After an awful day at work, seeing a spray paint on the body can be quite annoying. It might have happened unknowingly on the road, but paint mishaps can be a big deal if not well handled.
Your first reaction should be how to get paint off your car as fast as possible. You also wouldn’t want to spend resources sorting the issues out if you allow it to linger. Hence, let’s reveal to you various ways on how to get paint off a car.
1. Water and Soap Remedy
The first DIY hack that you should consider is using soap and water to remove paint splatter from the car. That depends on how fresh the paint it is.
The soap and water remedy works well if it is freshly sprayed paint, and it hasn’t dried. However, depending on the weather, too, this can become worse. The paint will dry faster in sunny weather and a little slower in wet weather.
You should first run your fingers over the paint. If it comes off easily, then soap and water can work to get the paint off your car. Here are the steps below on how to get paint off a car with soap and water.
Step 1: Make a Mixture Of Soap and Water
Get a clean bucket, pour warm water, and use the soap to work up a rich lather. Get a clean rag, preferably a soft, cotton material. Using a dirty cloth may make the issue harder to solve. Also, there could be dirt residues that can be abrasive and scratch your car while you are trying to ssget the paint off your vehicle.
Step 2: Softly Scrub
You shouldn’t apply force as it won’t get the paint off a car. It would be best if you start slowly and gently from the edges.
Remove it gently until it comes off totally. Don’t be in a hurry to clean it off as it could make it smudgy, which can cause it to take longer to come off.
Step 3: Rinse the Rag often
Rinse the Rag, clean a little, rinse again, and clean. That makes it easier to work with. If the paint came off with ease, it might have been another car’s paint that touched yours, or it may just be freshly sprayed.
Step 4: Dry
When all the paint is gone. Gently clean it for the last time, drying it off in the process. Check for scratches or rough-looking lines that would need repairs.
2. Make use of Lacquer thinner
You may discover that the paint is already too dry. That may mean that nail polish remover won’t be effective.
You would need to get something stronger. A lacquer thinner is a solvent used to clean resins on wood, and it can also be used in the process on how to get paint off a car. Here are the easy steps to remove it from your car with this method.
Step 1: Get the Lacquer Thinner and a Clean
Apply a little thinner to the clean clothing, but remember to keep clean, warm water handy. Clean it in small portions. After a while, you will notice the car paint will start coming off. Use the warm water to wash it off immediately, so it doesn’t erode your car paint.
When using this method, you should start with a small amount of thinner. You can increase in quantity if a minute portion is not sufficient to get the paint off a car. It is easier to manage the effects of a smaller part than that bigger one.
Step 2: Wash of the Residue of the Lacquer Thinner Solvent
After cleaning, thoroughly wash off any remaining thinner on the body of the vehicle. Any residues can spoil your original car paint. You may then have to spend money repainting the whole car.
3. Use Nail Polish Remover Option
If the soap and water option fails, the nail polish remover can be your savior. Get a non-acetone based nail polish remover. Acetone can scratch or make your car body rough. The things needed are nail polish remover and a clean, soft rag.
To get the paint off the car with this method, follow this guide.
- Fold a small piece of the Rag, dab it with nail polish remover and clean the area that is affected by the paint.
- Clean a little at a Time. Then fold another side of the Rag, dab it with nail polish remover, and continue cleaning. Do this till you remove all the paint scuff from a car.
- Wash off the cleaned part with water to prevent the nail polish remover from spoiling your car body paint. If in the process of cleaning the paint, you discover that your car’s main paint is coming off, stop cleaning. Instead, wash off the affected part with water.
4. Use Gasoline
Gasoline is another common DIY remedy to get paint off a car. This chemical is inexpensive and easy to get. It works almost like the nail polish remover. To remove splattered paint from your vehicle, follow this process below.
- Just dab a small side of clothing, use it to scrub the affected part gently.
- Don’t exert energy on it as your car’s original paint can come off with it, or it can become rough and dented.
- Keep water handy and wash it off, once you notice that the paint is coming off. When you finish cleaning, wash off the cleaned part with water and dry to prevent it from eating into your car paint.
5. Use a Rubbing Compound
The first tip to working with a rubbing compound is patience.
Apply the rubbing compound on a piece of cloth and gently scrub the affected part in circular motions. You have to be careful and do it slowly to avoid massive damage to the car’s original paint.
Do not be in a hurry to get it done. You could spoil more than you intend to. Try a little portion at a time, but don’t try to do all the affected areas at the same time.
When you are done getting the paint off the car, wax the car to restore its shine and protect it from further damages.
Wrap Up
These remedies do not just work when it is to spray paint, but you can use it to remove house paint from a car. Follow the instructions and the precautions carefully as they will help you have a clean work.
If for any reason, the paint mishap covered a large part of the car, you can consider repainting. As for cleaning, it may not leave it as perfect as it was.
The process of how to remove paint scuff from a car can be easy or slightly tricky. But one doesn’t work, you should the others listed before considering repainting.