Brad Willis

A few months back, my ex-girlfriend and I had a not-so-pleasant breakup. At that time, she did about $900 worth of damage to my Mercedes (kicked the door, threw a planter through the windshield, and big bruises to my ankle). Of course, she also knew that my new TT was coming. This weekend it was egged. Can't prove who did it, but it's obvious who the leading suspect is.<p>Anyway, the egg sat on the car between half a day to a day and a half. I cleaned the egg off with a lambs' wool mitt, a sponge, and Meguiars car wash. Now, in the bright light I can see lots of fine scratches in that area. Probably a combination of the egg and abraision from the cleaning.<p>I called a reputable body shop and they said that egg is very acidic, and suggested repainting the rear of the car. This seems a bit draconian to me, but what do you think? Is stripping and repainting really necessary? How hard would it be to match Nimbus Gray Pearl paint? Is egg really that bad? Would a "good" buffing by a professional likely take out those scratches? Would the egg and/or the buffing damage the clearcoat? Should I care about the clearcoat as I keep a good layer of wax on it anyway? Thanks in advance for your comments. <br>

Wayne

I'm sorry to hear this. It is a pretty low thing to take anger out on a car. <p>I can't tell you much but pearl paint is notoriously hard to match. My suggestion thought would be to call a few reputable bodyshops and discuss the damage to your "honda civic" with pearl paint. You may have a different response to the "just paint the entire rear of the car".<p>Good Luck<br>

nt :-(

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good luck(nt)

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Paul Fletcher

Sorry to hear about your spot of bother Brad. If they are fine scratches in the clearcoat they can be polished out very successfully but take professional advice first. My dad swears by Autoglym products and he uses them to prepare his concours cars. As for painting this isn't bad news either. I have had paintwork carried out locally by my VAG approved reparier (they are also approved Merc, Volvo and other repairers) on my Corrado which is pearlescent, and I can't tell even under yellow sodium lamps. They were also competetively priced so shop around and get some recommendations from existing customers.<p>Finally, accept that paintwork damage is an inevitable part of owning any car, so at least you've got the edges knocked off you're TT and maybe, you may enjoy it even more as a result.<br>(That didn't work did it - you're still sick as a parrot aren't you)<p>Regards,<br>Paul.

Steve Groll

nt

Jim Torongo

Brad, you touched a nerve with your egg story. I was at the University of Kansas in 1971, sitting at a stop sign when a car load of 'Clock Work Orange' wana bees pelted me with six or so eggs ( I was riding a brand new Honda 750K0). Being the hot head I was, I gave chase ( like I was going to 'take' on six guys) and proceeded to over cook a corner and crashed into a stone wall. In so doing I broke a leg, suffered other lesser injuries and trashed the bike. The damaged gas tank was replaced along with many other parts and the egg stain never came out of the damaged tank. Of course the egg had 10 days to do its dirty work while I layed ih the hospital. It was a cold November night so I had a helmet on- usually didn't- or I wouldn't be writing this. I have used a helmet ever since and have also cooled my jets; somehow something good always comes out of these things. JIM

Lou

Brad <br>I feel very sorry for you 'cause I know that feeling when someone attacks your pet car or whatever. I also had a former girlfriend who smacked all windows of my then new Bimmer making schratches at the paint and the interior.<p>Now the good part.<br>Recently a friend of mine also was egg-tacked at his Ferrari. His local shop tried to buff of the marks but didn't succeed. Talking to my local guys they said -"Let us try". <p>They removed the marks completely!!<p>Normally they work with Autoglym products, but at this ocation they used a "chemical polisher" of a different brand. I will come back to you tomorrow whith this brand and you can ask around professional polishers in your area to do this job. I haven't seen your marks, but I do believe it will be OK.<p>Lou

Barry Lantz

Brad, Sorry to hear about your eggsperience (sorry - couldn't resist). I think that is the lowest thing that someone can do. Maybe you should casually mention to a friend of hers (who you bump into) that "someone" egged a friend of yours new TT while they were visiting you. Then set up a video camera and wait for the re-try. Hope all turns out well. Well this will make it easier to take that first door ding!

TTimoTThy

Brad,<p>Sorry to hear about the eggsperience - I hope you get it out. Petrol (watered down, of course!) can sometimes help break down the nitrates in the egg white. Or do you have mostly yolk? In which case try strawberry oil. It contains mild natural acids which are needed to break down the amino acids in the yolk but are harmless to water based paints.<p>On another matter, does anyone know if the TT 180 FWD will ever get an adjustable seat belt mounting. Hell, I'm not going to let it stop me picking up one next month - blue/grey - but it would be nice!<p>TTim