Tips on Removing Road Paint???

So I had to run up to South Dakota/Wyoming last weekend and on the way back I got caught in about 10 different construction zones. Never saw a sign saying wet paint, never saw one of those nifty little trucks that they use for painting lines. But when I stopped for gas (after about 250 miles) I found this on both sides of my truck....





Didn't really think much of it, just figured a little elbow grease and some WD40 and it would be gone.
Well, WD didn't work. Goo Gone extreme works ok but I am have to scrub pretty hard and I am scratching the paint. Clay bar is working but takes some time and I am going to have to go get another couple of them since it's getting pretty contaminated. I have some plastic razor blades somewhere, gotta find them.
Just thought I would post this and see if anyone had any good tips that I may have missed and we could share with anyone in the future that may encounter this problem.
Thanks in advance.
Troy

 

That really SUCKS! I used some scratch remover when I got spray paint on my truck from the holes in a car wash stall (long story I was piss). I don't know if it would work for that tho..

 

You need to get ahold of your local DOT quick! That crap is usually a 2 part epoxy and would be very difficult to remove (I used to work on a crew that put that stuff on the road). You need to be very specific about where it happened, time, etc. If there were cones on the lines and you crossed them, they won't do anything for you since the cones are meant to keep you off the line. Otherwise, they're responsible for the damage they did to your truck.

 

Use rubbing alcohol or nail polish removal. Ive also heard using metholated spirits works.

 

Well, that makes it difficult since you went through several construction zones. I know a friend's mom drove over one of those lines a few years ago, and the county paid to have it removed. However, again, I doubt you can pinpoint what county is responsible.

You mentioned the clay bar working. A few years ago, we successfully removed some over spray from a can of primer with a clay bar. If that's working, I would just bite the bullet and buy more bars. It sucks, but if it's working and doesn't harm the paint.....

I know that probably doesn't help a whole lot, but maybe a little....

 

I would try that but I don't think it would be a good idea since road paint is so gritty. Would just end up scratching the paint. But thanks for the input!

I would but I was in either South Dakota OR Nebraska at the time and not really sure which construction site I picked the paint up at. There were no cones, no signs, nothing that I saw and usually if they are painting I am very careful since it's a black truck. I was totally surprised when I got out and saw this... well surprised and a little p*ssed.

rubbing alcohol softens it up some, enough that I can scrape it off with the plastic razor blade but still scratching it pretty good. Nail polish is next.

Any input is appreciated man. I will go to the parts store tomorrow since they close in about 10 minutes here, and get some more clay bars and see if they have some fancy stuff that will ease the process.

Thanks everybody!

 

I used brake parts cleaner on a friend's truck that I detailed. It worked pretty good.

 

Nail Polish Remover just turns this superhuman road paint into goo. Just moves it around and then it goes right back to being as hard as it was before but now more even.
Brake Cleaner works but again just like the Goo B Gone I have to scrub hard and end up scuffing the paint pretty good. Not that I mind, I know I am going to have to polish it and wax it after this, just trying to figure out the simplest way possible for the benefit of everyone.
Calling it quits for tonight. Going to try and find some of this soy based remover stuff tomorrow, get some more clay bars and see what my buddy with the body shop suggests. Maybe paint thinner or something.

 

You aren't going to find the perfect product. Whatever you use you will have to polish and wax afterwards because you are going to strip everything off. The key is finding what works the easiest. I used brake parts cleaner and scraped it off then buffed and waxed.

 

Same thing happened to me but it was some sort of laytex indoor paint that I ran over. I haven't tried any chemicals just a sharp plastic edge to scrape it off.

The paint on mine is pretty thick but it's laytex. If you find something that works good please report back. I'm assuming you may have it worse than me since paint for roads is some sort of epoxy based as someone mentioned.

 

Brake cleaner is probably your best bet. I used it to remove some touch up paint on another car of mine and it worked great. Not too hard, but before you rub, I'd clean the car and make sure there is no dirt or dust around the area you'll be scrubbing, because that's really what causes the scratches and swirls. It'll help in the long run.

 

Bubba Z , that sucks hard dude . I hope you find something to get that shit off .

 

Seroiusly, out of all colors yellow on black, that's pretty noticeable. I friggin have pink paint on my silver truck!

I agree with Pugga, if you weren't breaking any traffic laws the city will pay for the damage done to your truck. It would be best to file a complaint ASAP! I waited too long. Someone told me the same thing, a few days later when I went back to area the city had already cleaned it all up so I couldn't get any pics for evidence.

 

SO I tried a few different things tonight. Went and got some MOTSENBOCKER LIFT OFF LATEX BASED paint remover from Lowe's. Let it sit 60 seconds in a few test spots and it did absolutley nothing.

GUNK bug and tar remover, wasn't going to bother with this kind of stuff but it was on clearance for 2 bucks so I figured what the hell. Again, nothing.

Hit it with a little heat from the heat gun and it seemed to soften the trucks paint up as much as the road paint so I quickly stopped that after trying a few things with little progress.

Then I went back and tried some stuff over again. Last night I was spraying the Goo Gone Extreme on a rag and then rubbing it on the paint but tonight I sprayed it directly on the truck and it worked A LOT better. After a few tries I figured out that if I sprayed it, let it sit for a few seconds, lightly scrubbed it with a rag and then sprayed it again, and scrubbed some more it got most the stuff off. Still leaves a little where it impacted on the paint that requires some work with the clay bar or a fingernail to get off.

I tried this technique with brake cleaner and it seemed to require a little more scrubbing but will work.

Then, just for the hell of it I tried a gas soaked rag. This works but requires a few more passes and if you have to be around people I wouldn't recommend it.

The real pain is the super fine splatter that is way up on the doors and bed sides. I thought this would just come right off with the clay bar but nope. Even using my fingernail it is really tough.

So that's it for tonight. Going to try a few more things tomorrow but I am guessing I am not going to find anything better than the Goo B Gone Extreme spray, scrub, spray, scrub technique.

 

yeah, kinda looks a bad Stryper flash back
(and for those of you who have no freaking clue who Stryper is, see attached pic)



But anyway, on with the story...
I went to Wally Mart to get some more Goo Gone Xtreme and could only find it in these little tiny 4oz squirt cans, no more spray cans. So I got some more and picked up some other Goo Gone products (Spray Gel and Painter's Pal) to see if they would do the trick. Neither one of them really did anything SO I returned them, got more of the Xtreme and spent most of today getting the paint off. If you have any touch up paint spots it will take that off too along with all the wax but that's a small price to pay considering.

so if you can find it, this is the stuff to get

EDIT: fine ya humps, won't let me post the pic, I will just post the link I guess
http://www.magicamerican.com/googone/product/86cf48f0-a3d5-49e1-90ed-5f0a4b7c1eb5.aspx

 

they were doin a lot of road work in Wyoming and South Dakota when we went on our 3 week trip over the summer...we took the RV but no paint

 

Stryper , awesome , haha

Bubba Z , did you get all of the paint off in the end ?

( Edit ~ Loving the new avatar )

 

Yes Cundalini, I got the paint off.
Well most of it. The tires still have some on them and a little here and there on the inner fenders but I figured I would work on that the next time I have the wheels off.

 

Glad to hear it , that looked like a right mess .

 

Just wanted to thank the OP for this thread again. I picked up some Goo Gone & took all that damn pink paint of my truck. Finally after all this time, feels like a new truck now.