Long story short:

They are doing construction on the "skyway" (about a 1 mi long stretch of road paved in concrete, not asphalt...probably because of all the bridges) on my route to work. At first, I went through because all I ever got on the car was some dust. But on Friday, things changed: I must've drove through a puddle of wet concrete that splashed all down the drivers side of my car. My tires, wheels, undercarrage, and parts of my drivers side are all covered in this. I seriously hope its just heavy dust and not real and true dried concrete...

But my questions are: How do I get this crap off my car without harming the paint?? I tried a high pressure wash and going through a touchless wash with some success... but I wanna make sure it all gets off. I plan on claybaring/waxing after I get it all off as best I can.

 

well i know in NYC if your car gets damaged because of roadwork you can contact the Dept of Transportation and file a complaint and with a little persistance they will eventually pay for some of the damage if not all. it takes FOREVER and theres so much bullsh*t you gotta go through but its worth it if you can save some money because of someone elses negligence.

as for how to take off that concrete id say try a claybar first but theres no way in hell u can use that bar after it. thats like running rocks over your paint once they get caught in the clay. maybe a trip to a detail shop is in order or a paint shop. they may even just point you in the right direction so you can do it yourself. im sure your not the only one with this on their car if its from driving on a major highway.

hope some of my mindless dribble helped

 

I would think a pressure washer would do the trick. Since it's splash on it should come off with pressure washing. The trick will be getting the car up high enough to do the job like you want.

 

White vinegar sprayed on it and soaked for a short time, then washed off may work.
It may be acidic enough to get it off without hurting the car.

 

Try this forum. These guys know alot about car cleaning and detailing.

http://www.autopia.org/

 

Lots of rinsing/pressure washing. It was likely concrete slurry from cutting or rinsing operations as opposed to actual wet concrete. Whatever you do, don't try to aggresively rub it off as you'll simply sand your paint off. If it does require some aggitation, very gentle rubbing with a soft furry-type cotton wrapped sponge should do the trick. If you're not 100% comfortable with this, take it to a detail shop. They can pretty much to anything.

 

I may end up taking it to a detail shop. I'm afraid to let someone else detail my car but ehhh.... I didn't expect concrete to end up on my car either!

Does anyone know any good shops around the Dayton, Ohio area they would trust their car with?

 

Powerwasher