How to remove grease?

[catchit]

I came out of work today to find some grease (like petroleum jelly) from my trunk lock "leaked" on the rear bumper. After wiping it off, there is a noticeable discoloration in the paint. The car is Jet Black and I plan to clay/wax this weekend anyway. Can somebody tell me the best product/method for removing the discoloration? A few passes of ScratchX?

[Andy M.]

Re: How to remove grease?

Have you tried washing the vehicle yet? If it doesn't come off by just doing that claying should do it. Are you sure it actually "etched" into the paint? I have never seen grease etch or discolor paint. Can you take a picture of the discoloration your talking about and post it here?

Andy

[catchit]

Re: How to remove grease?

Now that is had a chance to dry, it looks more like sediment caked on. I also have some grease under the driver side door like this but not as "think". When I wash the car I can see it bead off, kinda like grease on a dirt dish.

[acsuppa]

Re: How to remove grease?

I ran into something like that in the past on someones car. Someone used a heavy grease to lube the trunk lock and it ran down the paint. It discolored the clear coat. I ended up using #83 to remove the clear coat "stain". The stain kind of looked like that. It must have been there baking in the sun for a long time. The car was neglected so who knows how long it was there. I wonder if that's under coat? It could be under the door but the location above the bumper is a weird spot.

[catchit]

Re: How to remove grease?

I ran into something like that in the past on someones car. Someone used a heavy grease to lube the trunk lock and it ran down the paint. It discolored the clear coat. I ended up using #83 to remove the clear coat "stain". The stain kind of looked like that. It must have been there baking in the sun for a long time. The car was neglected so who knows how long it was there. I wonder if that's under coat? It could be under the door but the location above the bumper is a weird spot.

As previously mentioned, it came down from the trunk lock latch. Was a build up of think jelly like grease. Dish soap wouldn't work? (Yes I know it will strip the wax)

[acsuppa]

Re: How to remove grease?

As previously mentioned, it came down from the trunk lock latch. Was a build up of think jelly like grease. Dish soap wouldn't work? (Yes I know it will strip the wax)

I bet it was some kind of grease used to lube up the latch. That's what I ran into on a guys car that I detailed a while back. he said he didn't know how it got there. Like I said, I used #83 but you can try any paint cleaner that you have available. If you didn't try dish soap yet then give that a try. That will be the least aggressive way to start. As far as stripping the wax goes, just apply some wax to the area after your done. For me, a wash, scrub and APC(All Purpose Clean, from the detailer line) wouldn't work. It worked it way "into" the clear coat so I had to remove the stain by "removing" a little clear coat. It all came out fairly easily.

[Murr1525]

Re: How to remove grease?

I'd look at some bug and tar remover... could then clay if needed, and clean/wax the area.

[catchit]

Re: How to remove grease?

Used some scratchX, two applications seemed to do the job. Thanks all.