Dark Water Stain on the “grill”

[NessTheDutchess]

Anybody have this issue? I have a drip water mark running from the hood to the grill. I wash my car every other week and recently have been noticing the water stain getting darker and darker. How do I stop this?! And how do I get rid of it?

Thanks for the help as always

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[ripperAZ]

Unusual that it appears that way as a drip line
I would think there is a heat source behind it
Generally plastics don’t show staining unless there’s heat applied at the same time
but I don’t know I’d look behind there and see if there’s a cable that maybe is causing the discoloration

and once again, I’m Jes sayin I have no clue
never seen that before

 

[joebruin77]

It's hard to know for sure what to do if you are not sure what the stuff is and how long it has been there.

I have found that Optimum Power Clean diluted 3 parts water to 1 part Power Clean is a very powerful cleaner without damaging the paint. It effectively cleans a lot of stains that normal car washing doesn't touch:

https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-power-clean

If that doesn't work, you may need to compound / polish it out.

One other thought. What are you using to wash your car? If it is a very powerful, high pH soap, it could be damaging the black plastic, causing the drip line. But if you are not using anything powerful such as a normal pH neutral soap, then my guess is that it is just water maybe mixed with some dirt that dripped down after the wash.

Good luck.
Joe

 

[SV8T]

My guess is some dirt that's trapped in the mustache is dripping in that line after washing.

They make a black streak remover that you can use if that's the cause. These types of streaks are pretty common on campers.

 

[Kevin P]

Meguire's cleaner-wax and a little elbow grease will remove that in no time at all. Its a water drip line from rain and/or washing, and not uncommon. I have been dealing with things like that on white cars (which I have always owned) for the last 30+ years.

 

[NessTheDutchess]

It's hard to know for sure what to do if you are not sure what the stuff is and how long it has been there.

I have found that Optimum Power Clean diluted 3 parts water to 1 part Power Clean is a very powerful cleaner without damaging the paint. It effectively cleans a lot of stains that normal car washing doesn't touch:

https://optimumcarcare.com/product/optimum-power-clean

If that doesn't work, you may need to compound / polish it out.

One other thought. What are you using to wash your car? If it is a very powerful, high pH soap, it could be damaging the black plastic, causing the drip line. But if you are not using anything powerful such as a normal pH neutral soap, then my guess is that it is just water maybe mixed with some dirt that dripped down after the wash.

Good luck.
Joe

Thanks Joe. I have a bottle of Optimum Power Clean, I'll give that a try. As for my regular washes, I'm using Meguiars Car Wash Gold Class soap.

 

[NessTheDutchess]

Meguire's cleaner-wax and a little elbow grease will remove that in no time at all. Its a water drip line from rain and/or washing, and not uncommon. I have been dealing with things like that on white cars (which I have always owned) for the last 30+ years.

Thanks so much Kevin. I'll give the wax a try. Glad there's hope! Thought it maybe had to do with that part of the car feeling like plastic. I had a white car prior and those types of stains always came out easily with a regular wash.

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