How to remove these marks from silver trim?

[Mrisir]

Any idea how to remove these white marks on the silver trim? 

Have tried washing up liquid with warm water & also warm soapy water but no luck.

[Magnet]

Hello Imran,

How long have you had the car?
How long have you had this issue, and have you had the interior valeted, or have you valeted it? 

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Mrisir]

Hi Mark,

I have had the car for a week, the dealer has I bought it from valeted the car before I bought it. I travelled 200 miles to pickup the car and actually came right at the end of the day on a Sunday but the kept it open for me to make the sale. I noticed these marks on the day and the salesman cleared the marks on the back left and told me he done the others but he annoyingly didnt. 
Dealership have said if I take it back they will remove the marks for me…but thats a 400 mile round trip so I was hoping there would be some product I could buy or something I could do to get rid of the stains.

 

thanks

imran

[Magnet]

Thanks Imran,

To me, this is the classic result of using high concentration chemicals to clean vehicles. 
If the seller had successfully sorted one area, it’s not clear to me why you didn’t check the other areas - pressure of time perhaps? 
If it were mine, I, would be asking them to now send you some of the product they used to sort the one area, and the instructions how to use it. 
If they are not prepared to do that, then take it to a high end valet person in your area, get them to sort it, and agree with the seller that they settle that expense. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[JMKC82]

3 hours ago, Magnet said:

this is the classic result of using high concentration chemicals to clean vehicles

100% agree unfortunately.  My last last A4 had chrome window trims, and the chemicals at the cleaners caused corrosion.

Joe

[Magnet]

Beware of anyone bearing high pressure lances, or cleaning chemicals. 
 

Is the earlier advice of any use to you Imran? 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Turlough]

Hi Imran

I have a 1997 80 cabriolet which has alloy trim around the wind screen and along the side and round the roof compartment, it was badly tarnished when I bought it and I tried everything to remove it including commercial tarnish remover, it didn’t work! I eventually tried a woodturners wax that contains  a very minute amount of very fine grit in it, it worked wonders at removing the tarnish and brought the trim back almost like new. I applied it by wrapping a clean cloth round my index finger, picking up some wax and working it in small circular movements, leaving it for a few minutes then buffing it, not only did it remove 95% of the tarnish but also left a protective coat on the alloy to prevent it from tarnishing again. I have attached a pic of the wax i used, it should be available on eBay or you could try any of the woodturners supplies sites. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of hunting this brand down you could look for an alternative wax but just be careful of its abrasive content, the wax I used worked very well and you wouldn’t want to use an abrasive wax that would damage the finish. The wax I used is called              “U Beaut”  EEE-Ultra Shine.

‘Hope this helps!

Turlough.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Turlough

[Mrisir]

Hi all, thanks for all your responses. Sorry for the delay in my response, I never got a notification that anyone had responded.

@Magnet thank you for your advice, very useful and this was my plan until things had got worse (see below for the update).

@Turlough thank you for your suggestion, I will try and find some of this stuff (again see update below).

Update -

So looks like the car will be going back to the dealership after all, I didnt want to do a 400 mile round trip for just those marks but unfortuantley another problem has popped up. The LED lighting in the S Line sill trim has stopped working, which actually really affects the look of the car at night since the rest of it is lighting up beautifully. So I thought might aswell hit two birds with one stone and get the dealer to get these marks out & fix the lighting issue which they have agreed to.

....however need your advice as clearly you guys know your stuff. If the dealer says they cannot remove these marks (they caused this damage as its not in the pictures & video they sent me of the car) - what should I do? Should I ask them to replace the silver damage trims? Ask for cash? Any advice would be appreciated.

For context, its a big dealership up north with over 3000 cars over three different sites and they turn over millions a year (cant say the name just incase they find this post before the repairs are done 😂)

Edited August 7, 2023 by Mrisir

[Magnet]

Many thanks Imran, 

The marks maybe removable, but just be aware that they may reappear. Let’s hope they won’t, but be cautious and you won’t be disappointed. 
Replacing the affected parts? I very much doubt they will actually do this.

Having some money off ? Will you be happy with some money in your pocket, but with marks in the trim? Gamble - can you remove the marks, such that that they don’t reappear? Possible, but you will need reassuring - I guess. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Mrisir]

yep I will be very cautious. I know certain cleaning products will just mask the marks and wear off so will double check if it has gone or not.

not really sure what to do if the marks dont come out, i like the car and feel its abit mental to return it because of this. Equally these marks really have taken the “shine” off of this new car for me. Even if they offered cash this might not make the feeling go away but I’ll see what they do and what they can offer. Thanks again Gareth

[Magnet]

Hello Imran, 

Sorry to repeat, but if this were mine, my first port of call would be to nip the car over to a trusted local high end car valeter, and getting their advice. This would stand you in good stead if some monetary inducement was offered for you to think about.
No amount of money will ease your ongoing discontent of living with this if it’s not permanently fixable. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 
 

[Mrisir]

Hi Gareth,

Sound advice, will have someone look at it tomorrow so I know in advance the cost of repair.

thanks

[Magnet]

Thanks Imran,

But not only the cost of ‘repair’ , but whether that rectification is sortable with once-off attention, or will it need similar attention at points ongoing during your future ownership - ? 

I would certainly not be hanging my hat of concern on cost alone. Quality, and more importantly the lack of it is appreciated long after the price is forgotten.
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Mrisir]

Indeed, wise words Gareth. The detailer I am going to is highly recommended for his quality of work in our area so if I get a payout which will cover his costs to put it right, I will be happy. Then I can just pay him to carry out the work to fully remediate the issue 

[f1n]

I had a similar issue where the sill trims had what looked like white corrosion which I managed to get off with car polish very gently. But he same as you the lights didn't work so I got them replaced under the original 3 year warranty.  Apparently they aren't covered under used approved warranty from a main dealer as they're classed as trim.