I've always had a light hand print on both of my pilars. Looks like the previous owner had hand lotion or something on their hands, wrapped their hands around the pillar to open/close door, and it left a mark.

I've washed my cars countless times and even tried clay. Nothing takes it off. If you've had this issue, what product has worked for you short of rewrapping?

I included a pic of the part in question (not actual car)

 

You can try a clay bar on it to see if it help if not some polish should remove it (meguiars 205 would work well).

 

Our pillars are soo annoying to clean, its frustrating

 

I don't have any problem cleaning them, it's the finger prints 30 seconds after I do it that drives me nuts.

I am constantly wiping them with my sleeve.

Sean

 

If you polish them up and then apply something like OptiCoat or Cquarts on there to out a tough barrier between the paint and the elements. Will help cut down on anything on them (and the whole car in fact).

 

Jet black pillars are an area that require more attention than normal on most cars.

The soft plastic is very easy to scratch and will therefore look dull and faded pretty quickly when not maintained to the highest level.

These pillars were cleaned up in just a few minutes using the Griot's Garage Fast correcting creme on a light cutting pad, followed by Meguiar's M205 on a white polishing pad via the Rupes LHR75e machine. (All of our polishes are on sale right now, too!)






Zach McGovern
Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author
Attention to Detailing - Peoria, IL

 

Thanks Zach.

Is there anything to mitigate the fingerprints? Those pillars sure look nice with the cleaning an polishing, but ten minutes later my 13 y/o son has used them to close the door. I'm not going to carry around a cordless orbital with me everywhere LOL.

Is a sealer helpful?

Sean

 

Wax, seal, or coat them for added protection.

Keep a bottle of your favorite quick detailer and a plush microfiber towel in the car with you to gently wipe them off as needed.

Only polish them as needed to remove defects... shouldnt be needed more than once or twice a year.

**the most effective way of avoiding prints is to simply ask your passengers to use the door handle to shut the door rather than the pillar **

-Zach

 

Keep in mind the door pillars are a vinyl wrap adhesive, so the products Zach mentioned will also work on your vinyl wrapped pieces if you have any.

 

Polish it up. I keep a spray bottle of Duragloss FCS and a microfiber in the trunk for bird**** and fingerprints (during the warmer months at least, most quick detailers will freeze in the winter)