Removing house paint

[PaulH]

My better half dragged her van along the garage entrance and it now has a nice off white go-faster stripe down one side. Is it possible to remove this ourselves or is this a job for professionals?

I don`t know if this is relevant but although I`m new to the idea of detailing my cars I already own the PC buffer you guys recommend so highly. :yes:

Thanks,
Paul

[97F1504x4]

Ok I may get a lot of flack for this but it works great as long as you are careful. Get yourself some terry cloth towels and some Acetone. You will also want to keep a bucket of soapy water with DAWN and the hose handy. Now pour some acetone onto the rag and begin to rub it on the white scrub paint it evaporates pretty fast so work quickly. You want to one small area at a time. After the paint has been removed immediately hit it with the wash rag and soapy water then rinse. This is going to be time consuming but it will work. After the scrub paint is gone be sure to polish and wax after washing completely.

Maybe some of the guys here know of a safer way. I have never had any problems doing this though.

Richard

[jaybs02]

Hi Paul, Welcome
Sorry to hear about the racing stripe. Is it just paint transfer or was there any damage to the paint below. If it`s paint transfer then you be able to get it out.

You said you have a PC what products and pads(if any) do you currently have to work with.

If you have a picture that would help as well

"J"

[97F1504x4]

Is it just paint transfer or was there any damage to the paint below. If it`s paint transfer then you be able to get it out.

You said you have a PC what products and pads(if any) do you currently have to work with.

If you have a picture that would help as well

"J"

That is a great point and one i should have thought about.

Richard

[Beemerboy]

Mineral spirits will take it off the same way that the suggestion for removing with acetone...that`s pretty aggressive stuff for a first timer....then I would clay to make sure you picked up everything....since you have a PC some polish would be my next process with a polishing pad...then a sealant / wax or both its your choice by hand....of course your going to want and do the whole van then......LOL

[budman3]

Any pad and polish with the PC will remove the paint as long as it is ontop of the vehicles paint. It may take a little time but it might be the best way without harming anything. The problem with Acetone is that it could stain plastic trim or discolor any metal badging if it were to drip. I have used the PC and even with a light polish, removed many paint transfers with no problems at all.

[PaulH]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. It gives me hope that this is something I can tackle myself.

I checked the van. It looks like the car paint is intact and the house paint is on the surface. The worst is on the plastic trim along the door but there is a little on the door itself.

Is this the order I should try...

1) Mineral spirit or acetone (soapy water etc).
2) Wash and dry the van
3) Detailing clay
4) Polish the car.

The PC model I have is the 7336SP. I only have the white polishing pad that came with the unit.

Any recommendations for products for (3) and (4) and any third-party pads for the PC that might be better for the job.

Thanks again,
Paul

[Dutch]

If the house paint is water based..some hot soapy water may do the trick.As the others said....Acetone, MEK and or lacquer thinner should work..they dry fast and leave very little residue...
Minerial spirits (paint reducer) will leave some residue that will have to be cleaned off.

[Mr. Clean]

JMO, but were it my paint, I would:
1) Wash
2) Clay
3) use a cleaner/wax with a good chemical based cleaners, or better yet a chemically based polish ie. Klasse`s AIO

I would use those steps before I resorted to mineral spirits/acetone etc.

OTC clay choices are fairly limited. Either the Mother`s clay kit or ClayMagic clay kit should suffice. I haven`t tried Meguiar`s offerings.

If you buy the Mother`s kit, it will include a small sample bottle of their cleaner/wax. There will be more than enough to do the entire side of the vehicle.