Burned Paint

We generally see three different kinds of burn damage to paint outside cars that have caught fire.

Friction burns are typically caused by rotary polishing machines, if this kind of damage is not too severe it can be flat-and-polished out.

Chemical burns are caused by extremely caustic soap that is sometimes used by cheap car washes. Car soap and shampoo is sold as a concentrate and can thus be mixed up extremely strong which saves time as it easily removed dirt, but can also damage the car. In some cases it can burn paintwork, especially if it's oxidized, however it's more likely to burn plastic and rubber.

Firework burns are caused when fireworks which are still burning land on cars because what goes up must come down. These empty cardboard or plastic tubes can still be on fire when they land. Typically, there will be some soot and carbon residue which can be cleaned off fairly easily, but sometimes it can be a challenge.

Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 16/06/2022 15:35