Have found that what worked in the '70’s still works today … and I mean for car paint systems ( I’m getting too old to hope for that !!).
I used to crib at the cost of T-Cut et al, and found that domestic cleaning products (used with care) gave perfectly acceptable results.
I’ve only owned my blue-over-white Sprint for two years and, (not being that sort of owner) have never given it a really good external clean.
However, with the UK weather being so good, and bugs in abundance, not forgetting how long it took to clean last summer … well, I decided to take the plunge.
It took forever. I was going to be there for days !
When I bought the Sprint, it was in the knowledge that one of the first jobs would be to renew the nearside lattice framework within the cill. This is not a pleasant, nor easy job, and despite great care there was some external damage requiring filler. Consequently, at some point, the white areas will require a respray.
With this in mind, I decided to experiment.
I chose a product from Tesco’s (also elsewhere), namely CIF Power Cream (lemon) for kitchens.
Dabbed it on a couple of spots and left for 5 minutes. Came back and it literally wiped off. Rinsed the area with water and left it for a couple of days. Checked, and no loss of finish … indistinguishable from the surrounding areas.
Emboldened, I treated the rear boot skirt (with loads of exhaust residue) in one hit. Same result… clean as a whistle, although a couple of stubborn spots which needed further localised treatment.
Since I’m going to have to spray these areas at some time in the future, there’s little to lose. Whether I’ll try it on the blue area is a different question.
Any thoughts?
Regards,
Stuart.