Traffic Paint

I've got an overspray removal next week. It's got yellow traffic paint down one side. What's the best solvent for that?
Xylene? Naptha? Acetone?...etc?

I have a terrible time getting this stuff off. I usually start with mineral spirits and a white scotch pad. Eventually I get it to the point where I can clay it. This stuff is worse than concrete.

Let me tell you. Please don't use acetone that will really mess you up and the vehicle. The best thing to use in thisb case would be Tar & adhesive remover and a plastic razor blade. With a lot of time and patiance, this is some bad stuff and is hard to deal with. I just hope there is'nt too much of it and that you let your customer know that it is going to take some time. Frank

Well, it was a mixture of 2 or three paints. One may have been an epoxy. Most of the vehicle had just a fine overspray that clay removed. But the passenger side had splotches. I tried some automotive thinner (be careful not to leave the rag on the paint). I compounded twice with a wool pad then used several fresh ss razor blades, to lightly scrape and scratch most of the rest off. Then a couple more heavy buffs to remove all my scrapes and scratches, and a final finish buff. Whal-la! This is not a job to hand over to an employee. Risky and aggressive.
Customer was a good friend....one of those kinda jobs.
"I was born to buff"...

Most road paint is either water-based or oil based. You do have to be very careful with any chemical that you use on clear coats as it can damage the clear quite easily.

I would not use a razor blade,unless it was plastic or you can use a paint and tar scraper which is a larger razor blade type device about 2.5" long and 1.5" wide with a nice edge to take the paint off until you can clay it off.

Some laquer thinners are ok to use on the polyurethane enamel clears on cars today. But check with a auto paint store before using it.

Regards
BudAbraham

Easy Off oven cleaner in the yellow can. I have heard(from Bud A) that it is actually the propellant and not the oven cleaner that removes the road paint.

I did one of these recently. Sprayed the oven cleaner on and let it dwell in the shade for 10 minutes. Then used a turbo nozzle on a Landa, skid-mounted hot water pressure washer to blast the road paint off. Worked well. No clear coat damage. I normally ask customers if they mind If I re-black the wheel wells, etc if the paint is up in there(it usually is). This method works for me.

Excellant idea...yelow can - oven cleaner!

I've found hot water pressure washers to do a good job removing latex. But I've also removed some body paint with too much heat or pressure. Acchhh!!!!!
Those machines are also the best machines to use for love bug removal. I prefer heat over pressure as a cleaner agent.

Paint removal etc...I tend to get drawn into these situations...doing a good customer a cheap favor, performing risking procedures and having to eat the whole thing.

Paint removal is a process that requires knowledge and diagnositc skill:

a. Identify the paint finish, single stage or two-stage; know the particulars of the paint finish, what you can and cannot do to it.

b. Identify exactly the problem. It is not enough to say it has paint overspray you have to be able to identify exactly what type of paint in order to remove it without damaging the car's paint finish. This requires investigative inquiry with the customer as to how it happened. If it was road paint then find out the road where it happened and call that government agency to determine what type of paint they used on that road, it could be water-based; oil-based or epoxy.

c. Then know what chemicals you can use to remove the paint. Often clay will work on any type of paint. Sometimes if this does not work then chemicals are necessary.

d. Other times you will need to use plastic razor type scrapers to assist.

Always take the least aggressive method first to save you time and money and save the paint.

You cannot experiment or practice on an expensive paint finish. You NEED TO KNOW what you are doing. This only comes from getting the information on today's paint finishes which is available and you need to know paint finish problems and what you can do to correct them and then you need to know the chemicals, tools, supplies and processes to follow.

This is a serious business, not like shining shoes.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

Bud is right on. I'm an experienced detailer and have had alot of experience with paint removal, etc. Perhaps giving a quick answer of 'easy off' was misleading. Sorry about that.

Information about the type of paint being removed as well as familiarity with vehicle finishes is a must prior to any work being quoted or completed!

Removing any stubborn contaminant from vehicle finishes is serious, labor intensive work (and should be accompanied by the right price for completing it). I'd advise against doing it as a 'favor' or trying to help someone out of a messy situation. What can happen is the potential for irreparable paint damage, nullifying any favor you did.

I also am learning when to say :'this is out of my area of expertise/knowledge/skill level, you should see a body shop'. That's a valuable skill, too; knowing your limits and being honest with yourself and your customer about those limits.