Can anyone help with advice? A petrol station attendant spilled a large volume of petrol on my new Altis car. No one seemed to know what to do, and I am worried the paint work is ruined. Please help if you know what may happen as I need to go after the station for recompense.All advice on effects of the petrol( unleaded95) appreciated.
If you have washed the gas off, everything should be fine.
Obviously, one does not want to spend a lifetime of spilling gasoline on the side of the car, but it is safe to think that the automakers will consider that gas might be spilled from time to time, and develop paint formulas that can withstand this kind of mishap. Clean with soap and water, and move on. You car probably has clear coat on it, and you might not even need to apply wax. Having said that, a wax application under the filler door couldn't hurt ...
AIUI, the soap and water is more likely to damage the car than is the petrol spill: unless the soap is washed off carefully, it can get into crevices and there act as wetting agent, keeping things damp longer (promoting rust) than would happen with plain water.
That is why I try to wash my cars with plain water, removing any persistent tar or grease by kitchen tissue dampened with white spirit (which ISTR goes by another name in the USA -- thin, oily, colourless, volatile, liquid hyrdocarbon, commonly used to clean paint brushes).
Given that white spirit never seems to harm my cars' paintwork (and I typically have kept them for 8-10 years), as Jeff pointed out, petrol is unlikely to either.
Spilling petrol while filling is not an uncommon thing - just wash it off with water straightaway and all is well
David
ALTIS wrote:
Too bad it was not 87 octane. ;)
mike hunt
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