Removing dried paint splatter from front bumper

[dfoxengr]

I need to get some of this off a car tomorrow and though i`ve searched I couldn`t find much on what solvent I should have available as a last resort. Should it be lacquer thinner or paint thinner or what?



I wanted to have some on hand just incase no other methods work.



The car is a newer accord and is clearcoated.



Thanks.

[Richard Grasa]

Do you know what kind of paint it is and how bad it is? I wouldn`t use any kind of thinner on it, you risk doing permanent damage to the paint, even if it`s not immediately apparent, it can cause issues weeks or months down the road. Mineral spirits left to dwell a while may soften it up enough to work it off without doing any damage. If it`s not to bad, you may be able to clay it off or scrape it off with a plastic razor blade. What kind of paint got splattered will make a difference how difficult it will be to remove as well.

[dfoxengr]

I have no clue unfortunately. Was going to start with clay and step up from there

[dfoxengr]

Is goof off bad for clear coats?

[dfoxengr]

Ok so I think it was some sort of house paint. Maybe latex.

I started by dabbing on Turtle Wax bug&tar since it has petroleum distillates and I`ve used it on clear before. I figured this would loosen it up some.

Let that sit for about 10 minutes and then got out the power washer which got about 75% of the paint off. The rest I had to use my yellow bug sponge from AG and a little bit of Meg`s ScratchX 2.0 on a mf towel.



It could be scratched off with a fingernail but that would`ve taken forever and probably put small scratches in the clear.



Not too bad all-in-all.

[Ron Ketcham]

If is truly was "latex", then having the vehicle in the shade and cool, most any "all purpose" cleaner, allowed to dwell and kept wet, would have broken it loose.

A quality "all purpose" that is not "loaded" with butyl cellosolve surfactants or sodium hydroxide components will "crawl" under the paint overspray, as it breaks down the resin system of the latex, and most should come off easily.

There are variables of course, such as "how long on the surface", "was the overspray present when the skin temp of the paint and the air temperatures were very hot", etc.

We often forget that "dwell" time, allowing the products to work is very important to obtaining the required results.

Which is why that knowing some basic chemistry, like what is a butyl cellosolve, just how much sodium hydroxide can be a safe percentage in a product. (ones that are very "active", but damaging, such as Castrol`s Super Clean, or some versions of Simple Green, some "locally made brands of such" have a very high percentage of each or both, so live and learn.

Anyone in the business for more than a few years, or read some posts on forums, know that either of the mentioned "name brands" may do some removal of some things very quickly.

But!!!! At what price in the long run? What costs may be to the detailer in regards to their local detailing reputation, etc, just to "get it done quick and out the door"?

Grumpy

[dfoxengr]

So basically ron, don`t use those two products for anything right?

[David Fermani]

When you don`t know the cause/origin of the paint problem, try to have as many differnt kinds of solvents, cleaners, clay and sandpaper on hand.



Goof-off is a great and powerful solvent, but from my understanding isn`t very safe for automotive paint.



MSDS: http://www.goofoffstainremover.com/s...msds_91312.pdf



Ron - Xylene isn`t a paint safe component in solvents right?

[Addison007]

I think you got many solutions for that but i wanna say that if you post the picture of the car`s bumper. Then you will get the prefect solution or product suggestion for your problem. Because so many different suggestion and confuse the mind. i hope you got what I am saying to you. gud luck.