# Car surface feels rough - how to clean?



## ademanuele (Mar 9, 2015)

The paintwork on my door panels feels rough, even after cleaning. Is this likely to be tar, I do quite a bit of motorway driving?

Is there a way to clean my car to remove/strip tar etc?


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## Blackhole128 (Dec 24, 2015)

I've used my old Gran's method of tar removal before now - butter on a soft cloth.

Probably wouldn't be practical to do an entire panel with it though - perhaps just something you could try to see if it lifts?


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## revulike (Jun 15, 2018)

How did you clean it?

Maybe needs a second wash. Baked on dirt, pollen and grime can be hard to shift.

R


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## Pronto (Oct 25, 2019)

ademanuele said:


> The paintwork on my door panels feels rough, even after cleaning. Is this likely to be tar, I do quite a bit of motorway driving?
> 
> Is there a way to clean my car to remove/strip tar etc?


Well it depends on how much work you want to spend on you TT ? But first thing is to do is wash it then decontaminate
with traffic film remover (TTF) taking extra notice to the bottom half of the car, then iron deposit remover (Fallout Remover) again especially the bottom of the car, then clay bar or clay cloth or clay mitt the whole car using a clay lube, then depending on the severity of the micro scratches on the car you need to polish the car with compound or a 
cleaner polish either by hand or machine, 
then finally a top coat of paint sealant either wax or synthetic. and maybe on top of the sealant for that extra POP of wet look shine and slickness a coating of Si02 based quick detailer... like I say how much time and money do you want to spend.. I just spent 3 days on my TTS (26hrs)


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## Webarno (Dec 10, 2019)

As above, after giving it a decent wash, hit it with some fallout remover then rinse off thoroughly, then go over it with a clay bar/mitt.

Guarantee you that will give you a nice glass like finish.


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## powerplay (Feb 8, 2008)

Just Iron-X or similar will give noticeable results, along with something like autoglym tar remover. I do the car once a month or so with Iron-X and it probably removes 90%+ of the stuff a regular wash can't shift.


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## credy68 (Nov 1, 2019)

Pronto said:


> ademanuele said:
> 
> 
> > The paintwork on my door panels feels rough, even after cleaning. Is this likely to be tar, I do quite a bit of motorway driving?
> ...


that looks mint is it metallic white?


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## Saturn5 (Dec 10, 2018)

Road tar removal - WD40 on a cotton wool ball or clean soft cloth will lift the tar.
Wash when clean, then re polish/wax . .. whatever you use


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## blackvalver (Jan 6, 2020)

use a white cloth with some petrol/tar remover etc on it, if it's tar you'll see the brown residue as you remove it, they can be tiny spots hard to see and all over the side and rear of the car, once removed the panel will feel very smooth in comparison!


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## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

Don't physically touch the car or you may introduce swirl marks. With many of our cars standing still for long periods, an accumulation of dust, dirt, bird shit and general contamination will take place. I've switched to cleaning my cars every 3 weeks now, instead of every week. Just a simple contactless wash is the best way - so pre-wash is sprayed on with a Metso (I use citrus valet pro at 1:8 with water)&#8230; then spray alloys and lower sections of the car with an iron/fallout remover, e.g. Gtechniq W6... I then immediately snow foam the car - leave it 10 mins to pull down all the dirt, then pressure wash off. Any remaining tar spots, I just spray with valet pro tar and glue remover - let it dissolve them and then clean down with the pressure washer. Again, avoiding touching the surface of the car.

The car will now be clean and you haven't even touched it. I only ever resort to the 3 buckets and wash mits if it's really dirty, right now, for me, dust and bird shit are the main issues. Important never to wash the car in direct sunlight, else you'll leave watermarks, particularly if you live in hard water area. This may all sound like a faff, but I can get both cars cleaned and dry within an hour. Any detailing work is undertaken as and when, usually once a year is plenty for a full detail... including getting the clay out and machine polishing, but I do like to keep the tyres clean with Gyeon Tire and often use a QD to clean up any minor blemishes from drying. Chemical Guys P40 is great for this if you want to add some top up wax, else I prefer their speed wipe, which adds anti static properties to the paintwork, so less dust can adhere if you use that...


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## ChesterUK (Dec 22, 2019)

ademanuele: I'd check out Detailing World for as little or as much information on car care as you like. And our Show and Shine threads right here


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## ross_t_boss (Feb 28, 2017)

I'm still advocating a good ceramic coat to seriously ease up the wash routine! It's so easy to get it back to feeling like glass, and 2yrs on it is still kinda amusing to have water just sheeting off the body panels when rinsed.

I use a mit, every few weeks, change it couple of times a year. I'm intrigued by the 'touchless' stuff, will have to give that a try some time.

Quick tip that works well for me with a black car - 25ltr can with a filter funnel, top up from the condenser dryer from time to time, use a portable jetwash and give it a good rinse. Water marks are in the past and I let it air dry 8)

On the ceramic -my car was in for a bunch of new panels after an incident with a wild animal. Paint was swirl-free after 2yrs but had alot of minor scuffing down the sides, some of it really bad along the passenger door under the lamp (I think it could have been scuffing from my kids coats running between the car :?) Also alot round the rear hatch handle.

Good news is a bit of cash on the side saw paint correction over the whole car while PPF was replaced under insurance. He finished the whole car with Ceramic Pro 3H, I'm interested to see how it compared to Gtechniq over the next couple of years, the guy said the CSU came off without much work and all marks came out, which he was surprised about.


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## Pronto (Oct 25, 2019)

credy68 said:


> Pronto said:
> 
> 
> > ademanuele said:
> ...


yes its is metallic white and the correct name is glacier white, yeah i like to see a clean car its well worth the time and effort and its a big chunk of money to just let it waste away


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## 2015Nano (May 10, 2020)

ademanuele said:


> Is there a way to clean my car to remove/strip tar etc?


Detailing clay is cheap and works great. If the paint is in decent shape underneath the tar and rail dust, it'll be glass after claying it.


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