ALT-1 How to Remove Paint Spots from a Car
Removing paint spots from a car should not normally be an extremely difficult job. If you can get to work on it before the paint has time to completely harden, it will be a much easier job. The steps to get this done are not to tough to understand and master. The main thing is that you commit to removing the paint spots from your car sooner than later.
Start by knowing what type of paint spots are on your car
It will help a lot to know what type of paint you will have to deal with when removing it. The steps are slightly different for removing a water based paint than for an oil based or enamel type of paint. Actually, the enamel and oil based paints can be easier to work with than water based if the paint has already dried.
For water based paints you need to soften it up before trying to remove.
The good news is that water based paints dissolve in water. You do not want to bother with paint thinner or mineral spirits to do this job. If the paint has harden already, you will need to get a very wet cloth or paper towel and leave it covering the spot for a few hours in a cool place out of direct sunlight. If the cloth tries to dry out due to low humidity, continue to add water to keep it wet. For a larger area, you may need a towel and leave it over night.
After the paint has softened, it is time to get it off of your car.
Check the paint every few hours to see if it is softening. If you left it covered overnight, check first thing in the morning. Once the paint has absorbed enough water, it should be simple to just rub it until it is gone. Keep using a wet cloth, towel, or paper towel when removing the paint. Sometimes the edges will remain a little too firm. Just repeat the soaking another time or two until you can get it all off.
As long as your car has a good finish, paint thinner or mineral spirits should not hurt it.
You will need to head to the hardware or some place that sells paint thinner. For a few small spots, you should not need a great deal. However, if you have many spots or few large ones, you may want to get at least a gallon. Wear gloves to keep as much of the chemicals off of your hands as possible. You will also want to wear old clothes because the paint will come off of your car much easier than your clothes. The paint thinner should not hurt your cars finish if you do not get too robust when rubbing.
Saturate a cloth with the paint thinner or mineral spirits.
Use a cloth to soak up a few ounces of the paint thinner. Start at the edge of the first spot and rub the paint thinner into the spot. Within just a few seconds, you should see the paint start to come off. Working from the outside to the inside just keep the cloth saturated with the paint thinner and keep up a nice easy circular motion as you rub. Keep a clean dry cloth handy to wipe off the area that you have just cleaned and also to catch any drips or runs that may develop.
Keep cleaning up the thinner from the spots as you go to avoid the risk of it softening the finish on your vehicle.
Work on each spot unil it is completed. Clean up that area with the dry cloth and move on to the next one until the job is completed. The amount of time needed will depend on the size and number of the spots to be removed. Remember to always do this work out of direct sunlight and find the coolest place to work.
When the paint spots are gone, it is a good idea to give the car a good wax job.
While you have the car parked in the shade or the garage and nice and cool, it is the perfect time to wax your car. If the car is free from dust and dirt, just break open the Turtle Wax and go to work. The reason it is a good idea to wax the car at this point is that the paint spot removal may have dulled your car's finish. The wax will help restore it back to the condition that you prefer, clean and shiny.
