My new car was misted with deisel fuel, what should I do?

S

scannon18

New member
I was driving on the freeway and there was a large truck accident ahead of me. All lanes of the freeway were covered by a small lake of diesel fuel. As I was driving through the pool of diesel cars around me started to speed ahead to get away from the hazardous material. As they did they kicked up a fine spray of fuel that completely covered my brand new car. Looked at closely, there was a mist all over the car. Nothing that could be considered a "drop" or even a "droplet." I was driving to school and was sitting in class, very pale, thinking about my new paint being eaten away at, so that I finally left the classroom and drove to my house where I sprayed the car down very thoroughly with water. I then took it to a dealership where they immediately washed it with soap and paid special attention to clean it very well because I had told them about the fuel. All accounted for, the fuel was probably on the car for a little under 90 minutes. This was 16 days ago. I have washed it once since then with Mothers.



There doesn't appear to be any damage to the paint, but what should I do at this point? There was no wax on the car when this happened, I have never waxed the car and the dealership sold it to me, I think, dressed with a sort of finishing spray but not actually a wax. Should I claybar the car? Polish? Is it possible that fuel is still stuck to the paint? Will there be any long term problems?



Sorry for the very long, very first, post. I love my car more than any of my other material objects, I am very worried about this.
 
I would give it a good rinse, then hand wash it at least once and look for any damage. I don't think it will damage anything but better safe than sorry. Even a touchless car wash a couple times wouldn't hurt at this point.
 
You should be fine if you can't see any spotting. It sounds like you got to it soon enough to prevent any damage. I doubt a clay bar would do anything, but if you really wanted something done I would go over it with a paint cleaner or light polish to remove anything embedded.
 
First of all welcome to the forum. Second- Your car will be just fine. The diesel fuel will wash off with a good soap or shampoo.People have been using diesel for yrs to soften and remove tar. If this is a new car I would wash and clay to start off and then evaluate the paint. Determine if there are paint defects that you want to remove such as swirls,rids or scratches and proceed to correct. If you are happy with the way it looks after only a wash then proceed to put your favorite LSP on it.
 
Thank you all for the replies, this is a huge relief. I can't see any swirl marks, I guess because the clearcoat hasn't had time to be scratched up at this point. I think this weekend I will do a good wash and wax, probably claybar in a couple of months when the car is 12 months old.



What does "LSP" mean?
 
Car should be fine. Used car dealers used to use Diesel as a quick detailer, on cars with dying (and fragile) paint.
 
LSP = Last step product. Some people layer products such as a sealant or glaze topped with a wax. If you have never clayed your car then try a baggie test to check for above surface contaminates. For a baggie test take a sandwich baggie or the clear cellophane from a cigarette package and place your hand inside and rub a panel. If it feels like there is sand or is rough then a claying is needed.

Cars setting for extended periods on lots and during shipping are exposed to rail dust and a host of other contaminents.
 
I think your car should be good to go, If you still feel the need to do something, you can hand wash it and check for damages, even use a steam cleaner while your at it, or if you can spare a few get it to a good car wash business and get it waxed.
 
For someone that loves their car, why haven't you protected the paint? Is it laziness, ignorance, I just don't get it, sorry.
 
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