Gasoline Spill on my Mustang

RED2001GT

RED2001GT

Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Mar 18, 2003
270
2
18
#1
I tried starting my 02 Mustang this evening and the engine shut itself off about 5 to 10 seconds after I started the car. I tried restarting it and the engine shut itself off again for a second time. I looked at my gas guage and I realized that it was empty and that there was no gasoline in the tank.
I ended up pouring about 1/2 gallon of regular gasoline in the tank that I had sitting inside a plastic gasoline reserve canister in the garage. While pouring the gasoline into the tank, quite a bit of gas leaked out from the base of the canister's nozzle screw-in cap and on to the exterior paint of my car. I would say that about 1/3 of a gallon of gasoline spilled on the quarter panel and on the side of the rear bumper on my car. The right rear quarter panel and the side of the rear bumper really got "SOAKED" with gasoline.
I hosed down the areas that were soaked with the gasoline with cold water from my garden hose and I then gently wiped down the quarter panel and side of the rear bumper with a soft cotton undershirt. The car was dirty and it was almost dark out, but I was able to clean off most of the greasy gasoline off the paint.
It was very cold out and I didn't use any soap or anything like that to clean the area where the gasoline spilled. I only used cold water from the garden hose and a soft cotton undershirt to wash up and wipe down the areas where the gasoline spilled. I just got the entire rear bumper repainted about 2 months ago. The quarter panel still has the original factory paint on it.
I would like to know whether or not the gasoline that was spilled all over the quarter panel and on the entire side of the right rear bumper will pose any threat to the paint? Do you think that the paint on the quarter panel and on the bumper will deteriorate or crack from the gasoline spilling on it even though I wiped down the areas as best as I could? How much damage did I really do to the paint from all the 1/3 of a gallon of gasoline that was accidently spilled on the quarter panel and on the side of the rear bumper from filling my tank?
 

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#2
It basically just stripped off the coat of wax/polish you had.

Just wash the car with your regular car wash soap and reapply your favorite wax or polish. I've spilt gas numerous times on my car, mostly from faulty pumps, and you wouldn't ever know it happened if you look at the car.

Now, brake fluid is another story....
 
#3
I really dont think it shoudl have done much damage if any at all since you washed it right off and wiped most of it off. I tend to spill gas out of mine alot since i use my grandparents tank and top it off until it wont hold anymore. I just wipe it off and it hasnt eatin my paint yet. the only fluid i know causes alot of damage fast is brake fluid.
 
#4
I live up here in New England and its very difficult to wash my car with soap and water during the very cold winter months. I usually only hose my car down with a pressure washer at the car wash during the winter time when it gets dirty. I also use my garden hose to wash the car down in the winter time.
Will any harm be done to the paint in its current state from the gasoline spilling on it if I don't wash my car immedialtely by hand with soap and water and just wait until the warmer weather comes in order to hand wash my car?
I already cleaned the gasoline off the paint, but I only hosed down the quarter panel and the side of the rear bumper down with cold water before I wiped it with the soft cotton undershirt. That's as far as I went to clean the gasoline off the paint. Is this enough or do I have to hand wash the area with soap and water in order to prevent the gasoline from doing any damage to the paint? It's too cold up here right now for me to hand wash my car. The cold weather will last for the next few months up until the end of March to the beginning of April. That's when I will probably be able to hand wash my car again with soap and water.
Until then, I will only be able to pressure wash it at the car wash or just hose it down in my driveway. Is this okay?
 
#6
You can just use a detailer or soup down the area where the gas spilt. Cars with clearcoats really don't have to worry about gas spills. Gas can yellow paint overtime if it gets spilled on the paint alot and isnt cleaned off. Just clean it off and it will be okay....even if it still smells like gas.
 
#8
san~man said:
You are worrying far too much....it's not like brake fluid or something really caustic or corrosive spilled on the paint. Whatever gas was there is long gone when you hosed it off.

Just spray on a quick detailer and then apply a coat of wax or polish.
Click to expand...

