Oil stained white paint

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quintet
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Oil stained white paint

Unread post by quintet »

This could in theory go in the "hints & tips" section or indeed under citroen as both PSA marques suffer with this issue in my experience, so Admin can move this post/thread if they see fit.


For some time I've known PSA vehicle's painted in white are prone to getting unnecessarily dirty in workshops because the white paint isn't lacquered/varnished/clear-coated....call it what you will and this leaves them to be susceptible to "staining" through grubby fingerprints, oily rags left on vehicle or what have you. Unfortunately my own car has now succumbed to this after having visited 2 different garages recently and no matter how much washing & cleaning is done the oli & general workshop dirt is now embedded into my cars (20 year old) white paint & it being un-lacquered I cannot buff it with any compound as it'll dull/ruin the paint. As far as im concerned the car has a basic flat/matte finish so scrubbing is out of the question (eg t-cut) has anyone got any tips on cleaning oil stains out of flat/matte white paint without it ruining the (already poor) paint?
Oli stain looking like a spider!
Oli stain looking like a spider!
Oil stained paintwork
Oil stained paintwork
Stained paint
Stained paint
Paint code
Paint code
Last edited by quintet on 09 Apr 2025, 23:02, edited 1 time in total.
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CitroJim
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Re: Oil stained white paint

Unread post by CitroJim »

Maybe try a bit of IPA - the solvent, not the beer - and see if that helps?

IPA is also known as rubbing alcohol in some marketplaces...
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...
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mickthemaverick
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Re: Oil stained white paint

Unread post by mickthemaverick »

I'd try with Swarfega, the original green smooth stuff, as it definitely won't do any damage and may lift the marks as it does from hands etc. I use it around the place for any serious cleaning jobs, the last of which was on SWMBO's suitcase shown here
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quintet
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Re: Oil stained white paint

Unread post by quintet »

Thanks for the replies & sorry for my own late reply but my car has decided it needed to give me more headaches in the form of corroded rear abs mounting's and my own personal requirement to replace the fuel return pipes (at some expense) which were recently bypassed but i'm not so happy with it.

Someone on here had the user name of "falling out with my car" and thats basically where i'm at at the moment!
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CitroJim
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Re: Oil stained white paint

Unread post by CitroJim »

quintet wrote: 13 Apr 2025, 23:20 Someone on here had the user name of "falling out with my car" and thats basically where i'm at at the moment!
May the love soon be restored ;)
Jim

Runner, cyclist, duathlete, Citroen AX fan and the CCC Citroenian 'From A to Z' Columnist...