[deadbodyman]

I was on my suppliers truck truck a few weeks ago and saw what looked like an accupunture needle and thought it would be perfect for cleaning my guns and bought it...When I opened it I found it had little, hairlike barbs on it ,it even stuck itself to my finger.No way would this work for cleaning out the small holes in my gun so it just sat on my desk...Useless....
Well ,I was painting a bumper cover (silver) and some black trash landed in the wet clear ,sticking out like a sore thumb.There was about five pieces in the clear and no way I could keep going ...Thinking I would have to wait for the clear to dry and blend some color in and start over again I wasnt too happy about it also putting off the delivery an extra day is something I really hate doing...I remembered that dirt pic I bought and being a hail Mary attempt, I tried it before giving up,I wasnt expecting much...
I read the directions (believe it or not) and holly crap it pulled that chunk of trash right out like a magnet without messing up the clear at all,it pulled out every piece of trash in the cover and perfectly...I was able to put the next coat on and still get it done on time....This is a tool that everyone has to have if they do any paint work at all amature or pro its the best thing to come out in years,try it ,you'll love it...made by Evercoat "The dirt pic"

[TucsonJay]

I will needed one of those the day before yesterday!!!

THANKS! :-)

[deadbodyman]

LOL,I've needed one for the last 35 yrs ...just didnt know it.

[mitmaks]

So how does it work?

[mr4speed]

Thanks a lot for the great tip, will have to pick one up!!!

[MARTINSR]

That does look like a nice tool, we all have used all kinds of goofy stuff for that. Of course for the newbe's who hasn't used something like this this is how you do it, you can't just go out to the middle of a panel with your hand floating out there to grab a tiny hair or bug or something or you will likely end up with a bigger mess than if you left it there.

You need to bridge your arm to be able to keep your hand steady enough to pick the piece out without messing up the surrounding clear or paint. I am using the headlamp on this car which of course isn't always going to be there, but the idea is to go from something adjacent to your painted panel to base your bridge. If you have to simply put a few pieces of wide masking tape over the edge of the adjacent panel that will likely have some overspray on the masking paper. But with your elbow out in the middle of a window that is masked up or something like that you can pull this off.



And Mike, about 1978 at the second shop I ever worked at I had the pleasure of working with a great guy who was head painter and he called a hair in the paint "Dirty hairy" and a bug "Bugsy Malone". I'll never forget that.

Brian

[69 widetrack]

Yes Mike...they do work great, I've had mine (the same one) for quite a few years now and as long as you don't loose it (the easiest thing to do is to put it somewhere after your done and forget, because it's so small and all it becomes outta sight outta mind), always put it back in that little tube it comes in. Brian..so true again about the steady hand...if you a few to many pints the night before, you may not want to try and fish crap out of your paint...well that's self explanetory...LOL

[AdvancedRetard]

I have never heard of "The Dirt Pic", and now I'll spend the next few years trying to find one down here in Australia.
I often wish we had the easy access to everything from A to Z that you have at your finger tips over there in America.

Thanks for the post on that handy little item, deadbodyman.

[sedanbob]

Painting the trunk of a car some years ago, just finished the last coat - looked perfect when fluttering along came a small moth! Moth landed right in the middle of the trunk. That would have been bad enough, but unlike a piece of dirt, the moth didn't just sit there... he struggled, dragging his wings through the paint. He finally stopped after crawling a inch and a half across my fresh paint! I waited for everything to dry, then sanded the moth and the trail he left, then several rounds of primer and sanding to eliminate the trail. Shot the color again, waited, shot a second coat. Standing back to admire my work, I was horrified to see another moth, on a collision course with my wet paint! He landed almost exactly where the other moth had. This time I fogged him with more paint. He died stuck in my paint, but at least didn't struggle making it worse. When everything dried this time, I just buffed his butt outta there. I think the tips of his wings might have still be in there, but this was my daily driver, I left it.

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by mitmaks

So how does it work?

Well,its a long thin needle thats very flexable and it has these barbs that are like little hairs that'll stick to anything they come in contact with so just the lightest pressure and the super thin (hairlike) needle bends without messing up the wet paint,then a slight twist and the dirt clings to the barbs its very EZ to use...
The way the barbs work reminds me of how an insects feet work allowing it to climb a wall...just the slighest touch on a piece of trash and you got it..This thing is a "gotta have" item ,the funny thing is, once I felt the barbs (you cant see them) I knew it was useless for cleaning out my guns I threw it on my desk and it sat there for a few weeks I never really thought about using it for paint work until I had to take desprite measures on that bumper cover...It's got me hooked ....like a piece of dirt....good luck with it...

