Mineral Deposits from Hell

[Angus]

So a good friend of mine bought an 08 Jeep Wrangler from one of those auto auction sites for a song... I`m not entirely sure how it looked in the pictures he saw before buying it, but this is what I saw last night:







My guess is it sat for months under a leaking pipe in a parking garage. I did a search through the forums but couldn`t find anything that came close to what I`m going to be dealing with. Has anyone dealt with mineral depots this bad before? And if so how did you approach it?

Carpro Spotless is the first thing that came to mind, but considering the sheer amount of buildup is that the most economical option? I`ve read about people using distilled white vinegar at 1:1 to dissolve the calcium/lime buildup. However the lack of lubrication gives me pause. Would adding an once of ONR to the vinegar solution help or hinder?

I should also mention there are deposit all over the tonneau cover as well.

Any recommendations are appreciated!

[carnage]

I would suggest vinegar or water spot remover.

[Bunky]

Repaint.

[djbrady]

Good LORD! One of my rides is a 2011 Jeep Rubicon. If this happened to her I would cry like a baby. Keep us posted as to how this turns out/your approach.

[tropicsteve]

even after wet sanding, the paint will probably be too far gone. i`m with al- repaint.

[The Driver]

If he got it for song, tell him to shell out a bit an going get a nice paint job.

[ShaneB]

Yikes... I am curious as to what the paint looks like under there. Wont be pretty

[PinnacleAutoCT]

What did your friend end up doing to remedy this? I`ve had good luck with CarPro`s water spot & mineral remover for stains that were probably that bad but on a smaller scale, I`ve also heard that HD`s water spot remover is great. You would obviously have to follow the application of either of those products with a polish (or compound and then polish) given the severity of the staining.

[Angus]

Thanks for asking, my plan was to come over w/ Carpro`s Spotless and do a few test spots. However, before I could my friend decided to try white vinegar (neat) on the hood and it worked so well he used more and more and more...

I haven`t see the car since my original post because it`s been in the shop getting a new engine - the original was totally shot and beyond repair. As you can imagine, the paint has been the least of his worries.

However once it`s back, I`ll update this thread on the paint conditions status and how we plan on approaching it - i.e. if it`s salvageable or if he need to repaint it.

[miatapaul]

Humm, new motor, likely new paint, not sounding like he got it for a song anymore! Kind of like the old saying "A free boat is the most expensive boat." as there are really few good deals out there in the car world. Heck if it were me I might be tempted to just cover it with truck bed paint and use it as a true off road jeep.

[Angus]

Humm, new motor, likely new paint, not sounding like he got it for a song anymore! Kind of like the old saying "A free boat is the most expensive boat.".

You got that right!

[Don]

I got nothing ... but Wow!

[Stokdgs]

Glad the distilled white vinegar, Im assuming, worked..
The smell is going to linger for awhile but, as you said, this is the least of his worries..

Chemical Guys has a Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover that actually works pretty good..

The blown engine - now we know why it sat wherever that place was, and water dripped all over it for so long...

Sad what some people do to their cars...

Good luck with this..
Dan F

[Angus]

I got nothing ... but Wow!

My face when I first saw the jeep:

Glad the distilled white vinegar, Im assuming, worked..
The smell is going to linger for awhile but, as you said, this is the least of his worries..

Chemical Guys has a Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover that actually works pretty good..

The blown engine - now we know why it sat wherever that place was, and water dripped all over it for so long...

Sad what some people do to their cars...

Good luck with this..
Dan F

Thanks, Dan. The owner has been a buddy of mine for long time so of course I want to try and help him out.

I`ll check out CC Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover, thanks for the tip!

[ca.detailchick]

I had a car to detail like that once and FREAKED!

I asked the customer "What happened to your car"?!!!

Turns out it was just frost!

I dont ever see frost in San Diego !!!!