So someone kicked up a tire...

[BRZ-OwnzJo0]

And it slammed into my car while I was going about 75 MPH and left marks on my bumper, hood and windshield. It's too dark to take pictures but they are what you would expect from a giant piece of rubber with tread hitting the car (they look like white scuff marks, not black).

My question is what is the best way to get these marks off of my car? I am going to start off by washing it tomorrow and then I was thinking about taking a Meguiars clay bar to it or something... I've never done a clay bar before though so I'm not even sure if this is what I should use.

I'm basically just looking for advice if anyone has had to repair the same type of thing on a car before.

[Wes]

Wash first, then you can determine what it is in that area and clay bar that area then just polish and hopefully it takes everything off. If its paint stripped then you'd need to either touch it up yourself or have a shop repair it.

[charged86]

As long as you don't have dents you may be able to clean up black mark. Sorry bud

[Mollusk]

Do the following things:

1. Try to wash it off with soap & water
2. If that didn't work, try the clay bar
3. If that didn't work, you may need to get an orbital buffer and try polishing it off

If there is no dent or scratching that you can feel with your fingers, then you are in good shape - if nothing else, the buffer will take it out. The black marks are hopefully from residual rubber sitting on top of your paint; if you can get it off, the paint underneath should be fine. Same for the glass.

[leon78]

Same thing happened to me...fucked shit up so bad I took the hit, paid insurance co $500 deductible to fix the 2K in damage. New Front bumper, left inner fender, dent on left quarter panel, new windshield. All depends on how bad your damage is really. Was worth it to me, plus it’s not at fault.

[enwave]

I had this happen to me with a blown tire laying mostly flat at 65mph in traffic (couldn't switch lanes). Left two marks (the two ends of the tread that we're curled up) on the very front bottom of my bumper's ClearBra.

I got 80% of the marks off with Meguiar's PlastX, then another 10% with some WD-40. Now it's hardly noticeable. I'd recommend looking into Mother's R3 or Premier's track rubber remover. I hear it works like a charm, and have it on the way for that last 10%. If none of those work completely, an orbital and some good wax is probably your best bet.

[mikeTee]

Make sure it's not dented, otherwise once you clean off the rubber, there won't be any trace that a tire hit your car. To get it off, I'd personally try some turtle wax rubbing compound. It's very abrasive and you will need to go over it with some scratch-x from meguiars but should be very affective. Not saying this is the best route, but it's what I would do.

[whaap]

If the tire was moving (as in missle) at the time of contact, the damages would be covered under the comprehensive portion of your policy. Many of us have zero deductible under comp. coverage and a claim would not have an impact on your rates. Consider that if your 'self repair' doesn't work.

[BRZ-OwnzJo0]

Thanks for all the input guys. I actually washed it with some ONR and then the marks that were left actually came right off by rubbing them with my hand. I didn't even have to bust out the claybar on this one. I'm pretty happy that there was no significant damage which is pretty surprising with my speed at the time.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Originally Posted by BRZ-OwnzJo0

Thanks for all the input guys. I actually washed it with some ONR and then the marks that were left actually came right off by rubbing them with my hand. I didn't even have to bust out the claybar on this one. I'm pretty happy that there was no significant damage which is pretty surprising with my speed at the time.

For future mishaps, pick up a can of Stoners Tarminator. Tough to find locally but very worth it to have on hand. Would take off the rubber scuffs easier than the clay bar (although that would work too - just take long and kill your clay). Saves me a ton of time with road tar and bug splatter. just apply some protection after because it will remove any wax or sealant on there.