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

That does look like a nice tool, we all have used all kinds of goofy stuff for that. Of course for the newbe's who hasn't used something like this this is how you do it, you can't just go out to the middle of a panel with your hand floating out there to grab a tiny hair or bug or something or you will likely end up with a bigger mess than if you left it there.

You need to bridge your arm to be able to keep your hand steady enough to pick the piece out without messing up the surrounding clear or paint. I am using the headlamp on this car which of course isn't always going to be there, but the idea is to go from something adjacent to your painted panel to base your bridge. If you have to simply put a few pieces of wide masking tape over the edge of the adjacent panel that will likely have some overspray on the masking paper. But with your elbow out in the middle of a window that is masked up or something like that you can pull this off.



And Mike, about 1978 at the second shop I ever worked at I had the pleasure of working with a great guy who was head painter and he called a hair in the paint "Dirty hairy" and a bug "Bugsy Malone". I'll never forget that.

Brian

Its funny how some things stick in your head like butyl tape my guy called dum dum which made it hard to order since nobody else called it that...it ook years to get that out of my head..we always made up names for cars like rustang remember the Pinto runabout??? we called it the runabout a week....ahh yes, then theres the ford exploder..you ever go to the ford dealer and order exploder parts?you'll get a look for sure,that one hasnt got out of my head quite yet...and the list goes on and on...
One of the best things about using this is it only has to touch the trash slightly and the trash sticks to it and the needle is so thin it bends before it goes into the clear so even shaky or or unbridged hands it still works better than anything I ever used and I've used everything from common pins to tweezers...All I can say is WOW !!!

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by sedanbob

Painting the trunk of a car some years ago, just finished the last coat - looked perfect when fluttering along came a small moth! Moth landed right in the middle of the trunk. That would have been bad enough, but unlike a piece of dirt, the moth didn't just sit there... he struggled, dragging his wings through the paint. He finally stopped after crawling a inch and a half across my fresh paint! I waited for everything to dry, then sanded the moth and the trail he left, then several rounds of primer and sanding to eliminate the trail. Shot the color again, waited, shot a second coat. Standing back to admire my work, I was horrified to see another moth, on a collision course with my wet paint! He landed almost exactly where the other moth had. This time I fogged him with more paint. He died stuck in my paint, but at least didn't struggle making it worse. When everything dried this time, I just buffed his butt outta there. I think the tips of his wings might have still be in there, but this was my daily driver, I left it.

Thats friggin funny I dont care who you are...
we have these huge flying bugs (well not here but in upstate NY)called June bugs that'll almost break a windshield went they hit it.when they get stuck in the paint its just ticky enough to keep them from taking off but they can walk anywhere they want if one lands in wet paint on the roof it can walk all the way to the back glass then down the glass and through the trunk leaving tracks like a drunken sailor all the way I think the fumes finally get them in the end...

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by AdvancedRetard

I have never heard of "The Dirt Pic", and now I'll spend the next few years trying to find one down here in Australia.
I often wish we had the easy access to everything from A to Z that you have at your finger tips over there in America.

Thanks for the post on that handy little item, deadbodyman.

Krykie,
I wouldnt do this for just anyone but since your an Aussie and I'm a big rodders life fan, if you cant find one there PM me and I'll send you one,mate

[AdvancedRetard]

Originally Posted by deadbodyman

Krykie,
I wouldnt do this for just anyone but since your an Aussie and I'm a big rodders life fan, if you cant find one there PM me and I'll send you one,mate

deadbodyman, what can I truely say, except: "Thank you for your extremely kind offer, mate".

I will not be a lazy bugger in my search downunder, but if I can't manage to find one, I definately will PM you.
I do have a Paypal account, or I can easily do a direct bank deposit for you, even though you have not asked for anything.

Cheers.

[deadbodyman]

Originally Posted by AdvancedRetard

deadbodyman, what can I truely say, except: "Thank you for your extremely kind offer, mate".

I will not be a lazy bugger in my search downunder, but if I can't manage to find one, I definately will PM you.
I do have a Paypal account, or I can easily do a direct bank deposit for you, even though you have not asked for anything.

Cheers.

its not such a big deal I think it only cost 7.00 ..You can send Aussie money and I can hang it on my office wall...maybe I'll send one to mike at Rodderslife also while I'm at it