My 71 Jaguar XJ6 has been sitting in an unheated garage, not driven for perhaps 10 years, and for the most part untouched. Now that I have retired from work, an office and apartment building manager, I would like to get the car cleaned and polished for summer shows. I first washed it with mild soap and water and for the most part it came clean.
However, the horizontal paint surfaces that face the ceiling, the hood, trunk and roof, have series of fine white dots, that are almost invisible, but easily felt when I run my hand over the surface. I have used a wax/cleaner, but they do not easily come off.
The pant is urethane and is in otherwise in like new condition. The ceiling in the unheated garage is plaster, similar to what you would find in a hone. This building was built in 1929. Before I began using the area many years ago, I painted the ceiling of the garage with an ordinary house paint.
That garage is dry and there is no moisture drops from the ceiling after snow or rail.
The vertical areas of the car, doors and fenders, do not have the material on the paint so it seems to be something that has fallen from the ceiling on to the horizontal surfaces. I can get it off using wax/cleaner but it takes a tremendous amount of rubbing to remove it. I am hesitant to use anything other than wax/cleaner. The car was painted with an early version of poly urethan in the 1980s.
This 3M product is fabulous for removing anything without damaging the paint. It’s expensive, but try a little and if it doesn’t work take it back.
Concur with the clay idea. Had a car that had been cleaned and washed pretty regularly, but it slowly built up a fine rough film over it that you couldn’t see, but certainly could feel. A few hours with the clay had it looking and feeling much better. Also no (?) chance of damaging the paint, I believe. Cheap first move , anyway.
I’ve encountered a very similar issue and was never able to single out its cause … At the time I used simple car polish and some two/three years (and applications) later it was all over.
That being said, if you want to get rid of the spots quicker I’d use classic pages of new (and clean!) newspaper, lay them out just one sheet at a time with overlapping edges over the horizontal areas and then spray them wet with a water/car cleaner mix. Maybe repeat once or twice over a Saturday afternoon once the papers starts drying out. Finish by washing and then test whether the spots have been softened enough to be removed more easily.
Next step is the clay bar. Renowned for not harming the paint, but still requiring quite some elbow grease …
Ironically, completely by chance, I was watching a video today regarding the use of a clay bard for cleaning the paint. In the video, the speaker mentioned several variations of the clay bar. His preferrer was a clay pad, It think because it was not prone to damage when you drop it by accident.
Thank you for the advice regarding removal of the spots on the paint of my Jaguar. I am writing to make certain I understand your suggestion.
You wrote “I’d use classic pages of news (and clean!) newspaper, lay them out just one sheet at a time with overlapping edges over the horizontal areas”………
My question is as follows. Are you recommending I use actual newspaper with printed ink on it? For example, a copy of the Sunday New York Times?
Or do you mean to use paper that is similar in type to paper use by newspapers? But in this case, is brand new paper that does not have any ink on it? Or by “classic paper” do you mean the paper that are used in what is know as the rotogravure, the paper that are printed in color?
No, my reference to new newspaper only aimed at avoiding to take crumbs and dust that usually accumulates on waste paper on the car’s paint.
As for the ink it depends a lot on your local circumstances. There used to be newspapers that would blacken your hands while you read them. I wouldn’t use any of these. The ones around in my neck of the woods are quite stable - at least when confronted with simple dishwasher soap and over a period of a few hours.
Anyway, if you’re unsure, check it out on any other surface than your car’s paint.
If you want to be on the safe side and don’t care to spend a few bucks, use the type of workshop tissue on a roll instead.
One more though, I guess that if I am going to polish the paint on my Jaguar, I should spring for a copy of The Sun or the Daily Mail. Using the Daily New wold be an insult.
You used to be able to tell the good daily papers because they were used to serve fish and chips. Just the right amount of lead in the ink. Sigh, les temps perdue!
Heaven, no! The newspaper is only there to bind the water/soap mix on the paint for a longer time and to soak the crud on the paint. In the end of the soaking period, just take away the paper and check the results. The idea of it is to soften the crud pimples enough to remove them with a “normal” round of polishing with regular polish compound and cloth - whatever you may use. Newspaper paper is only used because it works a bit like a sponge.
Thanks for clarifying the process. Your comment makes sense., Sorry I did not comprehend it initially. I mistakenly thought it was exotic process, when in fact it is a simple, logical, straight forward process
Regards
Lou
PS: When all else fails, I should read the instruction.
Thank you for clarifying the issue of what to use to clean the paint on the Jaguar. .
So, I should purchase “Newsprint”, rather than using newspaper for the cleaning process.
Darn! And I thought that I was finally going to get rid of all the old newspaper stacked in my garage.
Interestingly, I had some trouble finding a store that sells newsprint. I called an office supply house and a mass marker (Walmart) with no luck. I finally found it at a local store that specializes in various type of paper.
You’re overthinking this. By a lot. Just do it, the worst that can happen is that you have to polish some of the letters off if they transfer.
And I would just grab a piece of paper and let it soak for as long as you think it needs, in an inconspicuous spot, or try a dedicated cleaner. Maybe the paint doesn’t like being wet like this for more than a few hours. Who knows.