Can you use a Magic Eraser on paint?
by Todd CooperiderWhile the Magic Eraser in most cases is, err, “magic”, it definitely has its limitations in regards to automotive detailing.
I have used the Magic Eraser many times on cars, but it’s limited to removing scuffs on plastic door panels or sills, or it is used to clean very dirty textured plastic on lighter colored interior trim. If you have a grungy, beat up plastic door sill on a car, the Magic Eraser can do wonders to clean it up and bring it back to life when less aggressive methods won’t work.
Since the Magic Eraser is made of a foam-like material, many people may make the mistake of trying it on the painted surfaces of their car to remove heavy contaminants (bird droppings, sap, bugs, etc). While it may seem like it’s doing a great job of removing these contaminants, the truth of what else it’s doing won’t be unveiled until after you dry off the surface and look at it in the sun or under a light. That nice “soft” sponge is very abrasive, and is capable of doing a lot of damage to paint or other delicate surfaces.
Since we have seen this question pop up quite a bit here on the DI Ask A Pro Blog, I thought that I would do a quick test just to show how dangerous it can be when using a Magic Eraser on paint.
First I started off with a perfectly polished hood (a test hood that I have off of a BMW in Sapphire Black Metallic). I put a piece of tape down the middle to separate the two sides so you could easily tell the two apart once I was finished.
Then I sprayed a little water and rubbed the Magic Eraser on the paint as if I were trying to remove bug remnants.
And once I removed the tape and dried it off, you can clearly see just how much damage was done to the finish (left side) compared to the perfectly polished area on the right. This level of damaged was created in a mere 10 seconds!
If you were to do this to your car, it would require extensive (and potentially expensive) polishing to fix the damage.
So while the Magic Eraser works wonders around the house, you should not, under any circumstances, use them on any painted, shiny, or delicate surfaces of your car!
Related Posts
- Unlocking the Plant Power of Oberk APS : A Comprehensive Guide Of The Ultimate Organic Soap For Professionals and DIY enthusiasts
- Ford Maverick Hybrid XLT – New Car Detail
- Projects: 2019 Subaru WRX, Swissvax Detail
- Projects: Lotus Evora GT, Paint Correction, Clear Bra, Ceramic Coating
- 8 Tips to Get the Most Value When Selling a Vehicle by Detailing
I’ve never thought of using a magic eraser on my car paint before, but this proves that it’s not the end all be all of cleaning products. But I have a question about using a magic eraser on organic surfaces such as leather or vinyl. For basic dirt removal it seems to be harmless to me but I do know that the main ingredient in the magic eraser is a low pH chemical hence it’s ability to remove marks and such. After using the eraser on these surfaces should I follow up with a balancing/protecting product?
James,
I wouldn’t recommend using the Magic Eraser on vinyl or leather as it can damage the top coating (have seen people do this before).
Hi,
I have a brand new car…. we used the magic eraser to clean off bugs… you can see the dulling in paint. I am so upset! Is there anything we can do to correct the damage caused by us using the eraser on the car? Please help….
Great write-up sir. This will definitely lay to rest a lot of wondering about this “miraculous” product. It is a very good product in many ways, and some of them pertain to detailing. But as shown here, not on painted or shiny surfaces. Do you know how this would work on the plastics of my ’01 jetta? It has that typical rubbery coating that vw/audi is known for. Any info you can give on this would extremely helpful. Thanks for all of the great blog entries and information you give to all of us rookies. Lol.
David,
I’m not familiar with the interior on your Jetta, but having said that, I would limit its use strictly to the types of plastic I mentioned in the article, and at that only in extreme cases when less aggressive methods won’t work.
Great article Todd. I sometimes get questions like this from my customers in regards to using household products for detailing. I always tell my customers to keep household products in the house and use only the appropriate detailing products for their car. I’ve seen a lot of damage on cars due to the “Magic” eraser pad. Great write up as always!
I’ve used this on my matte bumper trim on my BMW 330i and it took off all previous waxes and sealants that have been building up over the years. Now it looks brand new. I just made sure to not get it on the paint because I’ve heard that the Magic Eraser is like a super fine sandpaper.
