Maybe once in your life, you had a situation when somebody threw an egg on your car. Of course, this situation is unpleasant. And now you need to clean your vehicle. So, what will you do? We bet that you will take water, soap and paper towels.
But, friendly speaking, this method does not work. You wonder why? And we will explain. The egg can harm your car’s paint. And when trying to clean it with water and soap, it can become worse. So, here the question comes – how to get the egg off the car? In our post, we will share several excellent ways to clean your vehicle from the egg. So, let’s go.
The problem is in egg sulfuric acid
When the egg is fresh, it does not pose any danger. But when it stays on the surface for a long time, its acids start to break down the paintwork. And now you can see how difficult it will be to remove this egg. The reason is in the fact that eggs are rich in sulfuric acid which damages your car’s paint.
It also contains protein which makes up about 10% of a whole egg's weight. It will be necessary to clean this protein too if you want to get rid of all eggshell remains successfully.
Cleaning methods
Car wash cleaner
The first highly-recommended way is to use a waterless car wash cleaner. It helps to easily and safely get the egg, bird poop, and other contaminants off your vehicle. With a waterless car wash cleaner, you do not need to work this hard to prepare your car for a ride.
Besides, it does not require a lot of water – all you need is a good car wash cleaner and a soft cloth towel. There is one more note – do not wipe a spot too much. Just let the waterless car wash cleaner do its work. Let us know which ones you've tried and what your thoughts were on them.
Soap and water
The second way to safely remove the egg from your vehicle is to use a combination of car soap and hot water. Here, we emphasize the word “car soap” since regular dish soap can harm your vehicle more. So, to clean a car, you need a hot water bucket and car soap.
Before adding the soap, we strongly recommend reading the instructions to know what dose you need to add. After cleaning the impact zone, take a good long look and ensure that there is no egg anymore. Then wash it with hot water and car soap.
After that, wait several minutes, take the hand mitt or towel and clean the spot. There is one more tip for you – do not wash your vehicle under direct sunlight since the soap can get burned.
Vinegar
If you do not like these two ways discussed above, you can use the third good way to clean the car from the egg. All you need is to take a towel, distilled white vinegar, and spray it on the egg spot. You can also take a towel, put it on a frying pan or bucket, and dump the distilled white vinegar there.
After taking this dumped towel and washing the egg spot. You also need to check the whole car because generally, it leaves a mark only on one point. This method of getting the egg off the car is excellent only if you have recently found out the egg and it has not managed to harm your car’s paint.
Baking soda and vinegar
Another highly-effective way to get an egg off a car is baking soda and vinegar as one of the most common remedies. Mix these ingredients in equal amounts, spread them onto a dry cloth towel, and start cleaning spots where there’s still some eggshell remaining after using the previous method.
You can also prepare a mixture beforehand: mix ½ cup of baking soda and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle and shake well until they dissolve completely. Apply it on dirty spots with an abrasive sponge or brush if needed. Let this solution stay for 10 minutes and then wipe with a clean towel.
Removing the egg with sticky tape
It won't work well but still...
One way to deal with this problem is using sticky tape or duct tape as many people advise. Trying to remove the egg with this tool, you will have an additional problem. The tape can pull off some paint. Even if it does not help to clean the car from the egg completely, it is better than nothing.
Clean all around the place where you are going to put adhesive tape. After that, find one side of the sticky part and stick it on your car's surface where there are eggshell remains. You should attach it firmly so that glue gets into cracks between parts of painted body panels, but do not damage them too much because you have to use the same panel later on.
Once cemented well, move another side of sticky tape in a direction opposite to the first attached part until they meet each other. From here thing becomes easier. You can roll down the tape to remove eggshell remains in one clean sweep.
Now you should wash your car with water and a sponge or pressure washer so that egg acids would be washed away too. Then, use a clay bar kit to bring back the smooth surface of body parts. This compound will help you to take away all tiny dust particles that stick on the paintwork after washing it with water only. After using clay, apply auto wax for protection against harmful environmental factors like sun rays, raindrops, etc.
What if none of these methods work?
In this case, we recommend getting a wet vacuum cleaner and using it right away. This way, you will remove all sulfuric acid from your vehicle successfully. Maybe, there will be some protein left on your car’s paintwork but it depends on how much egg was applied over the vehicle.
Generally speaking, a wet vacuum cleaner can be used to remove any type of fluid from a car’s surface easily and safely.
If none of these methods work, you’ll have to call a professional auto detailer for help. He will use a lot of special tools and equipment for this job so do not waste your money if the car is dear to you.
Car wax and polishing as prevention
Another way to protect your car from moisture is to use car wax. The reason for that is, it coats the paintwork and makes water not able to stay there. It also prevents acid rain or bird dropping splashes on body panels which can damage the surface of your beloved car. If you think that wax is not enough, add on some more layers.
If you’re not satisfied with how the egg was removed from your car and still has a mark on it even after using the clay bar kit, then another thing to try is the polishing compound which will bring back the paint’s sheen and shine.
Polishing compounds usually come in small packages and contain some abrasives like aluminum oxide or pumice stone. It can be used with a sponge or by hand for hard-to-reach places. Wait until the compound becomes dry (5 minutes should be enough) and use a soft cloth to wipe away residues. After that, wash your vehicle again carefully so no remains of chemical substances would get stuck inside body panels.
Another option is polishing your car with a buffer if it has a metal part. A buffer will polish the surface, even more, to make it smooth and shining. You can also use a rubbing compound or abrasive paper if you want to give it a finishing touch by hand rather than using the machine.
The effect achieved this way would be much better, but remember that both methods are time-consuming so if you want to save some time, just buy polishing foam for car body parts which you can use separately in every place where the egg or other harmful substances were applied too hard or left visible marks.
Egg stains on tires
We will look at a few ways that people recommend using for getting egg stains off their tires:
Dish soap and water – put some dish soap into a bucket with hot water and wash the tire thoroughly. Rinse with clean warm water afterward. Use rubber gloves while doing this since you don't want your skin coming into contact with the eggshells or any contaminants you might be washing off of your wheel.
You will need a clay bar for this part. After your tire is clean of any contaminants and dried, apply some rubber protectant.
Warning: Please note that the dish soap will not remove an egg stain from leather or cloth car mats! Persons who drive with such floor mats should carefully read the next section as well as this entire article to avoid problems.
Egg stains on car carpeting and upholstery
If you have leather seats, we recommend using a professional cleaner specifically made to work on these surfaces. These solutions can be expensive but they will also help to prevent permanent damage and discoloration of your vehicle's interior. This type of furniture also needs special care and the use of water will make it more difficult to clean. There is a better way:
Use for example Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (do not forget to test it on a small, hidden section of your car's upholstery before using it everywhere). It will remove egg stains off leather or cloth surfaces. If this method fails, try putting some baking soda into a spray bottle and then add some hydrogen peroxide into the mix. Spray this mixture on the affected area and let it dry naturally. This solution works by oxidizing proteins in egg residue which makes them easier to be removed later on.
For fabrics like fabric seat covers or carpets, you can do the same trick as we mentioned at the beginning of this article. Put some rubber cement thinner into a spray bottle and then add hydrogen peroxide into the mix. Spray your car's upholstery with it, put on some latex gloves for protection of hands, and then use an old toothbrush to scrub the area that has egg stains. After you are done, rinse with water or a wet vacuum cleaner if possible.
Bottom line
If the thrown egg had already been baked on your car, and you have noticed it too late, in this case, you need more effort to get rid of it. Here, we advise using a full Decon wash – compared to the ordinary car soap, it is more powerful to clean any spot from your vehicle.