Running Board Stains
 

Well my wife made the error of taking the e70 through an automatic car wash. Whatever they use to clean the car caused the brushed aluminum running boards to become all stained (blotchy white).

I managed to get them pretty well cleaned up, but it's far from perfect. I first use some mineral spirits to really clean the metal. Then I used a compound called "White Off" -- it's used to clean stains off of glass and stainless steel. Finally I followed with some Zymol HD Cleanse (oxidized paint cleaner).

Like I said, with some elbow grease, I got them looking pretty good - the casual observer would think they look fine. However if you get down close, you can tell they have been stained.

Why doesn't BMW clear coat these darn things!?!?

Same problem on mine. Passenger side only toward the front. Not sure if the wife took it to a car wash during the winter after we took delivery or what.

Wasn't there a thread about this and it being an issue at delivery?

Mothers alum polish works really well, maybe think about a sealant and wax to top it off.

I use mothers billet on my hre lip and p21s on my exhaust tips and other metal parts, try one of these, I dont know which one is better for this application. It might be the p21s

Could be etching from acid. Be careful of polishing, which could end up giving the running boards a bling-bling look...

You can *try* a 3K wetsand but it's probably etched.

Bear in mind that car washes are not *mechanical washes* so the cleaners are very STRONG in order to get the dirt off...

Was it a brushless or touchless automatic car wash?

I'm pretty sure it was "brushless" but not "touchless".

i use wax and the deale rdetail guy told me to use CRC stray!!
 

it works really good!!!!!

Hello !
I am from Europe (Greece) and I have the same problem in my new X5 (E70), after car wash store (no automatic). I try some chemical product but I didn’t make it.
Can you be more specific with the product you used to clean the “Running Board” ?
P.S. The problem is the “BMW” or Car wash ?