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Water stains on hood stripes

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I had a crazy thing happen. Small branch of a tree with many leaves fell on the hood of my car while parked in a driveway outside during a storm one evening. Usually garage my car but I took it on a trip out of town and it had to stay outside. No damage to the paint but the trapped water sat on the hood stripe all night under several layers of leaves and the next morning when I removed the branch the stripes had significant water stains that are not going away. I think I may have to replace the stripes. Would this be a warranty issue? Can't understand why this would happen. I keep a good layer of wax on the car and stripe. Anyone know if this can be removed without replacing the costly stripes?
 
They will go away. I've had water spots that didn't come off with the first cleaning, but eventually they did after a few days and subsequent cleanings. Try Meguiars Natural Shine.
 
2,198
1,065
Bay Area
I had water stains on mine a few times before also. They went away after a few washes. I haven't had to put any wax or rubbing compound on my stripes yet. I just use a nice soft chamois and give it it a little extra pressure. Seems to work for me. S
 
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I had that happen last year at the Woodward Cruise. I was told by another Boss owner to park it in the sun. Within three hours the water spots were gone!
 
I have a clay bar......will give that a try as well. Stains are few days old and car has been in the sun so I think it's set in right now.
 
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docs302 said:
I had a crazy thing happen. Small branch of a tree with many leaves fell on the hood of my car while parked in a driveway outside during a storm one evening. Usually garage my car but I took it on a trip out of town and it had to stay outside. No damage to the paint but the trapped water sat on the hood stripe all night under several layers of leaves and the next morning when I removed the branch the stripes had significant water stains that are not going away. I think I may have to replace the stripes. Would this be a warranty issue? Can't understand why this would happen. I keep a good layer of wax on the car and stripe. Anyone know if this can be removed without replacing the costly stripes?

Doc,

Because of the leaves, perhaps what you have is a tannin stain. Read on here...

http://www.prestaproducts.com/adminsite/news/templates/?a=168

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannin
 

302 Hi Pro

Boss 302 - Racing Legend to Modern Muscle Car
2,009
441
Southeast
docs302 said:
I have a clay bar......will give that a try as well. Stains are few days old and car has been in the sun so I think it's set in right now.

Docs302:

Hold off on that clay bar. The stripe finish may be damaged further as it might remove the sheen of the stripe material. I'm not 100% sure, so if you do it proceed with caution.

Good luck,
Dave
302 HP
 
I've clayed my 2013 stripes with no problems. I used the off-the-shelf mother's clay, which is pretty light duty.

The clay results will be a hit or miss. But I've also had water and leaf stais on my stripes, they went away over time with infrequent washes.
 
Thanks for all the ideas. I am going to hope with time and some less risky ideas like vinegar or wax that the stain eventually disappears. I will try clay as a last resort. Otherwise I will take it to Ford and see what they can do but I am not expecting much.
 
I had the hood stripe on my car painted on in a matte finish and have had some tough water stains before. I use automotive glass cleaner that is safe for tinted windows and a microfiber cloth. It may take a couple of attempts but they should go away. Be sure to do the cleaning out of direct sunlight. Good luck.
 

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