How to Clean/Remove Over Spray From Powder Coated Products

[OscarMike]

As part of my "How Particular Are You" thread, I wanted to share this bit of advice dealing with removing over spray from powder coated products. Last winter in an attempt to clean the jeep's frame, But I didn't correctly protect the gold coil springs before I used a can of black spray paint. For one I've learn my lesson about using spray cans without properly masking or covering products I don't want sprayed. Instead and next time, I'll be using an oil based paint and several foam brushes while laying on the garage floor detailing the frame of the jeep.

But as the title says, I wasn't as careful as I should have been when protecting products or parts under the jeep. The gold coil springs just happen to end up with a small amount of over spray on them. Thus I set out to locate a product that would not harm the powder coating yet remove the over spray easily. According to our powder coater, the coil springs have 3 coats of the gold color and 2 coats of the clear, but he didn't say what was the best way to remove over spray or just clean the parts afterward.

Testing products like Goo Gone, Simple Green even using a clay bar at one point etc I ended up using Goof Off with a well used dish washing pad. Please note that if you're going to attempt do this on your powder coated products, make sure that the dish washing pad is NOT the scotch-brite brand as these pads are very abrasive. The before image shows that I wasn't so particular on that day while under the jeep attempting to touch up a few small rusted areas.



Last weekend, I put the Goof Off to the test while my nephew added and adjusted a several new plated parts for the jeep. In doing so He removed the front wheels which allowed me to access the front coil springs. This process took approx 15 mins per-side and never harmed the powder coating. I was almost ready to take photos of this, but the camera's battery died due to the cold temperatures.

So this weekend being near 60 degrees, I'll give the jeep a good wash, take those photos and report back afterward.

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for sharing Mike.

You can never be to careful when it comes to avoiding overspray - stuff gets everywhere.

Also - I've had good luck using this to chemically remove/dissolve overspray.


Stoner XENIT Natural Citrus Cleaner & Remover


The trick however is being patient. Something I think people have a hard time with.

I dampen a microfiber towel and the hold it against the overspray and let the oils go to work loosening the overspray. Then wipe.

If a person just sprays and wipes - the lack of dwell time is the missing link.

[OscarMike]

Thanks Mike, I knew you would chime in here. Great to know there are other products on the market you recommend.

FYI: For those wondering, The over spray had been left on (dried on) the coil springs for almost 1 year until I was able to remove it. But if one happens to get over spray on these products, it's best to remove the over spray right after making the discovery. The paint should still be wet and can easily be removed. My issue, I waited too long and was forced to use something with a bit more kick to it to remove the black paint.

[2black1s]

...
You can never be to careful when it comes to avoiding overspray - stuff gets everywhere.
...

And that is especially true with 2-component urethanes.

A few months ago I repaired and painted three motorcycle components... A front fairing, a tour pack, and the tour pack lid. They were painted with a modern basecoat/clearcoat system.

I have a lot of painting experience so I should have known better, but here's the story.

My garage is too nice to use for painting these days so I sprayed the parts outside, under a covered area behind the garage. The garage doors were closed. Immediately after spraying each coat, and waiting a minute or two for the overspray mist to dissipate, I would open the walk-thru door into the garage and carry the parts inside for drying. This was repeated for each of three coats of clear on each of the three parts, so a total of nine times. The door was only opened for about 10-20 seconds each time.

Suffice to say, those brief openings allowed enough undetectable paint mist into the garage to deposit a light film of overspray onto each of my two black motorcycles and my black truck. Not much, but enough. Not really readily visible, but certainly evident to the touch.

Ouch!!! I spent the next week claying, polishing, and waxing.

I want to say "Lesson Learned", but as previously stated I should have known better. So it's really a reaffirmation of something I already knew and a confirmation of what Mike stated... "You can never be too careful when it comes to avoiding overspray - stuff gets everywhere." And that is especially true for 2-part urethanes.

[OscarMike]

Realizing my eyes are going bad, I did happen to miss a few small areas of over spray on the back side of the coil springs as indicated by the latest picture. Plus, one might notice that I have a small nic on the front facing coil. I'll locate some color matching nail polish later this week.



But as compared to the above image, I've made some noticeable progress with the Goof Off and an old dish washing pad. With weather turning colder and not having a shop to spend more time on this, I'll have to wait till next spring to reattempt cleaning the springs.

[mc2hill]

Thanks for sharing Mike.

You can never be to careful when it comes to avoiding overspray - stuff gets everywhere.

Also - I've had good luck using this to chemically remove/dissolve overspray.


Stoner XENIT Natural Citrus Cleaner & Remover


The trick however is being patient. Something I think people have a hard time with.

I dampen a microfiber towel and the hold it against the overspray and let the oils go to work loosening the overspray. Then wipe.

If a person just sprays and wipes - the lack of dwell time is the missing link.

This is great stuff! I used it to remove road paint from my mother in laws Grand Marque. I did not have any 3M Adhesive Remover with me that day, but, as Mike said, I was patient with process, let the XENIT dwell, and it removed the paint with out issue. I felt that was my penance for not detailing the car in over 6 months...

[tyreesmuellers]

I've also used it. Good stuff. You will not be disappointed.