I took Nell’s old name badge off several weeks ago and it’s left a sort of ‘ghost imprint’ of the letters. Have attached a pic although it looks worse in real life.
Washing hasn’t improved it so I’ve been seeking advice, watching YT and still not sure of best method to remove this.. t cut colour restorer or some sort of polish or rubbing compound?
Her paintwork is original so I’m hesitant to use anything too harsh and risk spoiling her paint.
Any advice anyone?
It might have been on there so long the exposed surfaces have changed colour for sunlight exposure, but that is usually more of a bleaching effect.
From that photo, it looks as though the lettering is lighter than the other surfaces. So it could be a build up of old polish or residues from washing/cleaning.
You might try some car body cleaner. Although decades ago T-Cut was about the only product, these days it is available in different grades and there are many useful competitors.
Perhaps your local contacts can look at it 'in person' and recommend something; as you've rightly said, it's hard to judge from a photo.
Thanks, yes probably a better idea!
I’m pretty sure there is no residue left and it’s a discolouration of some sort, but I’ll pop her over to the garage and get them to take a look
Farecla G3 is a mild cutting compound which I've used on faded paint with good effect but you will probably need to do the whole panel to get an even finish. After the G3 a good polish and wax will seal it.
Thanks all.. I’m leaning towards t cut colour restorer at the moment. I plan to put new letters over the top spelling Nellie so I don’t need it to absolutely perfect, but I do need it to not clearly spell Daisy
myoldjalopy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2026 1:49 pm
As 'panky' said, you will probably need to do the whole panel to get an even finish. And then you will think "Oh, I'd better do the whole car now!"
Oh don’t say that! I decided to peel the heating element off the back window today as it doesn’t work and looked a bit ugly. I was not prepared for 50+ year old adhesive. It took me ALL DAY to clean it off
Thinking about it, although I’ve washed Nell multiple times with a generic car shampoo (being under a cover she doesn’t get too dirty) I haven’t yet used any actual polish or wax. You think that could enough to improve this? I don’t need it perfect as like I said, I’ll be reapplying a new name badge over the top…. I just don’t want the ‘Daisy’ to be quite so obvious!
mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2026 6:57 pm
Thinking about it, although I’ve washed Nell multiple times with a generic car shampoo (being under a cover she doesn’t get too dirty) I haven’t yet used any actual polish or wax. You think that could enough to improve this? I don’t need it perfect as like I said, I’ll be reapplying a new name badge over the top…. I just don’t want the ‘Daisy’ to be quite so obvious!
Chances are there's years of polish and general grime accumulated over it, if you apply polish now, you're just adding to it.
A gentle application of polish remover all over, could really improve the colour and hopefully alleviate your problem.
mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2026 6:57 pm
Thinking about it, although I’ve washed Nell multiple times with a generic car shampoo (being under a cover she doesn’t get too dirty) I haven’t yet used any actual polish or wax. You think that could enough to improve this? I don’t need it perfect as like I said, I’ll be reapplying a new name badge over the top…. I just don’t want the ‘Daisy’ to be quite so obvious!
Chances are there's years of polish and general grime accumulated over it, if you apply polish now, you're just adding to it.
A gentle application of polish remover all over, could really improve the colour and hopefully alleviate your problem.
That makes alot of sense actually. I suppose a normal car shampoo won’t cut it, I need something with a bit more cleaning power! Can you recommend any particular brands that are good for classic paintwork or would any decent brand do?
mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 30, 2026 9:42 pm
That makes alot of sense actually. I suppose a normal car shampoo won’t cut it, I need something with a bit more cleaning power! Can you recommend any particular brands that are good for classic paintwork or would any decent brand do?
I haven't done such cleaning for quite a few years, so I'll let others with more recent experience make recommendations.
There are whole forums devoted to car detailing and endless opinions about what the latest marvel products are.
A few things are useful to know though. It is best to start with a car that is clean before attempting any kind of paint correction. At the very least you can see what you are doing properly but it also prevents the risk of dirt or grit acting as an unwanted abrasive and making the paintwork worse!
The principle of starting washing at the top of the car and working down is a good one. Snow foams are popular and have the advantage of a "no-touch" technique. The snow foam is applied, allowed to lift off the dirt and bind the dirt into the foam and then it is rinsed off with a hosepipe and clean water. Cellulose paint as used on many classic cars does not have a lacquer layer and so it is rather susceptible to micro-scratches (swirling).
For some areas you will need to resort to a cloth; a grid in your bucket keeps your sponge or microfibre cloth off the bottom of the bucket where it could pick up grit. You need to dry the car with a chamois leather to prevent spotting. I would not use the same sponge or cloth for the wheels as for other parts of the car.
When clean and dry, my polish of choice is Autoglym super resin polish. I have used this for decades but I have recently bought some Bilt Hamber double speed wax which I am told is very good but I have yet to try.
For the ghost lettering I would wash and dry the car and then use some T-Cut.
Stephen
1969 1098cc Convertible “Xavier” which I have owned since 1989.
ManyMinors wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2026 3:35 pm
The first 2 or 3 posts did exactly that didn't they? Farecla G3 or T Cut or similar...
So are these the type of products you mean when it comes to polish remover? This sounds terrible but the years I’ve owned a modern car I’ve just chucked it through the car wash haha… so figuring out what products to use is a bit of a minefield.. especially because most videos I watch tend to be aimed more at modern cars.
I tend to use the two bucket method when it comes to washing as the weird way my house is laid out doesn't give me access to a hose.. At least not one I can use on the drive, otherwise I’d be very tempted by the snow foam method… it looks great! So it’s good old fashioned handwashing for me!
She’s quite clean right now but I’ll give her another good wash in the next couple of days and then I think I’ll go down the t-cut restorer route… see how that works out. Hopefully I won’t end up having to do the entire car
You will never guess what I tried… and it kind of worked. A friend of mine asked me if I had tried TOOTHPASTE… I suppose in a weird way, it makes sense, as toothpaste is a mild abrasive. So after a patch test I did attempt to clean with toothpaste this morning… and ok it hasn’t removed the shadowing completely… but it’s certainly faded it to the point where when I place her new name letters over the top, you don’t notice the faded marks underneath….
mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 01, 2026 12:55 pm
You will never guess what I tried… and it kind of worked. A friend of mine asked me if I had tried TOOTHPASTE… I suppose in a weird way, it makes sense, as toothpaste is a mild abrasive. So after a patch test I did attempt to clean with toothpaste this morning… and ok it hasn’t removed the shadowing completely… but it’s certainly faded it to the point where when I place her new name letters over the top, you don’t notice the faded marks underneath….
Certainly a mild abrasive (unless it's too blue and gell like); I've known the regular white abrasive sort to be used to polish out the haze that affects some modern acrylic clear headlamp covers.
mrs.smith2012 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 01, 2026 12:55 pm
You will never guess what I tried… and it kind of worked. A friend of mine asked me if I had tried TOOTHPASTE… I suppose in a weird way, it makes sense, as toothpaste is a mild abrasive. So after a patch test I did attempt to clean with toothpaste this morning… and ok it hasn’t removed the shadowing completely… but it’s certainly faded it to the point where when I place her new name letters over the top, you don’t notice the faded marks underneath….
Certainly a mild abrasive (unless it's too blue and gell like); I've known the regular white abrasive sort to be used to polish out the haze that affects some modern acrylic clear headlamp covers.
Yes that’s actually what my friend had used it for.. and he said I wonder if it would work on that mark… I had some regular old toothpaste at home so thought why not! Not a miracle result, but good enough!
