Out of the pan and into the fryer

[Belle]

It's been an interesting week for this little lady.
The Z spent it's first winter in hibernation and emerged a few weeks ago in anticipation of the summer to come. My Dad treated her to new brake pads all round prior to the MOT she was otherwise running really well.
At the MOT on Monday she failed only on emissions and being a practical sort of gal I decided to try my hand at the things the mechanic had suggested. I was chuffed to bits at managing the loosen the various parts to do an oil change and replaced the spark plugs as well as the oil and air filter. I also topped her up with some Shell V power and a shot of Red-X for good luck before taking her for a good run. The mechanic had suggested cleaned out the breather hose but after managing all the above I opted to just get it retested.
So far, so good...
45 mins after leaving it at the garage today the mechanic phoned to tell me there was a problem with the car. My heart sank as I assumed all my hard work had been in vane. I'm still unsure of whether the truth is worse. A commercial vehicle carrying a tank of vegetable oil (assume related to the nearby takeaway) had been stopped beside my car when the hydaulic hose burst covering my entire car with vegetable oil (Correction - after speaking to the truck company the vegetable based oil was actually from the hydraulic lifting arm of a tipper truck)
Not sure exactly what to do now. The truck driver to be fair did the right thing and passed on his details to the garage so I have the name of the driver, his reg no, company name and phone number. I haven't had the time to phone them as found out about this right before starting my afternoon surgery.
My main concern is the roof really. There is a fair layer of oil over the bodywork so have to assume the roof got the same treatment although it's impossible to see.

Does anyone have any experience of similar or any thoughts to how the roof might react to such abuse? It's going to need a deep clean and then reproofing. I'm also hoping to get all this cleaning covered by the truck companies insurance.

.........at least the mechanic went ahead and retested her and she passed with flying colours so the day has not been a complete disaster.

[TitanTim]

Sorry to hear that, I would give the Zed a snowfoam and jet wash to get the worst off then book a car detailer to give it the works and send the bill to the company

Tim.

[BladeRunner919]

Wow, that's not how I thought that story was going to end!! Personally, I'd talk to a hood fitter and see what they say. I guess that if the roof was recently proofed the oil may not have soaked in, but that's just a guess. If there's any doubt, I'd be asking their insurer to pay up for a new roof.

On the plus side, your roof is probably very waterproof now!!

[Belle]

Thanks guys. Both good suggestions. Gutted as I was looking forward to that first drive of the season and really hoping I don't have to do the cleaning. If I can get her detailed by a pro she might come out of it looking brill for the summer. The roof's wasn't in bad shape but don't want this to cause problems in the future so will certainly try to get a few opinions about whether worth taking the opportunity to replace.

[snoops]

I looked at your title and thought mmmm sure that's not how the saying goes.. Then I read your post OMG !!

I would not settle for less than a professional detail on this issue, that used oil is absolutely full of fine burnt particles that will devastate your bodywork if not removed before you go near it with any kind of wash mitt. The hood is also going to be engrained with it too, you may never get it all out of the hood. Does the hood not smell, old used oil is usually a pretty bad smell and is hard to completely eradicate.

Detail and new hood if it were me and I wouldn't accept anything less.

[Southernboy]

If you have any experience in the kitchen, you will have noticed that Veg oil in the oven will eventually dehydrate into a thick waxy substance which is a b***** to remove. If any of this oil has penetrated into and between door seals window seals, the roof fabric, and anywhere else it will while in liquid form...it will eventually harden and possibly cause issues. Even a simple ingress into the "furry" window guide channel liner will become a problem in time as it dries and hardens. The panel joints of the car, under the badging and bonnet grills etc etc and wherever else it will penetrate will eventually become waxy....
My suggestion is to contact your insurance company first. Explain the consequences of the accident, and proceed with a claim against the responsible company. Not only will you require a good car wash, you will need to have it "degreased" and then re-polished etc. The roof, if it has been impregnated will need degreasing, cleaning and resealing...and no guarantee that it will not end up with marking at some future time if all the oil isn't removed.
Without doubt, if oil has entered between the top and the rear body panels where it attaches, no ammount of cleaning is going to ensure complete removal of oil deposits. A new roof may be appropriate as the old roof may require removal to clean out the oil in those areas.
Other than that, if it ever gets warm enough this summer, you will have a pong developing if all the oil isn't cleaned out. A really crappy accident all round. Good luck trying to restore your Zeddy.

