There's a white film underneath my headlamps and under the Honda "H." It's spread all over the tops of my panels; it looks like a milky fog.
Any ideas how to get rid of it? Peanut butter isn't working, neither is Back to Black.
ps-It could be wax from when the previous owner took it to a carwash, but since it's only affecting the front panels, I'm thinking not.
Thanks in advance for any help. This forum is an invaluable resource for me.

did this just appear all of a sudden or did you just buy the car and it was like that?

here is some good information from another post



It takes time for any solvent, including PB, to work. The longer that this residue sits, the harder it will be, longer it will take, to remove it.

Peanut butter/peanut spread contains vegetable oils that can re-dissolve some oil-based materials, the fiber and protein component of the peanut butter absorb it. The residue may be composed of several compounds, some of which may not be soluble in vegetable oils.

There is no benefit to using brand name or chunk PB- get the cheapest generic you can. Move the car to a shaded area, coat a small stained area with a 1/4 in thick layer of PB, cover it with plastic wrap and leave in place 6 hours or longer. Wash it off with soapy water and inspect.

If peanut butter reduced the stain, reapply to the entire stained area, working it into the surface grain of the plastic with a soft fingernail brush, and recover it. As long as there is a visible improvement from each application, repeat up to 3 times.

If residue remains, I'd try LA Awesome (Dollar Store), Goof-Off/Goo-Gone(Dollar Store), waterless hand cleaner, isopropyl alcohol, denatured alcohol, Kerosene, Naptha, Coleman fuel, and acrylic paint thinner - in that order.

If the application of any of these makes the stain spread, it's working; alternate with soapy water washes.

I've removed tough surface stains from plastics with the first three. They can be left on indefinitely, and work better if covered with paper towels and plastic wrap to prevent evaporation.

As long as you use small amounts of the last 3 with q-tips, none of these should make the problem worse.

It literally just appeared one day. Thanks for your great advice-I'll go big on the peanut butter (I had only applied a little) then try those other removers.

That doesn't look good and I'd be surprised if that comes off, or can even be covered up. Looks like it was stained by something leaking from behind your headlight, or maybe it was parked near something very hot to discolor it.

Does your Element have a coolant leak? Maybe coolant leaked out your overflow recovery tank and spewed out underneath the headlight, down onto the plastic and stained it. :?

Hmm. No coolant leak, and it's coming from both headlights and the area below the Honda "H." The peanut butter seems to work when I tested a small patch. Fingers crossed....

Hmm. No coolant leak, and it's coming from both headlights and the area below the Honda "H." The peanut butter seems to work when I tested a small patch. Fingers crossed.... :oops: Sorry about that, I thought it was just under the pictured area, I should have payed more attention to your question.

Good Luck.

Just out of curiosity, did this happen immediately following maintenance or service, or did you notice it the morning after a trip? Is it continuing to happen?

Just FYI:

Last year, when I had service done at an out-of-town Honda dealer, I couldn't wait for the "courtesy" car wash they do. Later, I discovered they had unnecessarily topped off my fluids - including putting water in my windshield reservoir and overfilling my coolant recovery tank with, (hopefully Honda) coolant.

These fluids got dripped over my engine compartment, and splashed around by the fan and belts. My plastic fenders ( recently treated with 303) looked fine, but part of the engine cover, my headlamp lenses, the hoses, and later the lower windshield, later started manifesting a film and whitish residue that didn't easily come off. I had to wash the engine compartment and clean the hoses with WD-40 (not my favorite way to spend a morning).

Has that appeared on more than one panel? Do you normally treat the panels with any kind of protectant like 303? Maybe it could be due to exposure to UV.. Ive always sort of worried about the long term effects of UV & acid rain on the plastics of our Elements

Hey, I had the same issue with my E and first tried peanut butter with minimal results. The next day it seems the oils from the peanut butter had time to absorb in the plastic panel and made the stain less noticeable. Today I followed the above treatment with mothers back to black sprayed directly on the panels and let it sit while I waxed the rest of my car. It still has a small amount of fading under both headlights but I'm confident a few more applications will result in 100% coverage and removal. Just be patient and apply all your products in the shade and allow them time to absorb in the plastic you'll be fine! Good luck