Things you discover while washing/detailing your car

[Jfridge92]

Well Saturday I decided to actually detail my car, IE wetsand the paint, clear my headlights, and really give it some TLC. I spent probably a good 6 hours on it, and man does it look good, I just need to invest in a buffer so that I can polish the spots I sanded and finish up the headlights before I seal them.

Anyways, while doing all this work, I found something strange that isn't like this on any of the other body panels. My front bumper has always had a long line on it, it looked like a scratch of black paint from the previous owner, but I never gave it much thought. I decided to try and wet sand it off, and to my surprise instead of it going away, the black area got bigger. I thought it was strange, and that it must be black Primer, so I left it alone to not make it any bigger until I can get some touch up paint. I went around the car fixing the little scuffs and scratches, and came to a similar black line on the rear bumper. I started trying to get this one fixed up, and to my surprise, this one went away. I had one more little scuff underneath the rear bumper (Where no one can see unless they're under the car) so I decided to test something to see what color the primer really was there. I sanded in a VERY small area through the paint in the area of the scuff, and to my surprise, under the silver paint was more silver. No black at all.

SO, this has led me to draw the conclusion that at some point in it's life, someone painted a black bumper silver and replaced it on my car, meaning that it was either wrecked at some point or the front bumper got messed up in some way.

What do you guys think about that, and what are some crazy things you've found while giving your car some TLC?

[crash93ssei]

I always find things that I never noticed before the first time I detail a car. Repainted areas, dents, scratches, clear coat failure, stains, faded areas, etc...

For your headlights, did you see the method I posted with refinishing them without any tools at all sanding and using mineral spirits and urethane?

Last thing, should never wetsand without having a way to finish it back to a good gloss, a cheap buffer won't do it. Depending on the grit paper you used you would be looking at a minimum of about $200 for a good polisher, cutting and finishing pads, good compound and finishing polish, and some microfiber towels .

[gweg_b]

I've never really found anything that made me scratch my head on the outside, but I did find a hotel sized bottle of shampoo in the ventilation of my Buick long time ago. In the Bonneville I found several dog grooming supplies under the rear seat and in the spare tire well. Nothing in the G8.

[Jfridge92]

For the lights, I actually wanted to try the cheap turtle wax kit (it was 9 bucks) to see if it was any good. I used your method with Ashlee's toyota and WOW did it work great, I just saw the kit while shopping and decided to try it for craps and giggles haha.


Before my buffer died (which it looks like i failed to mention in the first post, I went to turn it on and nothing, so maybe it's a fuse), it was a really good one. It was a craftsman that my dad gave me a while back, and it definitely didn't look like a 15 dollar one from walmart haha, but of course things only break as soon as you need them :( Thankfully it's only in a few spots that really need attention, so I think they'll be okay until I can pick up a new polisher this weekend.

I do have cutting and polishing compound from Mothers that my neighbor is letting me borrow, but of course he's out of town so I can't ask for his buffer haha, go figure.

[crash93ssei]

Worst comes to worst you can use the compound and polish by hand to at least improve the flat look of the wetsand spots to give them some gloss. It won't remove the sanding marks but will help hide it some until you can polish it.

[PaulyGXP]

I have found more than I ever wanted too. From repainted areas to places that have been repaired, I never seem to find good stuff. Except the time I found a magnetic ACDelco flashlight stuck inside the fender well! Score! Still use that light to this day haha.

[gweg_b]

I want to wet sand the Bonneville, but I won't even try until I get a buffer. I loved seeing the mirror like reflections on Ryan's SSEi. If I can stop buying other things for the car, I eventually might be able to afford a good buffer!

[MattStrike]

I found that my SSEi driver side panels and doors were replaced with repainted green panels, while I was stripping it for welding. Once I waxed it for the first time I found that the whole car had been repainted because the clearcoat had peeled off the roof and they didn't wet sand the edges down to blend it back in. Also dicovered the previous owner used the backseat for extra-curricular activities.

My '86 had a mis-matched steel wheel, the hub cap never fit it right, which I later learned that it had hit a curb and bent the rim on the original.

I've got a few more vehicles to go through so maybe I'll find something cool in one of those too.

[BonnieBoy08]

Scratches, dings, and rust I didn't know were there. Found out my car used to have a pinstripe. Never found anything much interesting on interiors. Bobby pins, pens, and garbage. You notice alot of things while washing and detailing vehicles.