about 30 cones! Horrible rubber marks, and maybe worse, all over the front air dam, front wheels, passenger door, and even above the right rear wheel well!

Damn those cones, suiciding in front of me all day. =(

Did the local PCA (San Diego Region) Performance Driving School this weekend. I have rarely been so beat and so happy. Damn, this car is amazing!

My primary instructor today, when we did an autocross, drives an older air-cooled 911 (how pathetic, I can't recall which variant??). He kept telling me to slow down, no way I could brake in time, and then I did. Wow, what a car!

But I really do have rubber marks from the cones I hit. I did a halfway decent wash tonight before I ran out of energy and daylight. Several of the marks, particularly on my front air dam and bumper, did not come out. What is the best way to remove them without ruining my clear bra? I also got some on the sides where I do not have a clear bra, what's the best technique there, to avoid swirl marks and such?

I had such a blast that I want to go hit it again (regular autocross next weekend!), but need to know I can get the damage cleaned up. Help a soon-to-be-addicted-to-autocrossing guy out!

 

Try using a clay bar.
Or you could also try using Goo-Gone, it removes most stuff and will not harm your paint.

 

clay is the best for getting those marks off. My side skirts sometimes get scuff up from shoes and clay takes them off with no problem.

 

Klasse AIO works very well too.

- Ahsai

 

Not sure if it is the same type of situation that we see at the track (rubber all over the car). There are some great products like 3M Adhesive Remover, Tarminator from Stoner, WD-40, and any of those over the counter "Bug and Tar Remover" products.

 

Also, you might try liquid wax. After DE this weekend, the guy next to me recommended this for those black marks from flying rubber chunks. It actually worked pretty well.

I sort of rubbed it over the mark, let it sit to soften up the mark for awhile, then removed both wax and rubber mark without any problem. Worth a try, since you probably already have some liquid wax, and you know it won't hurt the finish.

 

+1 on 3M adhesive remover. Should wipe them right off and won't hurt the finish. You should do a wax after, tho.

 

Honda Spray Polish is also great for getting various bits of goo off of paint. It also works on glass.

 

if you ran over that many cones, you didn't learn much from the ax! ax is not a race, it's learning how to control your car in tight corners at fast pace. on the street, you will not have the luxury of cones. this is why you learn how to drive without hitting the cones. they are there to create a margin of error.

as for removal, i agree with what's recommended. tar remover, wd 40, clay, polish, all work well. just don't run the edges of clear bra and put a coat of wax on it after it's cleaned up.

 

Wow. Thanks, Mr. High and Mighty.

Not that I need to defend myself, but I will. I exaggerated for humor purposes, but I definitely did hit some cones. Taking out the 10 or so that were left in the middle of the track by other students, I probably whacked 10-15 across 12 runs. Since this was my very first ax, and was part of a performance driving SCHOOL, and I was the STUDENT, it was a pleasant surprise to hit so few. I would wager I hit fewer than nearly everyone else there, I certainly hit less than everyone else in my run group (except two very nice older ladies who never got going faster than 30 mph).

Personally, I'm pretty damned proud of how well I did, and if I hadn't hit any of the cones all day I would have been guilty of not bringing my car to the edge of its and my performance capabilities. Never losing control is an indicator of never achieving maximum performance.

kthxbye.

 

+2 on the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover. The cone stains will come right off. Then use some polish of your choice to finish the job.

 

I'm pretty sure it is...

 

I always thought that if you didn't hit any cones, you weren't going fast enough. Glad to hear you had a good time. Wait till you try your first open track event...it's even more fun.

 

Second (or third or whatever) liquid car wax. Seems better to use that than some sort of solventy liquid, even if they are supposed to be safe on paint.

 

Agreed - I found that Auri has excellent cleaning properties as a liquid wax - without resorting to solvents etc etc.

It's slightly better than Klasse AIO in this respect, but is basically the same idea.

You can buy Auri online

http://www.auri.com/product_info.php...df3ebedb0d6b71

I keep a bottle handy for tar, rubber etc marks - never failed yet and no downside to using it on the cars paint.