Pinstripe Removal - Lacquer thinner?

[Flynnstone]

I have a white 2018 Escalade with brown/black pin stripes painted down the side of the vehicle. After researching removal techniques, i decided to try the lacquer thinner, and was able to successfully remove the stripes on one side of the vehicle yesterday. I washed the area and have gone over it with wolfgangs swirl remover.

This morning i noticed that the area i went over has some very slight discoloration, almost a very light greenish hue in certain lighting. Did i screw up the paint, or is this possibly residual paint stripes leftover on the surface? The clear coat all appears to be normal. Any recommendations on what to try to remove it?

[2black1s]

My guess would be that the pigments from the stripes, when dissolved with the lacquer thinner, stained the clear-coat.

I would continue polishing, within reason, being mindful of how much polishing you're doing while trying to remove the stains. If the stains don't completely disappear with a reasonable amount of polishing, stop. Given some time (weeks) the stains may fade away.

I had a similar experience on a white car of mine where I got some stains in the clear-coat from tire dressing sling. It would not easily polish away, but given time, the stains did disappear.

[Flynnstone]

My guess would be that the pigments from the stripes, when dissolved with the lacquer thinner, stained the clear-coat.

I would continue polishing, within reason, being mindful of how much polishing you're doing while trying to remove the stains. If the stains don't completely disappear with a reasonable amount of polishing, stop. Given some time (weeks) the stains may fade away.

I had a similar experience on a white car of mine where I got some stains in the clear-coat from tire dressing sling. It would not easily polish away, but given time, the stains did disappear.

that makes sense. Trying to decide whether to tackle the other side with the lacquer thinner, or wait and see what happens. If i tape off the area on the other side; will the lacquer thinner pierce through and sit in the paint more with tape laid down?

[2black1s]

I'd be careful with trying to tape it. If you do, use a vinyl tape, not typical masking tape.

Typical masking tape will absorb the lacquer thinner just like you surmised, and that can cause even more of a problem than you are currently dealing with.

[Mike Phillips]

the area i went over has some very slight discoloration, almost a very light greenish hue in certain lighting.

Did i screw up the paint, or is this possibly residual paint stripes leftover on the surface?

Here's picture, kind of hard to tell what I'm looking at but is it the discoloring below the horizontal raised bodyline?





My guess is if the pin stripes were painted-on, they have chemically stained the clearcoat. Just a guess.

If the pin stripes are/were vinyl tape - they could still chemically stain the clearcoat but I've seen this more with painted stripes. On a darker colored car you probably wouldn't seen it.


Also any type of graphics will tend to leave ghosting in the paint. I don't know if I've ever seen ghosting removed 100%. You can get close but it usually requires find sanding.

[Desertnate]

Also any type of graphics will tend to leave ghosting in the paint. I don't know if I've ever seen ghosting removed 100%. You can get close but it usually requires find sanding.

While a 2018 vehicle isn't that old and the stripes haven't been on there that long, Mike's comments match my experience with my daughter's car. The vehicle was about 8~9 years old when we bought it and the stripes left a distinct ghost image on the paint after I removed them. The car is a light gray/silver metallic, and the area under the stripes is a touch darker than the surrounding paint. Polishing won't remove it, and for that vehicle sanding probably isn't a good idea.

[Flynnstone]

Here's picture, kind of hard to tell what I'm looking at but is it the discoloring below the horizontal raised bodyline?





My guess is if the pin stripes were painted-on, they have chemically stained the clearcoat. Just a guess.

If the pin stripes are/were vinyl tape - they could still chemically stain the clearcoat but I've seen this more with painted stripes. On a darker colored car you probably wouldn't seen it.


Also any type of graphics will tend to leave ghosting in the paint. I don't know if I've ever seen ghosting removed 100%. You can get close but it usually requires find sanding.

thank you Mike. Yes, it’s the discoloration just below the body line in the center. I was kind of figuring it was staining on the clear. Any recommendations on how to remove the stripes on the other side to minimize this?

[2black1s]

When speaking of ghosting, there are usually two very different conditions described...

First, and this is the condition that I consider classic ghosting, a condition where the paint has swelled such that there is a surface disruption that mimics the stripe, decal, or other entity removed.

Second, a condition where there is a color shift that mimics the entity removed. I consider this condition as more of a staining, rather than actual ghosting.

In either case, like Mike said, I too have never seen ghosting completely removed 100%. If you are able to remove it completely, you either got lucky, or your eyesight/perception is not that acute.

I have even seen ghosting outlines telegraph through in new paint jobs when there were stripes, decals, lettering, etc., in/on the previous paint job even if they were completely sanded out, primered and sanded again, then repainted. The only way I've ever seen ghosting completely eliminated is by stripping the affected area to bare metal before proceeding.