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Ideas to remove powder coat overspray?


Ford Fest

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I have a friend that owns a business next to a powder coating company. In their process some of their product becomes airborn and settles on the surround area including cars. I was parked in their lot for 2 hours and realized I had a substantial build up on my car when I hand washed it the following weekend. It had enought grit that the will mitt wouldn't alide on the horizontal panels or glass. I used Megs Clay bar (2 pucks) to remove the build up.

 

Today, my friend has asked that I work on their car that has been exposed to the fallout for the past two years. I think the clay bar might work, but it will be a slow process.

 

Anyone have a better idea to remove the fallout? BTW it is a newer car

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I don't think there is an easier way. I picked up my SUV after it had sat 3 weeks in a warehouse parking lot and saw white flecks of spray paint all over it. Turns out it was carry over from the three shipyards down the road in Tampa. But the only thing that removed it was HOURS of claying, during several sessions. So good luck, but you're in for a rough time.

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:iagree: This is one of the big things clay can help with. But I am anxious to see if others have more thoughts. Two bars does seem excessive, but maybe I'm missing something. Either way, try the new Visco clay kit...the design is made for "one pass" cleaning, so may not take as long as you think.
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:iagree: This is one of the big things clay can help with. But I am anxious to see if others have more thoughts. Two bars does seem excessive, but maybe I'm missing something. Either way, try the new Visco clay kit...the design is made for "one pass" cleaning, so may not take as long as you think.

I used the visco clay and I promise you that it wasn't "one pass" cleaning. More like 25 pass and scrub. Overspray is rugged stuff. Very unfortunate but I feel your pain. OP make sure you polish afterwards because this WILL marr your paint.

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I used the visco clay and I promise you that it wasn't "one pass" cleaning. More like 25 pass and scrub. Overspray is rugged stuff. Very unfortunate but I feel your pain. OP make sure you polish afterwards because this WILL marr your paint.

Hmm. Thanks, Dustin. I'm only going off of Adam's demo at one of the clinics, but I've never tried Visco clay on my cars. Appreciate the warning and advice.

 

Edit: I have clayed, just not with Visco clay yet. Good catch, Dustin...

Edited by falcaineer
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Hmm. Thanks, Dustin. I'm only going off of Adam's demo at one of the clinics, but I've never tried it on my cars. Appreciate the warning and advice.

I meant this for when working with overspray. With normal contaminants, visco clay is very effective. Just still not sure it's a one pass cleaning though. I usually find myself claying in a cross hatch pattern just to make sure I hit everything.

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The powder coat fallout on my car was a pita to remove. After working a small section, the clay was completely black. It took hours to remove the fallout. Again, my car was only there for a couple of hours. My friend's car has been subjected to it for a pcouple of years. I wondered if one of the Nanoskin type pads would be more effective. I've not used anything other than clay. Someone said there is a pad for our orbitals to decontaminate paint as well.

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First off throw away the Megs clay, never mention it in our presence again, that stuff is junk. Anything you can buy at the wallymart or like stores should just remain on the shelves with the exception of a very few items.

 

If you're going to try nanoskin, why not just buy the adams clay gloves. I've tested many and they are all about the same. I like the adams clay bar but you will many of them or maybe you will need a clay bar that is more aggressive.

 

I did a overspray removal on a new black Mercedes a few weeks ago and the adams clay bar did just fine, my arm didn't but that's another story.

 

Make sure you buy enough detail sprayto keep it lubbed.

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I was just going to suggest the same thing with the Clay Mitt.  But I suggest you use it as a first step to take the heaviest stuff off. Then once you get a good bit off, switch to regular clay bar to finish.  Don't use just the mitt unless you're willing to do a full paint correction.  Not that the mitt isn't good, it is.  But it's a mitt and any hard continuous rubbing is going to build up contaminants that can leave fine scratches.  I would probably do one full pass with the mitt, then switch to regular clay.  

 

I'll be interested to see the results.  

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Thank you for the feedback. I'll check out the mitt. How bad is that marring? I have no idea how bad the paint is under the fallout. If I had a paint thickness gauge I would be curious to see how thick the fallout is. Sounds like I need to make a few purchases before starting this project.

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I work at a powder coating company and we call it "permapowder" it is not very fun to remove. I have never had a problem with it on my car (I park about 50 feet from the building). We do have this problem in the shop on some vintage sleds that the shop owner has stored. I have to clay and polish them before use. I have always wondered about one those clay pads for a polisher sold by other brands. Plan on polishing after any clay steps whether bar or mitt

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Hey thanks Tate for validating this. Our cars were parked next to the building. I've seen where the shop was dumping whatever powder residue out in a field behind the shop. It didn't take long for the pile to grow. I would think they are required to clean and dispose of the wasted/spent product.

Edited by Ford Fest
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Surprised no one has mentioned it but you can also decontaminate with a microfiber cutting pad. I feel for the level of contamination you are talking about this would be more effective. Process would involve an air compressor to clean the pads often. If you don't have one I would use multiple pads. You will be polishing if you clay bar anyway.

Edited by SumBeach35
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