[Closed] Removing spray can paint from car bodywork.

Sorry, no idea about removal. Can you make it blend in?

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don't use acetone. it will strip/dull the paint. I would get a car detailer to remove it. Chances are the layer of grime on the car already will have stopped it from sticking so a clay bar and some compound will get it off.

We used to wash it off with thinners then polish it up.

Clay bar will bring it off without damage. Get the type what you use water for the lubricant.
Then give the whole car a good going over before a polish and wax.
Get more info from a detailers website.

Thanks a lot. I'll have a go with the clay bar in the morning.

Yeah as above, if you use anything too strong it could cause problems.

Hopefully the car was in need of a wash so the spray paint won't stick very well.

Depends on the paint, sometimes WD40 can shift it, might be worth a try, it can’t harm the actual car finish.

You know who did it so....spray them pink.

Some scrote has sprayed pink paint on my wife’s car. All over the rear and a some on the side. A quick Google says to use either acetone or petrol.

Bit harsh really. I'd let the courts decide.

I don't think I'd be wanting to DIY it unless I knew what I was doing. Do you know what type of paint it is? If nothing else maybe test on an inconspicuous area first. You don't want to make it worse.

In the IT world there's little worse to hear than "I had this problem, so I did this and this and that and then this and it didn't work, can you help?" because they've invariably turned a 30-second fix into half a day's work.

Yeah thanks Cougar. That's why I thought I'd wait and ask first. Google throws up a few different ways to remove it. I went out to the car a while later and my finger nail easily brought a bit off. Seems to be just shite rattle can stuff they've robbed from BuM Bargains. Thankfully the car hasn't been washed for a month.😀

Fair enough then. (-:

Most solvents should remove it - try tar and glue remover.

I'd not bother with solvents. Spray paint is much softer than the car's genuine paint, especially before it's cured (24-48 hours), so you should be able to get it off with either t-cut or 'scratch remover' which is just coarser t-cut. There are loads of fine abrasives in Halfords - I'd probably be gently using 2000 wet and dry, and then t-cutting the shine back onto the original paint. But then, I've done it on my own botched respray jobs enough times 🙂

Wouldn’t a solvent remove from the current layer where as an abrasive would cut into it so the route should be solvent then if that didn’t work then on to abrasive?

Unless you know specifically which solvent will remove the top paint whilst leaving the original paint unharmed, you could end up with a proper disaster on your hands.

I'd wash the car to get any grit off and then just use t-cut.

I don’t think I’d be wanting to DIY it unless I knew what I was doing. Do you know what type of paint it is? If nothing else maybe test on an inconspicuous area first. You don’t want to make it worse.

Disappointingly helpful response from Cougar. I expected him to be telling the OP he should have had a backup of his wife's car stored offsite that he could restore from.

Weirdly this happened to my brothers car
I think he used nail polish remover
Came off quite well but took aaaaaaages.
And it was pink paint and they did it twice but left it about 10 weeks inbetween.
No idea who done it either.

Presumably if you give it a good waxing afterwards this will ensure any repeat attempts will clean off.

Tar and bug remover is diluted IPA (about 10% IIRC, the rest is water with some surfactants). If you wanted to try it, then just DIY it with some brake cleaner, water and washing up liquid. It will completely strip any wax and polish off the car though, and can start on the clearcoat/paint itself too so I'd be wary of letting it sit for too long or using it for a long time, the intention is you wipe it on, and wipe it off again taking the tar with it and the trace of IPA left just evaporates, not leave it soaking.

Clay should remove it, not something I've used it for but it claims to remove bugs, grit, brake dust and paint over spray and it's always got rid of everything else. So just remember to:

Wash the area thoroughly first to remove any other dirt, or the clay will turn to sandpaper.

Keep it wet. The stuff that works with water is easier in this regard, although I presume there's a downside other than Meguiars not selling you a £5 bottle of wax to it with.

Kneed the clay regularly to keep crap away from the surface.

You will need to polish and wax it properly afterwards and the clay will remove everything that's not the original paint.

If the car isn’t valuable clay it and put some sealant on it yourself. Cost of the process will be about £20-30. You can also polish in between but, why bother if it’s not valuable.

If it is valuable, get a detailer to sort it out.

Tar and bug remover is diluted IPA (about 10% IIRC, the rest is water with some surfactants). I

Not the Autoglym stuff - that's got naptha and xylene and pgbe and some very dilute slightly acidic stuff, can't recall what. Don't think it'll do much to dried paint though. If you aren't confident about clay bar, you could try one of the prewax cleaners, like the mothers gold step 1 stuff. Takes a while to get stuff off but usually gets there eventually and is a lot safer/easier to use than clay bar.

Is clay bar likely to help remove ingrained brake dust from alloys? They are only a few years old but cannot shift it with wheel cleaner, stiff brushes, even tried a steam cleaner...

I'd use a polisher and some G3

Thanks all. We didn't have time to go and get any of the things that's been suggested today but I've had a quick go with some old T Cut metallic stuff I found and it's fetching it off with a shed load of rubbing. Will get a clay bar tomorrow, which I have used before on my car to get rid of tar spots but ended up just using white spirit.(not arsed about my car)😀
Better still, our neighbour has sent us a clip from his CCTV and shows the scrote who we all knew who did it. Plus two other dopey ****ers.

Police, then.

For our alloy wheels use I auto finesse Iron remover (Foxy recommended it), spray on, leave till wheels turn purple, wash off with warm soapy water and wheels sparkly and new, only down side is it stinks like week old dishwater and shows up Mrs M’s kerbing skills!

Avoid T-Cut, especially if you have to rub it a lot. It is a very aggressive and non diminishing compound therefore can easily dull your paintwork.

I'd get some panel wipe or diluted isopropyl alcohol and try that first.

spooky_b329

Is clay bar likely to help remove ingrained brake dust from alloys? They are only a few years old but cannot shift it with wheel cleaner, stiff brushes, even tried a steam cleaner…

Probably not. Try using a strong iron fallout remover like Bilt Hamber Korrosol.