MAJOR Paint Problems

[AXE]

Did you try any regular claybar and the luber? My wife's car got paint splatter on it a while back and that worked well. The synthetic claybar sponge didn't work.

Was a pearl white car with green rustolem paint splatter all over the front, lol. I used medium duty clay bar and luber spray. Worked well.

Yeah, I tried that Chemical Guys silly putty shit and the clay block akong with their lube too. I cannot even scratch it off with my fingernail or a plastic "razor blade".

This isn't some run of the mill paint. It's commercial grade for use on exterior window frames and screens. I cannot even scratch it off with my fingernail or a plastic "razor blade".

 

[AXE]

Damn dude so sorry I know this ruined your day and you’ll be grinding on this until it’s back to new. Can’t believe how much that shit sprayed all over. If anyone can get this back to normal it will be you.

I guess 9000 lbs was too much for the aluminum can. I think i clipped it with the front tire as I was making the turn and then the rear hit it square.

The weirdest thing was the tire between the tread was full of paint at the car wash and would not come off. However, when I got home the only paint left on the tire was the side of the lugs and sidewall. I still cannot get it off the tire by scratching it. I'm hoping as the tire self lubricates, it'll fall off.

 

[8ball_99]

Yeah, I tried that Chemical Guys silly putty shit and the clay block akong with their lube too. I cannot even scratch it off with my fingernail or a plastic "razor blade".

This isn't some run of the mill paint. It's commercial grade for use on exterior window frames and screens. I cannot even scratch it off with my fingernail or a plastic "razor blade".

Wow, that sucks. Paint must have a lot self etching primer in it. Some of the specialty paints for aluminum or plastic can be pretty stout. Clear coat would have to be buffed out even if you could have gotten it off with some kind of magic. Honestly I'd be tempted to just let someone else deal with it. A good body shop or detailer might be the way to go. Very easy to burn through the clear trying to buff stuff like that off. As you know, the EPA has messed with auto paint a lot the last six years or so. It's not exactly tuff stuff.

 

[slicer]

That's shitty.

 

[AXE]

I decided to get a little bolder and hit the entire lower panel/rocker with some lacquer thinner on a 8x8 piece cotton t shirt. It dissolved the paint and came off quite easily, especially in the areas where paint was thinner. The heavier areas needed a few passes. There was a little s.eating and residual paint, so made one more pass to clean it and then buffed it with polishing compound/pad. May need to back up a step and hit it with some compound to get a better shine. It was a tad dull.

I figured I'd start with the rocker panels, as I'm probably gonna Line-X them anyway, so wasnt worried if it affected the clear. There's already plenty of rock chips showing in the textured paint.

 

[landpilot]

Putting lacquer thinner on my truck would make my butt pucker…. I’ve been sitting here hoping you had a good update…. Glad it worked!

 

[AXE]

Putting lacquer thinner on my truck would make my butt pucker…. I’ve been sitting here hoping you had a good update…. Glad it worked!

Yeah, I did a few different tests underneath to be sure . Gonna try the acetone on another section. I think it might be slightly better. There's quite a few posts on some Reddit threads from body shop techs and they seem to know what they are talking about.

 

[AXE]

Tried a little acetone and it does dissolve the white paint a little quicker, but tends to smear and dry out quicker. Seems like the lacquer thinner is the best solution.

Ended up using a detailing brush and dipped it into the thinner to get the paint out of the cracks and corners, especially in that bedside step and wheel well liner. That worked well and I think it is going to work on that textured paint on the AMP steps. Did a test underneath to confirm it would not affect the paint.

 

[AXE]

So after finishing this clean up, here's a few more things you might want to know.

1) the taillight is marginally safe with lacquer thinner. I tested it on another ZR2 taillight that I had cracked. It did not mess up the surface, but did think it would make it a tad cloudy and you'd have to polish a lot more. I ended up using a medium cutting compound,, fine conpund and polish to getit off and shiny, so it worked well.

2) the plastic center cap on the AEV wheel reacted badlly to the laquer thinner on the inside when I tested. I did not want to chance it, even though it was painted and cleared. Used the same compound and polish as the taillight, but it took a long time with a 1.5 inch pad due to all the curved and angular surfaces. But it looked fine when done.

3) AMP steps were fine with lacquer thinner, but used a detail brush to apply it and dissolve the white paint. The rag woukd not rub much due to the texture. Had to apply a lot of thinner and blot some with the rag.

4) paint on the wheels was good to go and I used the lacquer thinner and a soft cotton rag just like the paint.

5) the paint on the tires was also hard to remove cause a rag woukd not rub. Used the detail brush again and applied a lot of thinner one half at a time, bottom half only. It would run off the tire, but just do the lower half then rotate the tire and do the other half or it'll run back into the tire beed and wheel.

Overall, this took longer than expected and will be a good 4 hours after final buffing and ceramic finish.