Anyone ever had a problem with CHALK scratching the paint job of a car?

[bisous]

DD drew with chalk on my neighbor's car. We saw it immediately and we all laughed. This was about a month ago. They just went to get it cleaned and apparently the chalk won't come off??? Has anyone ever had that experience? I'm wondering if I'm going to have to end up paying for it? It is a 10yo car and is not in perfect condition. Paint can be very expensive but I want to do the right thing!

[mom2binsd]

So they waited a month to try to wipe it off? No rain or car wash since then? I guess I'm wondering why you guys didn't try to wipe it off immediately. I'd see how much it is to get it professionally buffed out?

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[bisous]

So they waited a month to try to wipe it off? No rain or car wash since then? I guess I'm wondering why you guys didn't try to wipe it off immediately. I'd see how much it is to get it professionally buffed out?

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Yes, looks like that's what we're going to have to do. DD writes on my car ALL the time and I never do anything about it and it has never been a problem. She was reprimanded after writing on the neighbor's car so I don't think she'll do it again. I just don't think that any of us worried about it since it has never been a problem for us before. Expensive mistake!

[MMMommy]

I definitely think it would be your responsibility to have it taken care of. Though not sure what the most economical solution would be. Honestly, I would probably tell DD she cannot write on your car as well. You say she does it all the time with your car and you never do anything about that. She probably assumed from that, that it was okay to write on neighbor's car. Hopefully there is a low cost solution. Good luck!

[roobee]

That's too bad about your neighbor's car.

I got a scuff or paint scrape on a new car a few years ago and went to an Auto Zone type place to see if they sold something to take care of that. The lady working there recommended Soft Scrub and that did the trick to lightly buff the scrape and make my paint job shiny again.

I hope you're able to fix this inexpensively for your neighbor.

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[TwinFoxes]

They've been driving around with kid's artwork on their car for a month? I have a feeling it's not scratched so much as it reacted in some way with the paint. Since their car is old, and they seem to park it outside, maybe the protective coating was gone, so the chalk affected the paint. I think it would definitely be your responsibility, which sucks, even though I think it's super weird that they laughed it off and didn't bother to wash it for a month.

[bisous]

They've been driving around with kid's artwork on their car for a month? I have a feeling it's not scratched so much as it reacted in some way with the paint. Since their car is old, and they seem to park it outside, maybe the protective coating was gone, so the chalk affected the paint. I think it would definitely be your responsibility, which sucks, even though I think it's super weird that they laughed it off and didn't bother to wash it for a month.

Yep. You've got it right. And I think you're correct that it is a reaction rather than a scratch. But oh well. I'm having DH talk to the DH since he (my DH) is handy with paint and finishes and maybe he can figure something out that will work.

[petesgirl]

I'm interested in how this conversation went down--did the other mom come to you and tell you she had tried to clean it and it didn't work? I think I'd feel wierd bringing that up a month later if i were her.

[squimp]

I can't imagine not scratching the car paint if you write with chalk on it. I would probably offer to pay, or split the cost.

[Snow mom]

I can't imagine not scratching the car paint if you write with chalk on it. I would probably offer to pay, or split the cost.
I can't imagine suggesting splitting the cost for something I/my child broke. OP could have also offered to wash it that day if the passage of time bothers people. Someone recently accidentally broke something on DH's car. They were gracious enough to leave their card and DH did call the shop to get a rough estimate on repair costs but I had to ask him the other day what is going on with it because it's been a couple of weeks. It takes time to deal with the mistakes of others, even if they are covering costs so I don't think a month is unreasonably long to come back with damage.

Sorry this happened OP--another way kids can be expensive little buggers. I'm not surprised at all that chalk would damage car paint because it is a mineral. In addition, if the car had dirt on it she may have scraped the finish with that (I've seen kids cause damage writing "wash me" on a dirty car). Depending on the damage maybe having the car detailed (washed thoroughly and then waxed) would help.

[TwinFoxes]

I don't think a month is unreasonably long to come back with damage.



I don't think it's unreasonable to wait a month to come back with damages. I think it's weird to not wash a random kid's "art" off your car for a month! :) But that doesn't mitigate OP's responsibility IMO. I wouldn't offer to split it, I think you're on the hook for the whole amount. Which might not be a lot, buffing/detailing might work. Fingers crossed there's a cheap and easy fix.

[JBaxter]

Did they brush it off and just not closely examine the car? I know when I actually wash my van find all kinds of dings It might not be unreasonable to brush off the chalk but once the car was REALLY clean to see the etched marks from the chalk. But yes you are responsible for your child's actions especially if you knew she had done it before to your own vehicles.