[barbancourt]

Haha.

I was going to say, "What a freak occurrence" and, "I doubt anyone has had this type of experience."

But then I remembered, I had a similar thing I had to deal with. lol

I used to take very long road trips in my other car and always had a million love bugs embedded in my front bumper, which were tedious to remove. A guy suggested to me to spray a light coat of Pam (vegetable oil spray for cooking) on my bumper before the trip and the bugs would not stick. All I'd have to do is spray them off with a hose. Well, the good thing is it worked like a charm. The bad thing is that vegetable oil was a pain in the a** to get off. Everytime I thought I washed it off, it was still there. And dirt sticks to the oil like glue. So I'd have black streaks of oil/dirt infusion on my bumper.

Never again will vegetable oil touch my car unless an oil truck bursts a pipe in front of me.

I ended up taking it to a detailer who was like, WTF? He cursed me, but did get it all cleaned off. I felt like a dumba** for spraying Pam on my car, so I told him I parked under a tree and the sap got on the car. hahaha. The truth was too embarrassing, especially for a car guy like me. I gave him a little tip for his extra work. You should be fine. Wash and wax will cure it. Not sure about the soft top though.

[Belle]

Was able to get in touch with the truck company boss today. Turns out it was a vegetable based oil from the hydraulic arm from a tipper truck and not from the local takeaway. BONUS!! That'll be why it doesn't smell. Not sure what all the wee specks on the bonnet are. He's happy to cover cleaning costs so making a few phone calls now inc re the hood.

[BladeRunner919]

At least the roof was up! Imagine if the interior had been soaked

[Belle]

That would be a disaster! I've got my finger crossed that a wee bit has somehow made it's way to the window runners - might save me having to sort out my sticky windows

[seasurfer]

Sorry to hear about your zed and hope you can get it sorted to your satisfaction and i would want the car exactly as it was before it was sprayed and wouldnt accept anything less. Your insurance will help sort it and take plenty of photo's before it seeps in anywhere through seals ect. Fingers crossed for you and zeddy.

[aceman]

Hydraulic fluid you say

Be very careful if it is anything like brake fluid it will strip your paint if left long enough. Just hope the company guy is right and it is vegetable based, get it done asap would be my advice.

[Pierrick]

Hydraulic fluid you say

Be very careful if it is anything like brake fluid it will strip your paint if left long enough. Just hope the company guy is right and it is vegetable based, get it done asap would be my advice.

I was thinking the same... if it is hydraulic fluid you'll have a lot more problem than a dirty car!! Hope you cleaned it as soon as possible and there is no damage!

[snoops]

Was able to get in touch with the truck company boss today. Turns out it was a vegetable based oil from the hydraulic arm from a tipper truck and not from the local takeaway. BONUS!! That'll be why it doesn't smell. Not sure what all the wee specks on the bonnet are. He's happy to cover cleaning costs so making a few phone calls now inc re the hood.

I think it would be wise to get the exact product information from them so you know exactly what you are dealing with. If you don't tackle this right in the first place you may be dealing with the effects of this for a long time to come. Don't let them fob you off that a bucket of soapy water will fix this it will have got everywhere.

Ask them for the manufacturer of the product with the full product name and variant and contact the manufacturer and ask them how to deal with it; They will know how to tackle a spill properly.

I would also be asking him if he has reported the incident to the Enviroment Agency ?