Great write-up. Unfortunately, I am a victim of Magic Eraser, though on my expensive speakers, not car. My kid scribbled with a sketch pen on the speakers and someone decided to use the eraser when I was not looking. The sketch pen is gone but I see the super-fine swirls similar to ur pic above in a 6 in x 12 in area.. I have just started in car detailing and recently acquired the PC and a few pads, polishes and compounds that I am about to use for the first time (so, not very experienced). I there any way I can fix the markings on my speakers? I currently have Meguiars Ultimate Compound, Scratch X 2.0 and Ultimate Polish. Also have orange, white, black and blue LC pads for the PC. Any recommendations on how to fix this? Thanks!
Great advice and demonstration on the test panel above.
I too have used the magic eraser on paint…. With a light Rubbing Compound and then wax/polish.. the car’s paint was as good as new… even removed light scratches in the paint for a high gloss shine.
what would you recommend using to take hard water marks off of paint? So glad I read this before I was headed out with my magic eraser!
Liquid glass and a buffer!
Magic eraser works great on faded headlamp lenses that are plastic. Simply scour then use a buffing compound too make brillant clean lenses again magic eraser will basically sand a thin fade layer of attic away and buffing will clean that lense right up, in short magic eraser does have some practical uses on your car.
WOW Thanks for the heads up. I just used a Magic Eraser on my arm rest/window sills. They look new! My next course of action was going to be using it on the exterior. You saved my Volvo. Thanks.
This article has answered so many questions I have had, except one
Can these magic erasers be used to remove water spots on windows of the car?
Thanks for saving my car lol I was going to try it today..lol
Too late, I just got my new/used white Toyota Sienna back from my mechanic that did some fluid changes,etc. He was busy so it sat for a week at his location. I noticed today a lot of rust looking stains on the paint. So I get home and am disgusted by these marks that are stained into the paint. So the wife says try the magic eraser and I do , doesn’t take the stains out but I sure dulled the paint in many places. It did work great though on handles that had ring marks and black scuffs.
What would you recommend now? Rubbing compound and then wax? I have next to no experience in auto detail. Thanks.
Can this be used on home paint? i had a dry erase sticker on my wall for awhile, after peeling it off i can see where the dry erase ink was left on the paint. was wondering if this was safe
Mike – I personally have not used the Magic Eraser at home, but I have heard of people doing so. I performed a quick google search and it does seem to remove scuff marks from floors, doors, baseboards, etc., clean grout, remove wall marks, and much more. Here is the article I found that covers the Magic Eraser usage: https://household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/01/magic_erasers.php/. For exact answers I would highly recommend contacting the manufacturer for the best answer possible. Take care!
When I retired, I cleaned all the baseboards in my house with Magic Eraser and found that in some spots it actually wore the paint off. So be careful with it.
I used a magic earser on my car to take the tree sap off..ekk it faded the paint and took the shine off in spots..should I use a rubbing compound and wax..
Dylan – You do not want to use a wax as it will not help remove any imperfections you added to the paint when using the Magic Eraser. A traditional wax will only protect the paint you apply it to. Instead, you are going to want to perform some polishing steps to remove the imperfections. I would recommend starting with the M105 and an orange pad. This is a stronger corrective option and should remove the majority of your imperfections. If you test it on one area and still need more corrective power, the purple wool pad is a good option to use with the M105. After using the M105, follow up with the M205 and a white pad to remove any haze and finish the paint down. Check out this polishing how-to article with M105 and M205 here: https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/polishing-how-to-with-meguiars-m105-m205/
can i use the magic eraser to get the wax off the plastic bumper area around the bottom of my jeep patriot ? new black jeep owner and wanted to make her shine …. and got wax all over the plastic trim around the edge .. and now 3 days later I can see the white and it looks like crap ! help !!! what can I use to get it off
Angela – I would not suggest using the Magic Eraser, it can do more damage than good. Check out this article on how to remove wax from trim pieces (https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/removing-polish-and-wax-from-rubber-trim/). I would also highly recommend trying to remove it asap. The long it sits on the trim, bakes in the sun, etc. the harder it will be to remove. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact us directly here: https://www.detailedimage.com/Contact/
Thanks so much was going to use magic eraser on car paint ahh not any more . Bless you