I clean my car religiously.. But I cannot seem to be able to get that freakin exhaust stain outa my rear bumper..!! It's very frustrating.. The car gets clean, but the stain seems to be getting INTO the paint..??! I don't know what I can do to remedy this.. Anybody have any suggestions? Am I the only one with this problem??

 

Just use some all purpose cleaner.. I had mine detailed yesterday and that is what they had to use to get it out..


Clay bar didn't seem to get it off..


-Zach

 

Nope, my exhaust cutout in the bumper was nasty black the first time I washed the car. I scrubbed for a long time and got a lot of it off, but there was still some real baked on crud. I scraped some more of it off the next time I washed the car, and again the next. I've slowly been working at it and I think most of the really caked on crud is gone, but the cutout in the bumper is somewhat discolored. I have a white car and that cutout has kind of yellowed some.

It bothers me too, but I don't know if there's anything I can do about it. I may try taking my clay bar to it here soon, but I doubt that will work. I think it's like you say and the exhaust has actually stained the paint.

 

As far as cleaning it, try some sort of paint cleaner, such as made by Meguire's. I've had great success with their products.
The problem lies with how rich the engine is running.
Some sort of A/F controller would stop it from getting worse.

 

Be careful when using the paint cleaners. Each time you use it, you buff off a little bit of the paint/clear coat. If you use it habitually to remove the soot on your rear bumper, you will eventually damage your paint.

You might want to use this stuff once to clean up the rear section of the bumper. But after that, keep a good layer of wax on the paint back there. That'll disallow the soot from ever getting a chance to bond with the painted surface.

SC~

 

You are probably going to continue to have this issue as the car runs very rich. I have not seen it on mine yet.

 

Mequire's Cleaner Wax takes it off fast, like in just wipe it clean. Then keep a good coat of wax on that area, and you are fine. I get the same thing with the Buschur exhaust.

 

Meguiars Cleaner Wax.. Gotta try that... The surface soot comes off, but it seems to be deeper in the paint... I hope it works... If I try to scratch it really hard, it'll leave a scratch mark (clean mark) on it... It's driving me crazy...

 

Try using Zaino. That stuff is amazing when it comes to cleaning and shinning up a car. You can use it on anything. Take your wheels of and Zaino them and when you spray them on the brake dust just comes off with ease. Same with bugs on the bumper as well. My kit cost me about $68, but it'll last me for about 2 years or more. Zaino is the best producy I've used so far.

 

good thing i got a black EVO...

although black seems to show more imperfections that any other color...

 

good thing i got a black one too

 

Tarmac solves the problem yes. It solves it until the wind blows the rest of the paint off my car though.

 

Try any of the 'bug and tar' removers? The stuff from Ford I used to use on my SVT would remove grease and junk off the paint, carpets, etc. Especially good at road crap kicked up on the lower panels.

GM/Ford dealers use Acrysol (?) fluid to remove grease stains from carpets, bumper marks in shipping - which smells the same as these unmarked 'bug and tar' fluids.

Will need to re-wax since this will strip it bare to the painted surface...

Not supposed to hurt painted finishes. But should test first.

(Aren't petroleum based products safer in general for use on plastic or acrylic painted auto surfaces - any chemical engineers here? )

Comment on cleaning the exhaust tip itself: use bar-b-que stainless steel cleaner. Works great. One simple wipe and it shines! Takes the high heat with no problems.

 

I'm gonna go to the store and get some today... Wish me luck...

 

How did it turn out??

Otherwise, never wash it again...