Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Aesthetics Ding guard woes...any help?

Need a little help! I enjoyed the beautiful weather we've been having, by setting aside my Sunday afternoon to give myself clear corners and to remove my door ding strips. All went very well..well..not really, or I'd be taking this time to post pictures of my results, instead of a plea for help. ANYWAYS (and I'm sure many of you have had the same hang-up), I'm stuck with this nasty adhesive around the edges of where the door ding guards used to be. Check out the pic: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/dubbadooz/vwp...view=t&.hires=t I don't think this is a result of the two adhesive strip that used to hold the guards on, these came off surprisingly easily, but as you can see in the pic, it's something else. I tried a clay bar, bug and tar remover, and rubbing compound; none of this worked. Any suggestions?

I'm just as clue-less I don't know; if none of the things you mention didn't work, I would think that rubbing compound would have done the trick... It is smooth or is that stuff raised when you wipe across it?

It's slightly raised and rough to the touch. I just went down to the garage to give it another look, and it doesn't seem to surrender much to a scraping with a fingernail. Tough stuff! If nothing else, this junk will act as a good guide when I find that I hafta put it back on! :rolleyes:

Did you buy the car new? Has the door been repainted?

The body shop coulda been lazy and not removed the ding strip when they painted. And now you have wax under the place where the clear coat stopped on the door and went up over the ding guard.

From the pic, it looks like kinda like calcium deposits, but I don't think that's it. You said you tried bug and tar remover, did you try leaving it on for a few minutes and also soaking a rag w/ it and holding it over those areas to try and soften it up? What about goof-off or CLR or some other cleaner that might work to eat it away or dissolve it.

All great suggestions--I just got the car a couple weeks ago, and what looks like wax, is actaully rubbing compound that the stuff I'm trying to get rid of grabbed on to. It's crazy stuff!

Oh, I see, so that's why it's white. So is it like this on all the doors then or just one? If just one, then it is likely that it could be what Perry is talking about.

it's like that on every door..jeez...you guys are just a buncha detectives! I'm impressed! The car is a 98.5...so it's 4+ years old (I don't have an exact build date). Some kind of weathering, perhaps?

YOU ASKED!!! Gotta get the facts so ya don't get the wrong diagnosis! :p
It is possible that it could be some type of weathering, but usually that would result in faded paint. I just thought of this, could be that the clearcoat was pulled off around the edges of the adhesive when you removed them... I highly doubt that, but it could be a possiblity and that's why it's grabbing onto the rubbing compound.

well...when I took mine off, I was able to get most of the stuff off with my fingers, the rest took a blow dryer and a towel to get off. It took my a few hours to get the doors clean, but the stuff was more manageable when heated up. I dunno if what yo uhave on the door is the same crap I was dealing with, but, I don't think I would have been able to get it off with any of the methods you described either...