Household paint on a car ... What to do?

[MikeSoFlo]

So a buddy of mine calls me up to have my come by and look at this Jeep. He was driving on the highway and a paint can must have fallen out of a truck and got all over his truck. See the attached pictures. 

 

Here's my idea ... 

Strip Wash 

Here's where I'm thinking crazy ? ... I can pick some of it off with my finger nail so I'm thinking if I wash the car with a brush rather than a soft mitt, I can get most of it off. I will introduce fine scratches and swirl marks but I'm going to need to do a complete correction anyway so why not, it may make removing the paint easier. 

Clay

Heavy Compound on a Microfiber Cutting Pad 

if that doesn't work ... start with 3000 Sandpaper wet and work my way down to 2000 wet if needed.

Then go back to the Compounds and Paint Correction. 

 

He knows that WORSE CASE is the car will need to be repainted so I can get aggressive. 

 

What do you all think? Any ideas ... 

Edited July 24, 2018 by MikeSoFlo

[BrianT]

whatever type of paint that is, it needs to be addressed tonight.  The longer its on there the likely hood it isn't coming off.   If it's to the point of you sanding it, take it in to get painted, you'd be wasting your time.  He's also gonna need fender liners and I'm not sure how to get it off the plastic trim.  MF pad for sure and a compound should (fingers crossed) get you where it needs to be.

[falcaineer]

Question for more experienced detailers, but thinking a little outside the box, would a plastic razor blade help get someone of it off the paint?

[shane@detailedreflections]

23 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Question for more experienced detailers, but thinking a little outside the box, would a plastic razor blade help get someone of it off the paint?

 

It could. We sometimes use plastic blades and tar remover for stubborn spots. I agree that the longer it sits, the worse it’ll be. 

 

And plastic blades are sometbing every detailer should have. A box of 100 is literally dollars. And the uses are endless. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by shane@detailedreflections

[RayS]

21 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Question for more experienced detailers, but thinking a little outside the box, would a plastic razor blade help get someone of it off the paint?

The plastic razor blade is a good idea.  I was able to get some house paint drips off a car with them.  I used some car soap as a lubricant and the plastic razor blade slid under the paint, no scratches.  I recently got some tree sap off my truck with same technique, but had forgotten about the paint drips from years ago until @falcaineer reminded me of it.

[falcaineer]

27 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Question for more experienced detailers, but thinking a little outside the box, would a plastic razor blade help get someone of it off the paint?

 

Ok, not "someone" of it ☺️ Stupid auto correct.

[rrmccabe]

I would try something like mineral spirits on the inside of the trim  to see if that softens it.

 

[MikeSoFlo]

1 hour ago, BrianT said:

whatever type of paint that is, it needs to be addressed tonight.  The longer its on there the likely hood it isn't coming off.   If it's to the point of you sanding it, take it in to get painted, you'd be wasting your time.  He's also gonna need fender liners and I'm not sure how to get it off the plastic trim.  MF pad for sure and a compound should (fingers crossed) get you where it needs to be.

It's been on there a few days already. My hope for it is that I can scratch some off with my finger nail so I think the plastic blade idea below might work! 

 

The plastic and fender liners are going to be tricky. I think for the fender liners I can use a hard bristled brush and for the plastic trim, a little softer and then hit it with trim restore. 

 

1 hour ago, falcaineer said:

Question for more experienced detailers, but thinking a little outside the box, would a plastic razor blade help get someone of it off the paint?

Great idea! I have from when I used to lay graphics, I'm going to do a test spot tomorrow with some DS for lube. 

 

26 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

I would try something like mineral spirits on the inside of the trim  to see if that softens it.

 

I thought maybe mineral spirits or goo gone.

 

Thanks for the good ideas everyone. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by MikeSoFlo

[MikeSoFlo]

Has anyone used this or think it might work? This with plastic razors ...

 

Rapid Remover Vinyl Letter Remover 32 oz. Bottle with Sprayer Adhesive Remover for Vinyl Wraps Graphics Decals Stripes https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSFD50H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_m9NvBbVSN2S4Q

[Rich]

Latex paint I hope!!   I got line paint on my black Vette years ago.  Took a lot of elbow grease and clay bar and got it all off.  Fortunately, I had plenty of wax on the car so that helped. But the wheel wells were a pain.  I did manage to scrape and clean it all off.  Those plastic blades are a life saver. 

[ZMAN024]

You may be surprised at how much may come off with bug and tar remover and a clay bar.  Try using some B&T to soften the paint and then follow up with a clay bar to grab and remove it.  As an alternate, you may also get some good results with the interior deep clean eraser or a Mr. Clean Eraser.

[MikeSoFlo]

1 minute ago, Rich said:

Latex paint I hope!!   I got line paint on my black Vette years ago.  Took a lot of elbow grease and clay bar and got it all off.  Fortunately, I had plenty of wax on the car so that helped. But the wheel wells were a pain.  I did manage to scrape and clean it all off.  Those plastic blades are a life saver. 

 

Unfortunately it happened on the highway so the type of paint is unknown. I'm going to take a stab at it since I can scrap it off, it's likely latex and not something more industrial like line paint.

[Chris@Adams]

I would try Goo Gone and a plastic razor blade, when finished re-wax or apply PS.

[rrmccabe]

10 hours ago, MikeSoFlo said:

I thought maybe mineral spirits or goo gone.

 

 

Goo Gone is pretty safe but I have not had much luck with it removing stuff like paint. Its more for glue and adhesives.  Goof off is designed for paint removal but I would be afraid to use it except inside the fender well possibly.  It will likely flatten the plastic.

 

Don't wait. Do it as soon as possible and I might consider using insurance as well.  They likely would replace the trim.

[mc2hill]

I would recommend the Clay Mitt over the Clay Bar.  I have done a few cars that had paint from a water tower, and it was not fun with just a bar.  And it required polishing to remove the marring from the clay.  I agree with the plastic razor blades, and I would suggest a plastic putty knife for wheel wells.  Good luck!