That's good to know. I was worried there for a while. I didn't know that gasoline easily comes off the paint when it gets hosed off with water. The hose that I used didn't have one of those pressure nozzles that screw on the end of it, so I used my fingers on the hose's nozzle in order to create water pressure when I hosed off the gasoline. I assume that this using my fingers on the hose's nozzle created enough water pressure that was needed to get enough of the gasoline off the paint before I wiped the metal panel and the plastic bumper down with the cotton undershirt? And I assume that wiping down the gasoline with the cotton t-shirt was enough to get all or most of the gasoline off the paint?
As for spraying a quick detailer and then a coat of wax on the paint, I will have to wait for warmer weather to come before I am able to hand wash the car again which will be in the end of March or sometime in April. We will be having freezing cold weather from now up until around April.
 
#9
To make you feel better:

I once went to a self serve gas station and proceeded to "fill her up." This particular station was one that still had the "lock" for the nozzle in place, meaning you could pull the lever on the nozzle up all the way and the "lock" would engage so you don't have to stand there and hold it while it fills. So, I lock the nozzle and go into the convenience store and grab a drink.

While inside, someone comes in and says "Is that your black Mustang?" to which I answer "yes." The person then tells me that the gas is overflowing out of my gas tank, so I run outside and see gas flowing all down the side of my car and onto the ground. :bang: I went inside to bitch, since my gas bill was like $4X.XX, and at that time super was under or around $2.00 a gallon. Do the math, and I pumped over 20 gallons into my 15 gallon tank :notnice: They get the owner on the phone and he basically tells me it's my fault and that he won't refund me the amount for the spillage. Needless to say I was PISSED and never went back there again. :mad: I ended up washing off the gas with HIS water hose station and left.

So my friend, you spilled 1/3 of a gallon while I (or the pump) spilled over 5 gallons. If you were to ever see my car, you wouldn't know it ever happened.
 
#10
san~man said:
To make you feel better:

I once went to a self serve gas station and proceeded to "fill her up." This particular station was one that still had the "lock" for the nozzle in place, meaning you could pull the lever on the nozzle up all the way and the "lock" would engage so you don't have to stand there and hold it while it fills. So, I lock the nozzle and go into the convenience store and grab a drink.

While inside, someone comes in and says "Is that your black Mustang?" to which I answer "yes." The person then tells me that the gas is overflowing out of my gas tank, so I run outside and see gas flowing all down the side of my car and onto the ground. :bang: I went inside to bitch, since my gas bill was like $4X.XX, and at that time super was under or around $2.00 a gallon. Do the math, and I pumped over 20 gallons into my 15 gallon tank :notnice: They get the owner on the phone and he basically tells me it's my fault and that he won't refund me the amount for the spillage. Needless to say I was PISSED and never went back there again. :mad: I ended up washing off the gas with HIS water hose station and left.

So my friend, you spilled 1/3 of a gallon while I (or the pump) spilled over 5 gallons. If you were to ever see my car, you wouldn't know it ever happened.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I feel a whole lot better now after you posted in here about your experience at the gas station. It's nice to know that the paint job will be okay on my Mustang and that I didn't do any damage to the paint job from all the gasoline that I spilled on the rear quarter panel and on the side of the rear bumper. I figured that because gasoline is an oil, it will do nothing more than lubricate and leave an oily film on the paint job. Most of the oily film that was on the paint on my Mustang was wiped after I hosed the car. It was dark out, but when I inspected the area that I wiped down under a flood light in my driveway, I didn't notice any gasoline on the paint. I think that I wiped off most of gasoline that spilled on the paint.
I guess that everything will be okay now with my Mustang when comparing to what happened to your car at the gas station.
Thanks for your reassurance.
 
#15
san~man said:
Ya, the oily residue is the reason you should wash it if at all possible. However, a quick detailer will probably do the trick, then a re-wax after it's clean.

Glad I could put you at ease.
Click to expand...

What does the oily residue do to the paint? Can it crack or strip the paint or make the paint dull?
 
#18
san~man said:
Ya, look at it now....it's some aweful ass yellow color. Dogs must seek that bad boy out when it's bathroom time. :eek: Ewww.
Click to expand...

:( Just what I would expect from a black mustang owner(the anti-yellow) Now I have to go crying to yellowmustangregistry and tell everyone what you said. You just wish you had a color:banana: you neutral.







also j/k I don't mind any color mustang. Black being one of my favorites for the reflections.
 
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