Anyone know what the autobody places use to remove paint markings from your car's bumpers?
My brother just called me and gave me the unfortunate news that there is a foot long mark of paint on the front bumper of my car that wasn't there yesterday. The car is parked in a public lot all day while I'm at work, so I haven't seen it yet. It looks like someone misjudged the turn and nick my bumper and left me their paint as a gift, no damage according to my brother.

Anyway, I went to an Auto Body place one day with a friend car and the guy simply applied this stuff on and buffed it out. Could it just have been wax? Any clues?

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'98 Black 3.0 CL
Currently --
Tint, Fog lights, Clear corners, TL rear lettering, factory spoiler.

 

I don't know. Let us know if you find out.

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CL-S #22,299 "The Acuracer" Black/Parchment/Nav, spoiler, door & fender guards, wood trim, PIAA 9005, Polarg M6, V1 w/remote, trunk & winter mats, tires, sheet metal, plastic parts, lots of wires and tubes, leather seats, carpet, lots of nuts and bolts...

 

Most likely it was just everyday good ole' rubbing compound. It's usually pretty good at removing that sort of thing. If you try it be careful not to rub too hard or stay in one area for too long. If you do, you could start to etch into the clearcoat.

 

Actually bmbCLS is right. I took the car to my friend Auto Shop and within 15 min, he had the entire scratch removed!!! I was very happy after that. He was also able to get out a few small ones that I had on the rear bumper as well.

Unless I'm mistaken, you can use any type of rubbing compound or get one that is color coated for your car.

Put the compound on, take the scratch out and then Wax the area. I was the car afterwards also because the bumper was cleaner than the rest of the car after that. Thanks.


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'98 Black 3.0 CL
Currently --
Tint, Fog lights, Clear corners, TL rear lettering, factory spoiler.

[This message has been edited by melo72 (edited 06-20-2001).]

 

As long as the paint on the car is from another car (or surface) a good polishing (not rubbing) compound will remove the paint. When dealing with clear coats, the trick is to remove as little paint as possible.

If the paint of the car is "scratched", this is a different situation.

If someone is not comfortable with doing this, leave it to a pro (as in this case).

If you do know what you are doing, 3M, and a bunch of companies make products that are safe for clear coat finishes, and will remove paint from other cars with out too much trouble. If the person using the stuff knows what "grit" to use, they wont leave any scratches or swirl marks.


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Silver 2001 CL-S with NAVI

• Toyo T1S 235/45ZR17-97W* Proxies on 17x8" SSR Competition wheels (50 lbs less than stock)
• Comptech headers & sways
• Silver AEM CAI
• 12 coats of Zaino magic
• Stainless Brake lines coming (Brembos?)
• V1 planned

 

BTW -- I was also watching a guy on one of the Speedvision shows who now runs a dentless fix-it place himself. He fixed a dent in a door, but also used a coloring "wax" to hide the scratches. These guys do a lot of work for the new/used auto lots. They have a variety of scratch fixer's that are not really paint, but resemble a wax like mixing compound. They take a few tubes of the "stuff", mix it up, and cover the scratch and with the goo, and then wipe.

The only bummer -- we had a body shop do a remarkable job on a door that got mashed. They fixed a couple of scratches on the bumper for free (during the cleaning). I noticed that the scratch came back in about 3 months.

So, they do make some "quick cover up stuff" that would want to be covered with some really good wax/sealer/etc to keep it from coming off right away.


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Silver 2001 CL-S with NAVI

• Toyo T1S 235/45ZR17-97W* Proxies on 17x8" SSR Competition wheels (50 lbs less than stock)
• Comptech headers & sways
• Silver AEM CAI
• 12 coats of Zaino magic
• Stainless Brake lines coming (Brembos?)
• V1 planned

 

I have good luck with 3M Rubbing Compound, fine cut 1500 grit (#3900), for clear coats.


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2001 Satin Silver CL Type S.
No Navi, PIAA 19169, Comptech Sways, Century Childseat, Mudguards.