Painted Pinstripe Removal

[RDX07]

Hi! I recently purchased a 2007 Acura RDX that is perfect in every way... Except for a hand-painted pinstripe that I want to remove.


I have already tried soaking the stripe with denatured alcohol and wiping it off with a cloth which didn’t work very well. This method also requires a lot of rubbing which I fear will damage the clear coat.


After doing some research it appears that lacquer thinner is the most effective solvent for this type of work. 90% of people say it works well and is safe on paint if used properly, while the other 10% says it will ruin the clear coat or will cause long-term damage that won’t be noticeable at first. Who is correct? If anyone has removed painted pinstripes with lacquer thinner before, what was your process?

[Calendyr]

Never removed one but I am fairly certain the best way to do it is with a 3M eraser wheel. You could also use a rubber eraser in a pinch. Then polish the area.

Regarding the Lacquer Thinner, it depends on the type of paint on your car. Clearcoats are not lacquer based, so as long as you are careful it should not harm the paint. With that being said, any solvent are a very agressive way to work on paint, so if you can use a mechanical process like an eraser, it would probably be safer.

I am sure someone here as done it before and will be able to give you more specific advice.

[Setec Astronomy]

I have been very successful removing touch-up paint (which is lacquer) from repairs that didn't go they way I wanted (all of them?) without any damage to the clear coat (as Calendyr noted, clearcoat is chemical resistant). That of course, is fresh touch-up, however, I wouldn't hesitate to try some lacquer thinner on your stripes...just don't let it dwell too long on the clear.

[RDX07]

I have been very successful removing touch-up paint (which is lacquer) from repairs that didn't go they way I wanted (all of them?) without any damage to the clear coat (as Calendyr noted, clearcoat is chemical resistant). That of course, is fresh touch-up, however, I wouldn't hesitate to try some lacquer thinner on your stripes...just don't let it dwell too long on the clear.

Have you noticed any discoloration/fading/etc. over time after applying the lacquer thinner?

[RDX07]

Photo attached for reference.

[Setec Astronomy]

Have you noticed any discoloration/fading/etc. over time after applying the lacquer thinner?

None whatsoever.

[Calendyr]

Just noticed the word Painted in your header... disregard what I said, I was talking about regular pinstripes...

[SWETM]

When you use laquer thinner apply to a mf towel and hold it on to the pinstripe about 30s and carefull wipe it with another lightly damp mf towel. This way you don't let it dry and have a more concentrate laquer thinner to the pinstripe. If it doesnt desolves the pinstripe go up in length of time to it does. It should come of rather easy this way and if not the paint is another base. Hope you don't see if looking closer that they painted any clearcoat over it? After you are done rinse and wash the car. You can if you want to be extra carefull when you have come a couple of feet removing the pinstripe use a waterless wash or rinseless wash and wash as you comes forwards. And work in shade and to cool panels.

Tell us how it went when you have done it.
Good luck and take your time!

[RDX07]

UPDATE: I removed the pinstripe from the rear hatch to see how lacquer thinner works. It took a lot of elbow grease but I managed to get all of the paint off. It seems like there is some paint residue left behind in some areas (unsurprisingly where the paint was thicker/harder to remove). How should I go about removing the residue? Lacquer thinner doesn’t seem to work on it.

[WillSports3]

To be honest the best way to do this is going to have to be wet sanding off the pinstripe and then compounding and polishing the panels.

[Setec Astronomy]

To be honest the best way to do this is going to have to be wet sanding off the pinstripe and then compounding and polishing the panels.

Having in my youth tried to sand police stripes off a car (this was before clearcoat so could be different now); I have to completely disagree. Of course I've been out of the loop for a while as the police officer wasn't amused and I got 5 to 10.


UPDATE: I removed the pinstripe from the rear hatch to see how lacquer thinner works. It took a lot of elbow grease but I managed to get all of the paint off. It seems like there is some paint residue left behind in some areas (unsurprisingly where the paint was thicker/harder to remove). How should I go about removing the residue? Lacquer thinner doesn’t seem to work on it.

Well, that's not good. I think you need to polish the area. Do you have a machine?

[WillSports3]

Let me clarify. I don't mean to do it by hand but rather by machine. And to get a sanding pad that is the width of the stripe so you can control the sanding a lot better.

[RDX07]

Let me clarify. I don't mean to do it by hand but rather by machine. And to get a sanding pad that is the width of the stripe so you can control the sanding a lot better.

I do not have access to any buffing/polishing machines, nor do I know how to operate one unfortunately. I did take the car to a local detailer who said that the left over lines may be clear coat that was damaged by the chemicals in the pinstripe paint (he didn’t seem to know especially since the car was covered in rainwater). This doesn’t make sense to me since the lines are not present in areas where there was pinstripe paint. As I mentioned before, the lines only appear in areas where the pinstripes were harder to remove.

If the detailer is correct, can the clearcoat be repaired? If the lines really are just residue that can be buffed out, how should the detailer do this? Can I do it by hand instead? I’ll try to post pictures tomorrow if the rain stops!

[itsgn]

I know the question has been already answered, and I'd also suggest using a rubber-like adhesive remover (which can be used with a regular drilling machine, even though only recommended if it's a variable-speed one), but just for reference, I'll leave a link here to Larry's video about the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oewUG_2ei0s

[jeffindetail]

I use thinner to remove painted stripes at work all the time. Usually a cleaner wax and a little elbow grease will remove the residue.