[khm]

Are we talking about chalk, like a stick of sidewalk chalk? I am cringing just thinking about that. I feel like of course that will scratch the paint or finish? Wouldn't it?

I do feel like the length of time they let it sit is an additional problem (that it reacted in some way), but that the initial act had to have caused damage like scratching.

I also don't think it is an age thing. A 2008 vehicle likely still has a clear-coat finish. We're in the market for a teen car and most of the cars we see in that age range are still really nice! Cars are not junkers at 10 years old anymore. I can see a much older car have an issue with staining if the paint itself is "chalky" and not clear coated anymore.

I'd take their car and try to have it buffed or polished out. Ugh, I'm so sorry! This stuff is so stressful.

[mikala]

I'd expect to pay for the local body shop to buff it out. I don't think it really matters how long ago she did it as long as the damage is pretty obviously the result of her inappropriate art. I wouldn't have expected the neighbors to pay for a car wash for something my kid did and think this might have been averted by removing the chalk when you all noticed it.

Hopefully it won't be too $$. I had a minor scratch buffed during some larger bodywork on another area and I think it was around $40.

[ChicagoNDMom]

I guess I am scratching my head at why it is ever ok to allow a child to write in chalk on any car.

I think OP should pay to have it professionally repaired. I would not suggest a DIY repair.

[bisous]

Thanks for weighing in. Just for clarity, DD mostly wrote on my car with chalk when she was much younger, maybe 2 years ago? She had this incident while DS1 was watching her outside for a few minutes while I was on the phone with a doctor's office. It was pointed out to me by my neighbor immediately. I offered to wash the car and she laughed and said "Its CHALK. It's fine. And we laughed." I did talk to DD about drawing on other people's things and she hasn't drawn on anyone's car since then, so that's a good thing. And no I don't really care if she draws on mine but mostly because she's done it loads before and it has always been completely fine!

The chalk she used was Crayola sidewalk chalk and I think it is much softer than the colored chalk used on blackboards. I can see how that would scratch. This has a texture that almost disintegrates when it meets resistance. Mainly my question here was to see if chalk has ever damaged anyone else's car. It was puzzling to me that it would do that.

So, as for the "artwork" on the car, I think I figured out what happened from a PP. The original drawing was in light blue chalk on a gray car and was never super noticeable. That said, I don't remember seeing it on the car after the incident (but it might have been there?) I assumed when my neighbor came to talk to me about going to the car wash (yesterday) that it was the first time he attempted to wash it off but I bet he meant that he thought the pros could get out the rest of the drawing and that there was something residual. I'm not totally sure.

When DH got home yesterday we went over to talk to them about it but they weren't home. We were gone ALLLL day today (from 5 am to right now, nearly 11) because we got the opportunity to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for free and we did it in one day (9 hours of driving!). Point is, we still haven't talked to them again. The wife was the one who laughed about the chalk and the DH was the one who was inquiring about whether we had a buffer so we really just need to talk to them.

I'm not sure how I feel about DIY. I guess some part of me thinks that scratching the paint with something to attempt to remove the scratches could easily be way worse than chalk. I wanted to have my DH talk to the DH about it because of my DH's background with paint techniques as an artist. There is no way that I'd let our relationship sour over these scratches. We believe in being responsible for our messes. I do hope it isn't expensive. I really don't think my neighbors would want us to assume a huge cost but I really don't know without talking to them about it. I guess I'll just hope it isn't that big of a deal to fix!

[RiverRat]

I guess I am scratching my head at why it is ever ok to allow a child to write in chalk on any car.

I think OP should pay to have it professionally repaired. I would not suggest a DIY repair.

This. All the way. The poor paint on the car.


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[123LuckyMom]

I’d recommend going to a professional detailer and getting their opinion and a price quote. I’d guess this would be an under $100 repair, and maybe as low as $30 or so. Detailers deal in cleaning cars. A body shop deals in repairs. My guess is that a body shop may be more expensive due to the equipment and tools they use, but that’s just a guess.


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[twowhat?]

Oh, man! I would definitely pay 100% for the fix, but have a professional give their opinion first and ask about DIY. I've had incredible luck with ScratchX for scratches on cars (you just buff out scratches)...it even took off those fingernail scratches under door handles. But...get a professional's opinion about its use first.

Good luck! Agree to just talk to them and let them know you're responsible...so however they want to go about getting it fixed.

[jenstring95]

I would try a magic eraser (in an inconspicuous spot) before you pay for professional buffing. It probably won't work, but you never know. It took some marks off my car once (and did not damage the paint whatsoever) when I had some marks on it. There shouldn't be anything to lose if you're going to have to pay for the area anyway.