Drove through wet paint. Yikes! help?

[99Cobradude]

My first post here, but I think I`ll be spending some time here, this appears to be a great site.



Anyways, I tried a couple of searches and perused a few pages of threads, but couldn`t find anything applicable to my crappy situation (though this must have been covered more than once, at some point).



Driving home from work late one night, I ran through what I discovered the next morning was a puddle of white (latex?) paint; it was unavoidable and apparently a recent spill by some dork contractor who can`t load his truck;) . The knobby tires on my 2001 Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 (red) spewed white paint up both sides of the truck, and the car that was in front of me spewed a mist of white paint on my hood. I HAD to attend my classes (every day) and I work 2nd shift, so the stuff dried real well by the time the weekend rolled around. Classes are over and I finally have some time to tackle this tragedy;) .



I own an el-cheapo orbital buffer from Wally World, and I use Carnuba wax on the truck. The truck is a daily driver and kept outside. I was hoping someone here could give me some tips on how to remove the freaking zillions of tiny white spots from my truck without trashing the clearcoat.



Thanks very much in advance,

Eric

[jrush]

that really sucks. Sorry to hear about that!



How big are the spots?



might have to get some solvent based cleaner fot that.

[BradE]

Mineral Spirits will do the trick and not harm the clear. :xyxthumbs

[Lowejackson]

Follow up with clay :up



Steven

[99Cobradude]

Hey, you guys are fast!



Thanks alot, I will try the mineral spirits.

Had a guy recommend wet sanding:eek: . I said "won`t that remove my clear coat or severely damage it?".



He says "nah."



The spots go from quarter sized (splatter shaped, of course) down to almost invisible (until you look closely).



To get tham all, I will have to just about wash the truck with the mineral spirits; here`s my plan:



1) Wash

2) allow to dry

3)apply mineral spirits with ? (MF towel, buffer with terry cloth bonnet???)

4)wash

5)maybe clay, maybe not

6)wax er up



Sound OK??

BTW, I read a couple threads about the CWB. Works OK, IMO, but chamois is better. I actually prefer my synthetic chamois to my genuine ones; but I`m going to Costco this weekend to grab some MF towels and try them out.



Thanks again!

[2wheelsx2]

DON`T get the Costco MF`s, if they are the 3M ones. You`ll be disappointed. They are only good for drying non-critical surfaces, as they lint like mad. They are waffle weave, so they absorb water very well, as long as you don`t wipe. If you wipe, I`m afraid the lack of a nap will drag contaminants across your paint. I got them as my first crack at MF`s and feel that they are a waste of money. I then got some Neatitems and they are fantastic. There are many sources of good MF`s, but Costco is not one of them. Do a search and you will see. I have only tried Neatitems, but Pakshak, some stuff on eBay, CMA, TACSCAR, etc.

[BradE]

Had a guy recommend wet sanding . I said "won`t that remove my clear coat or severely damage it?". He says "nah."



A word of advice, never let this person touch your car. :)

[jerry@robs]

pardon my ignorance, but what exactly are mineral spirits? we (here in Manila) don`t get places like Pep Boys or Home Depot wherein everything can be searched and purchased easily.. thanks.

[Marshall]

Mineral spirits is a fine quality thinner for use in reducing most brush-applied alkyd and oil paints, varnishes, and enamels. It improves brushing qualities and cleans brushes, rollers, and spray equipment. It removes dirt and grease from surfaces before painting.

[boywonder]

What vendors can Mineral Spirits be gotten from?

[imported_Intel486]

Originally posted by PrinzII

What vendors can Mineral Spirits be gotten from?



I know Home Depot has it. Lowe`s probably has it too or any other hardware store. You also might wanna try some home paint stores. I also wonder if a tile shops would carry it.

[Bigdaddybama]

Be careful with prolonged exposure to Mineral Spirits. I was taking a painting class in college, using oil paints and mineral spirits. I spilled some on my jeans once and didn`t even notice. Next thing I knew my legs started to feel `warm` and I didn`t know why. So I just brushed it off as psychological. Then it kept getting hotter. I finally went to the restroom to look and my legs had a `reddish` look to them. I washed them with soap as well as possible, and a couple days later I had some pretty bad chemical burns on my legs.



So be careful about letting it contact your skin for too long. I still have light scars on my legs from where it made contact.



BE CAREFUL, thats all. I`d hate for you to not know and get it all over your hands and next thing you know you have severe chemical burns.

[jerry@robs]

thanks for the info... :)

[TooSixy]

Can`t a clay bar also aid in removing paint like that? :nixweiss

[WeinerXXX]

There was a fine mist of white latex on my g/f`s black car that had been there for years.. unbelievably some mothers clay took it right off.. might want to try that before a harsher chemical alternative..