Can toothpaste be used to clean yellowed car paint?

[OLena]

If the yellowing is slight, toothpaste can be used for polishing. Methods for daily protection of car paint: 1. Remove dust from the car body: In daily car use, promptly remove dust from the car body to minimize the adsorption of dust caused by static electricity. 2. Rinse promptly after rain: Especially in large cities, the chance of acid rain is relatively high. However, after heavy rain, rain stains on the car body are continuously dried by the sun, leaving acidic substances behind. If not rinsed with clean water promptly, these substances can damage the paint over time. 3. Precautions: Pay special attention when washing the car—do not wash it immediately after a long trip. The correct practice is to wait until the engine cools down before washing to avoid sudden cold water causing damage to the vehicle and to prevent cleaning agents from drying and leaving marks. Additionally, avoid washing the car under direct sunlight or high temperatures for similar reasons, as water droplets under intense sunlight can act like a magnifying glass and harm the car's paint.

[EleanorMarie]

I also encountered the issue of yellowing car paint, and a friend recommended trying toothpaste. After trying it, I found that white toothpaste can indeed remove surface oxidation and stains, just like cleaning headlights with immediate results. But I later realized this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, because toothpaste contains abrasive particles that gradually wear away the clear coat. After that treatment, the car's shine noticeably diminished, and more swirl marks appeared. Now, I've switched to using pH-neutral car wash soap with clay bars, occasionally treating it with professional paint restoration products. Honestly, yellowing of light-colored car paint is unavoidable; it's more practical to apply sealant in advance and try to park in shaded areas whenever possible.

[OChase]

My white car used to always turn yellow, and I tried the toothpaste cleaning method. Back then, I used a cotton cloth dipped in Colgate to repeatedly rub in circles, and the light yellow stains did fade a bit. However, you need to control the pressure and frequency with this method—I've seen many cases where large toothpaste particles damaged the paint. Later, a car detailing professional told me that yellowing mainly falls into two types: UV oxidation requires polishing, while pollutant adhesion can be resolved with cleaning wax. Nowadays, I use a pH-neutral pre-wash rinse followed by a protective car cover. Remember, toothpaste is only a temporary fix—long-term use is like slowly ruining your car's paint.

[VanMakayla]

I conducted an experiment with my old car: on the same yellowed hood, one side was cleaned with toothpaste, and the other with professional cleaning wax. The toothpaste side showed lighter stains after half an hour, but upon closer inspection, there were fine scratches; the cleaning wax side was uniformly shiny. Toothpaste relies on calcium carbonate particles for physical cleaning, which can damage the paint like sandpaper. Yellowing car paint is essentially due to the aging of the clear coat layer, so the solution must address the root cause. I later regularly applied UV-containing ceramic coating and parked away from direct sunlight. If you really want to DIY, you can buy a car clay kit, which is much gentler than toothpaste.