Road paint spatter removal...?

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 06:44 PM

Cleaning up a barn-find 2003 Honda Element DX for my buddy. So far I've restored a cloudy headlamp, fixed a couple of mechanical and electrical issues and mapped out my plan of attack for cleaning the interior and correcting the original paint.

One thing in my way: the driver's side is splattered with yellow center line paint from the front of the wheel well across the length of the rockers, to the rear fender. It's especially heavy on the lower cladding but is pretty much everywhere.

My plan was to start with the mildest product and get more aggressive, but Body Solvent and Tar-X had virtually no effect.

Any idea what I should try next?

**haris300** · 09-21-2015, 06:51 PM

Mineral spirits worked well for me when my customer's car got splattered with white paint from road construction.

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 07:02 PM

Will run down to the garage and try a test spot with OMS right now. Thanks!

**SYMAWD** · 09-21-2015, 07:11 PM

Krud Kutter Graffiti Remover. It used to be called Road Paint and Graffiti remover so I don't know if the formula changed or not and I'm, not sure how safe it would be on the Element's plastic.

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 07:37 PM

Wow. Better than the first two on the clear, but not by much. It's very very stubborn. The terry is definitely getting colored and the tiniest spots are dissolving but the big splats will take physical effort. On the cladding, yeah, I'll resort to using a paint scraper and hope to do as little damage as possible. Crap.

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 07:38 PM

Hey thanks for the Krud Kutter nod, I'll try that next.

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 07:52 PM

Before I go and get Amazon to send me some Krud Kutter, do you think Goof Off would do similarly? I can get that at the hardware store down the street.

**SYMAWD** · 09-21-2015, 08:07 PM

Originally Posted by SameGuy

Before I go and get Amazon to send me some Krud Kutter, do you think Goof Off would do similarly? I can get that at the hardware store down the street.

I have never used Goof Off. With Krud Kutter I just sprayed it on, let it sit a few minutes and then wiped with a microfiber.

**GSKR** · 09-21-2015, 08:10 PM

Lacquer thinner will work on clear coated surfaces . As far as the cladding I would try to spray a area with apc with butlye if I spelled it correctly, let it dwell for 3 min ,safely blast it off with pressure washer .Dont use lacquer on cladding or any plastic. That method works every time. I had a customer with a Camry there was oil based overspray all over the car ,the gentlemen took his car to 8 detailing shops none of them had a solution,then he went to my friend, auto body shop .my friend gave the gentlemen my card. The guy called me ,I knew what I was dealing with problematic wise,I charged 750 for 3 hrs work .got it all off with apc and lacquer thinner.Fyi be careful of painted pinstripes. I constantly see members asking about tree sap.lacquer thinner will remove it as fast as you can say Jim .

**SameGuy** · 09-21-2015, 11:03 PM

Originally Posted by SYMAWD

I have never used Goof Off. With Krud Kutter I just sprayed it on, let it sit a few minutes and then wiped with a microfiber.

I ordered a bottle. Just tried Goof Off, which has xylene among other distillates. Yeah, it was about as effective as OMS. I have lacquer thinner, but I'll try the Krud Kutter first, especially if it works on the plastic. The petroleum products aren't doing the plastic any favors. I may just tell my buddy to cut his losses and order a new rocker skirt panel; my time could be better used doing all the other stuff that needs doing.