I just removed the mudflaps off my 2006 touring and theres like an outline of what looks to be dirt from where the mudflaps were in place...i tried smudging them off with my thumb but it doesnt seem to be coming off....any suggestions for getting rid of the smudge?

 

I buff my car with my thumb, just got to use elbow grease.

 

OP - ever considered using some some type of polishing compound, or anything a bit more aggressive than human flesh?

 

I found the same thing when I removed my front and rear mudflaps after ~4 years of daily driving. I tried removing the marks with Scratch-X with no success. Have not tried to get them removed professionally yet, but that may be the next step.

 

Welcome. Plenty of detailing suggestions in the detailing forum.

 

^ indeed...polishing compound was invented to take the place of the thumb

 

What? since when?

 

haters gon' hate lol but srsly i just used my thumb because i didnt have anything else to get it off with atm and i used ALOT of pressure with my thumb....ill try car soap and a sponge next time

 

you should always use atleast water, to help lube it up and prevent scratching. Thats at the very least.

 

its not going to come out. i know mine didn't after good wetsanding and buff job with professional stuff. the flap has cut into the clear pretty deep.

 

Moved to the correct forum.

It's going to take more than your thumb to get that off

 

It happens; the "mud flaps" were one of the worst things added to the Z imo. I just left the lines there on mine...I stopped caring excessively about the paint when I started off-roading it at drift practice, lol.

 

someone please please kill me now.

I fear i am going to poke my own eyes out.

 

I think the best way to get it off or at least make it less noticeable would be to pick up a bottle of a really fine grade 3M buffing compound and get yourself an orbital buffer. I have taken out some pretty nasty scratches out of my clearcoat with this stuff and it usually makes the scratch disappear or at least much less noticeable. You just have to be careful, as with any buffing compound you can take off all of the clear and go down to the paint if you buff too much or press too hard.

 

 

Are you going to use your thumb? If you do I think you will need ALOT of pressure!

 

I dont know why ud take them off. They do a good job at keepin the sides clean......i gotta white z and mine dont even match my car so id love to rip em off but id be washin my car every day instead of every other day :/ hah

 

I'd clean the area first with a basic washing, then use a clay bar (DI Packages DI Gentle Fine Grade Clay Bar 100g & Clay Lube) and then polish the area with something like the Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205. It should make the area look great again.

Greg @ DI

 

I might replace my rear bumper because of the scratches my splash guards made, lol.
Before I do that I'm going to try some plastic scratch remover/polisher to see if it helps.
My front guards didn't scratch the side skirts much but the rear guards scratched the rear bumper pretty good... lil bastards.

Has anyone had any luck cleaning up after the splash guards?

EDIT: I went to Walmart and got some Meguiars ScratchX 2.0 and it worked pretty well. The side skirts are basically scratch free and the rear is much better now. You could see the rear scratches from like 15-20 ft before and now you have to be within 5 ft and looking directly at the area to even notice. Good enough for me.