of the vehicles. So you have to decontaminate the pain with specific bug removal.
You cannot clear them with a simple automated wash or washing at home with shampoo or all-purpose cleaners.
The bug remover spray removes all of the stuck insects and their remnants from the front side.
Tar and glue remover
Tar and glue removers are helpful to clean the tree saps, rubber particles, and stains of fuel that come during the refilling procedure.
The risk of scratches is also less while using tar and glue remover. Spray the little area and wipe it off using the microfiber cloth.
You can see the spots on the microfiber cloth. You can repeat this procedure to completely clear the surface and make them shiny.
How does the paint of a car get contaminated?
Several reasons can contaminate the car paint. These include environmental factors and organic or inorganic chemicals.
Air-borne chemicals accumulation
The air-borne contamination is the issue that comes from exposure to pollination, insects, and birds. The process of pollination is at a higher rate in the summer season.
Most of the people parked their vehicles under the tree for shad purposes. The pollination in the trees and pollens stick to the exterior paint and start to damage them.
In addition, the colonies of insects and bugs multiply at a double rate in the summer when the temperature is high.
It becomes harmful when bugs attach to the exterior coat because these start to multiply there and increase the risk of damage.
Moreover, these are acidic, and fast the oxidation process there.
Tar and road salts from roads
Exposure to tar and road salts during driving also contaminates the lower-end paint. The lower chassis frame and wheels side are more exposed to road salts and tar.
The exposure to tar occurs when you drive your car on freshly laid roads. Avoid driving on newly made roads because tar comes on the exterior paint and causes damage.
The road salt issue mostly comes in the winter because people mainly use them to remove the snow from the road and decrease slipperiness.
It is unfavorable to drive on slippery and snowy roads because the exposure to borax from the road salt can cause an oxidation reaction of clear coat.
Exposure to iron fall-out
Exposure to iron, ferrous or metallic material also causes this problem. However, the issue most commonly occurs due to brake rust and dust.
Due to brake rust, you can see more corrosion on the lower sides of the wheels and under the chassis structure.
Moreover, the problem comes when you are living near industrial areas.
What happens due to the contamination of paint on the car?
The contaminated exterior paint of the cars gives an ugly and awkward appearance. In addition, the spots become clear if you have a lighter-colored vehicle.
The presence of spots and corrosion decreases its resale value. Therefore, you should decontaminate the clear coat before selling it to another person for high resale value.
In addition, it can also make the repainting procedure difficult. This is because you have to do the decontamination before applying the varnish to the exterior.
The issue also comes when you want to apply the wax to restore a shiny appearance. You can see the textured surface after polishing or waxing the clear coat.
The spots become contaminated particles and become more prominent after applying wax.
How do you know if the paint is contaminated?
You should check the paint of your car after several times to identify whether it needs decontamination treatments or not.
Inspect the smoothness of the exterior by gently moving your hand.
The clean and clear coat is smooth when no contaminant is present on them. However, the change in texture shows that there is the presence of dust, dirt, or other organic particles.
The exposure to these materials makes the surface, and you can feel it while moving your hand.
How often should I decontaminate my car paint?
On average, you should decontaminate your car paint every 3 to 4 years.
You can do it early if you live or work in an industrial area. However, you should clean the exterior once a year to decrease the risk of corrosion due to metal particles.
You should protect them from damage by the proper car wash. The embedded rad slats, grime, and tar for a longer time degrade the clear coat completely.
Related Articles: