Suncream removal??

Eoinmack

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Howdy lads, just wondering if anyone has any tips on the above?
Is there any way to get rid of it without machine polishing?
Mates car covered from kids, would any adhesive remover for example do the trick?
 
A good mate of mine had this issue and nothing he did could remove it in the end he ended up getting the panel resprayed and the hand prints came back through the fresh paint ..

So from his point of veiw no[emoji2][emoji2]

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BALLS!

Very stubborn and hard (if not impossible) to remove... in fact "removing the hands/fingers from the offending culprits is much easier and probably recommended to prevent further repeat damage".

Do not try any generic adhesive remover as it may react with the paint and strip it or otherwise compromise it (which may not be immediately apparent and could take a while to show up as an issue after exposure to UV sunlight. Also note that any solvent or detergent only removes what is left on the surface; however it doesn't remove that which has etched, or bonded, "into" the paint/lacquer.

I have dedicated "panel wipe" solution (to prep surfaces prior to painting cars), which I use to clean it... but as said, it will not remove all of it (only what is unbonded on the surface). After that I use a machine polisher for a light buff... it is the best you can do. If not etched too deep it may remove most or, if VERY lucky, all of it... but, if left for weeks / months it often has penetrated the full lacquer layer and in that case you will never remove it all short of a repaint.

I would be very upfront with your mate, or any customer, that you may not be able to remove it (all)... and that in a worst case it might even damage the paint (the paint / lacquer tainted with this will be chemically compromised and UV sunlight will damage it over time).

Moral of the story: Suncream is pure dirt and Fks your paint good and proper.
 
Hmmm. Yeah,,, he's kinda ****ered so I reckon..
I've seen a few cars with it alright Ciaran, and like that, countless people have told me it's permanently damaged

Very informative answer there Charles man, cheers ????
I was kinda under that impression myself but just in case there was something I was missing or... You know, something simple..
Prob take full wet sanding and paint correction so... ****it.. Not gonna take it on at all I'd say, fairly new car but too risky.. Could try too hard with a rotary / DA and all of a sudden its almost worse than before.

I'll pass the info. Cheers guys ????????
 
Hmmm. Yeah,,, he's kinda ****ered so I reckon..
I've seen a few cars with it alright Ciaran, and like that, countless people have told me it's permanently damaged

Very informative answer there Charles man, cheers ????
I was kinda under that impression myself but just in case there was something I was missing or... You know, something simple..
Prob take full wet sanding and paint correction so... ****it.. Not gonna take it on at all I'd say, fairly new car but too risky.. Could try too hard with a rotary / DA and all of a sudden its almost worse than before.

I'll pass the info. Cheers guys ????????
 
I?ve seen it removed but not sure of the process. I?ve just seen before and after. Done by Polishing Technologies Ireland here in Galway.
 
Speaking from experience years ago on sunny days in work I used to spray sunscreen on myself beside van had a metallic grey. Anyway it looked like a cloud at back doors and side annoyed me so mate tried machine polish done nothing for it so he wet sanded lacquer took a tiny bit out but as he said it goes into paint usually it a repaint. But mine was wind blowing it onto van over a summer it?s lethal stuff on paint work.
 
@Eanna yeah I've seen it removed before also, but as Charles pointed out, it was probably freshly put on and then machine polished off. If I was to do it tho I'd be doing it myself, hence why I was asking if there was any other things that may work. Don't think this person would go for full machine polish as you can't just polish part of a panel, it's all or nothing really....

@gary yup. Spot on man, ti's lethal. My sister had it on her old car for years. Now like that, it never bothered her but back early days when I was kinda learning products and stuff, I tried a few things to no avail and just haven't attempted it since.
I could just have a gander and ask a few questions, how long is it there etc etc
Wouldn't hurt to try but again as Charles said, stress the fact that it may or may not come out. I wouldn't even attempt to machine polish as it's very heavy hitting me. Leave a man who does it full time attempt if they wanna go that route..

Tis a wormhole this detailing ????????
 
Wife's old Metallic Silver Mk2 Focus had them in abundance all over it. We had car well over a year before I tackled it, and was when I was a less informed than I am now about this detailing craic (still do not know much). So asked a mechanic at the time and he said some G3 rubbing compound and a polish then seal. So I innocently bought a rotary polisher of local motor factors, some G3 compound and polish and pads.

Used a load of water and tried first on the panel that she had a few scratches on from a few concrete posts that jumped out to surprise my Mrs. It worked so did the rest of the car. Had the car a few years after and did not come back. But guess that was just lucky with whatever paint was on the focus, etc. etc.
 
Yeah I think from what I've been reading it's 50/50 as to if it will come out or not, and I can't imagine this one wanting a machine polish all around, technically it's a paint correction so to speak.

I'll suss it out, I'm viewing the car tomorrow so will have a look first and see what's the story.
 
Howd it go Eoin? I've taken suncream off a few different brands (VW, Alfa, BMW, Ford, Nissan) and it's always needed machine polish. How much suncream and how long it has been on the paint plays a big factor in fixing the damage.
 
Unfortunately I haven't done it yet, the customer actually had a death in the family so it's been prosponed for now, I didn't even speak about it with her.
I did tell her son that it would need a machine polish to be sure of it and even at that, it's not 100% guaranteed.
He said he'd pass it on, I'm generally slow to take on machine polish jobs, I have done it and have only burned through paint once, over a year ago (on a practice panel) but I've seen what it can do and I'm still a bit reluctant to get into it.

Practice makes perfect tho, I've two more panels and a full car at home I am still practicing on,,, building confidence slowly.
I will update once I do it, if I do it lol but I will update either way
 
I have removed suncream with no problems several times with a cloth and whatever cutting compound I have in the garage, never had a problem
Was selling mother in laws car the other day and gave it a quick run, car wasn't washed in about 3 years. Thought I had after photo but only have the before, came off n? probs, handprints on every panel
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So it does come off by hand with a compound?
Interesting,,, was it there long beforehand Seanie?
 
They have it ten years and if it say a power hose once a year that'd be it and she's carting around all the grandkids
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Autosmart, good stuff alright that is.
I'll try get a bit of that so, friend of mine has deliveries from those guys so I'll tell him to get one in for me ????
Cheers man ????
 
You are right to take your time. Start light and go from there but you'll be flying it in no time.


Unfortunately I haven't done it yet, the customer actually had a death in the family so it's been prosponed for now, I didn't even speak about it with her.
I did tell her son that it would need a machine polish to be sure of it and even at that, it's not 100% guaranteed.
He said he'd pass it on, I'm generally slow to take on machine polish jobs, I have done it and have only burned through paint once, over a year ago (on a practice panel) but I've seen what it can do and I'm still a bit reluctant to get into it.

Practice makes perfect tho, I've two more panels and a full car at home I am still practicing on,,, building confidence slowly.
I will update once I do it, if I do it lol but I will update either way
 
My thoughts exactly, I always try out something on my own car first anyway, so when I'm confident enough, I'll do a full 3 stage paint correction on mine, then maybe herself's car, possibly the father's,,, and once I see its all good, I'd be happy to offer it to others.

In the mean time, I do it all by hand, scratches and such, works for me so ti's grand a while lol
Hope to be doing the odd paint correction come Summer 2020
 
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