Removing rubber marks from paint or plastic with claybar

[JB987]

Hello all,
Wanted to let those of you who may not know, in on a little secret.
If you can't seem to get those rubber marks off your paint or plastic fender guards.
Use a claybar!
Just keep the area well lubricated with mildly soapy water and keep folding the claybar as it becomes contaminated.
I was able to remove rubber marks that I was not sure would ever come out, after multiple other methods that I tried.
Mineral spirits will remove freshly laid rubber, but claybar removes even really old marks.

Cheers,

JB

[John Straub]

JB,

Make sure you put a coat of wax on after...clay also takes wax off.

Thanks for the tip.

John

[Sawfish]

Thanks James great tip. Where is a good local source for the clay bars?
Chris

[JB987]

It seems that most auto parts stores have them, mine was a branded Meguiar's version with 2 80g bars, and a spray bottle with microfiber towel.
They are typically in the waxes and polishes section.
Ideally, you would want to get just the bars without all the retail packaging.

[M-tinker]

I have tried two products:
Turtle Wax bug & tar remover
Mothers R3 racing rubber remover

They both work great for removing rubber marks. I found Turtle Wax works more like a polishing compound. It cleans other scuff marks beside rubber, but the paint is little dull after use, so be careful not to apply too much. Mothers R3 on the other hand is more paint friendly. I would recommend R3 for rubber marks and Turtle Wax for other tougher marks. With either product you'll need a coat of wax as others suggested.

HIH

-Fred

[ChuckS]

Thanks for the tip!!!

I've also found that Goof Off works well.
I get LOTS of rubber on the race car, not just "cone juice". The Goof Off works quickly and easily, but can take off rattle can paints and "ages" the vinyl graphics. So be careful.
The clay bar is probably better for a small amount of work as it does not hurt the paint in any way.

[John Straub]

Believe it or not, we used WD-40 to get off rubber marks on our old 944 GTR race car. Worked great!

John

[martinreinhardt]

From my experience, "Bottled Car Cleaning Wax/Polish" and "WD-40" worked the best. Downside of WD-40 the cleaned area becomes a bit greasy and a dust collector

Note: Using Goof-off works on paint, but be careful that it doesn't get in contact with any plastic light lenses or it will melt it's surface. I ruined a brake light lens this way some years ago.