Painter accidentally sprayed my truck - can I get if off?

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Marusho

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NAPTHA AROMATIC, a paint thinner, is my first choice for removing stuff that doesn't belong. I believe everybody should have a quart of this in their household. It is strong and yet evaporates very quickly, too quickly to soften the paint underneath. I began using it when a magazine publisher in my office building switched from glue-up to all-digital and threw out a case. I asked them what it was and they said you remove rubber cement with it. I use it to remove those hateful stickers on plastic items without softening or scratching the plastic. I remove scotch tape from metal desks. I remove tar from my cars when the wimpy bug and tar remover requires too much pressure. I have never had it damage my cars' paint, though I'm sure if you left it long enough it could do so. You will want to use this solvent outdoors and with nitrile gloves to avoid removing your skin's oils. The word "naptha" is used to mean other things also but I'm talking about the 1 quart cans of thinner.
 

nstavros

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I work as a project manager for a big commercial paint company in Los Angeles area. We regretfully overspray a few cars per year. Standard exterior house paint whether it be 100% Acrylic, Latex or a combo of both, is generally able to be removed from car windows and body by simply using the edge of a credit card to lightly scrape it away. Clay bar treatments are the next best thing.

Rubber, plastic and other items are a bit trickier to clean. Lots of people in these comments already suggested items I would have recommended.
 

GTyankee

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Police took pix of 6 vehicles & 3 apartment complexes
1 car was painted on 4 sides & the roof, with some of the worse ****** words that i have seen in one area.
( i worked on a graffiti crew for several months, on California Freeways )

In 2012 or 2013 my 2009 Dodge Ram, i called a friends auto body shop number. The owner told me that they were closed on Saturday.
He told me to use Acetone on it before the Sun came out
He called me back at about 9:30 AM & told me that one of his guys was willing to go to the shop & that i could work a deal with that person.
The deal was a 12 pack of his brand of beer & $50

He used the shops chemicals, & several buffer pads, etc.
I worked on the hood & he worked on both doors, bed, & fenders
 
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Ready Freddy

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ALL CURRENT house paint (to the best of my knowledge) is latex based.

That said, and as others have noted, all you need is rubbing alcohol and a soft towel or two. Stay away from anything more caustic until you try this out. I did this on my son's car (sprayed with yellow traffic paint) and it worked like a charm with nearly immediate results and no harm to the vehicle paint.

Liberally apply the liquid to the towel, wet down the area affected and after a minute or two, the paint will liquify onto the towel while wiping down the affected area. Work in a small enough area to allow the towel/liquid to do its job.

Complete the process in the shade, wash off the area and reapply your favorite wax/treatment to finish.
 

jackhild

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My neighbor was having their house sprayed by a painter on a windy day and a couple days later I realized the wind carried the paint over the yard and splattered the back of my truck. Appears latex based, but doesn't just scrub off. Needs some kind of thinner or cleaner to get it off without removing the clear coat? I can stand there and scratch it off one speck at a time but it would take a few hundred hours. Anyone have any clever suggestions or products?

Not worth fighting with this particular neighbor or painter to make them fix it, just trust me on that.
You dont need to fight with the neighbor. The problem came from your neighbors property. File a homeowners claim with his homeowners insurance company.

Problem solved.
 

tangotwo335

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Mineral spirits will work without damage. Regardless of what i used do a good rinse afterward
 

Marshall

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If a painter sprayed and it is windy, he is not a pro
It should not happen
Painter is responsible for the fix
I wonder if a hi pressure car wash would clean it up, if it was done right after?
 

Goose55

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Do file that small claims action to keep the responsible person/s liable. If you want to remove the latex paint yourself, use denatured alcohol with a microfiber cloth. The cloth soaked in it will soften and remove the over-sprayed paint easily and not harm the truck's finish, which is not alcohol based. Be sure to first wash your vehicle to remove any other comtaminants so you don't scratch the clear coat. Work section by section and rinse off with clear water. Then, reapply wax.
 

Gearhead302

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Claybar for the win if it's just small specks
 

tron67j

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Another vote for bug and tar remover, had that work for me with road line stripe paint. And had some problem with spray can paint one time, used McGuire's polisher cleaner work on that with a little elbow grease for both methods.
 

Flynight

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This happened to me. I calmly went and talked to my neighbor I showed him my truck. The first thing I suggested that he talk to the painter who did the work, he should know the conditions and how to account for over spray. The painter was a jerk ( I would have reported him to the BBB) Why should I have to do all the work to put my truck back to the condition it was in before the painter did the damage. I then suggested that the neighbor talk to his insurance company these kind of things are covered under his home owners policy I explained to him that I was not suing him but I was an injured party and my truck looked like crap. He called in insurance and they came out looked at my truck and said that would take care of it. I took my truck to the body shop they did a great job. It cost the insurance company $1600, waived the neighbors deductible because the was the painters fault.
 
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Alan Eldred

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My neighbor was having their house sprayed by a painter on a windy day and a couple days later I realized the wind carried the paint over the yard and splattered the back of my truck. Appears latex based, but doesn't just scrub off. Needs some kind of thinner or cleaner to get it off without removing the clear coat? I can stand there and scratch it off one speck at a time but it would take a few hundred hours. Anyone have any clever suggestions or products?

Not worth fighting with this particular neighbor or painter to make them fix it, just trust me on that.
Our motorcycle pinstripe guy told us that Easy Off oven cleaner will take of the pinstripes if we decided to remove them, without harming the paint job
 

elinventorcito

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easyoff 10 minutes and hot water will take anything off with damaging the paint or the clear cost do all the time to my van when the good boy put graffiti on (and that is can paint) latex will be easier
 

SouthernBornRebel

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Meguiar's Ultimate Quick Detailer and Clay Bar would be what I would try, works on most... follow clay barring instructions to eliminate any scratching​

 

Cmz2800

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My neighbor was having their house sprayed by a painter on a windy day and a couple days later I realized the wind carried the paint over the yard and splattered the back of my truck. Appears latex based, but doesn't just scrub off. Needs some kind of thinner or cleaner to get it off without removing the clear coat? I can stand there and scratch it off one speck at a time but it would take a few hundred hours. Anyone have any clever suggestions or products?

Not worth fighting with this particular neighbor or painter to make them fix it, just trust me on that.
Clay should take that right off.
 

Aquinocf

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I’ve used gas before and it worked great, it didn’t damage paint.
 
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