Cleaning up overspray...

[freakin]

My mechanic decided to spray paint his dune buggy in the bay next to my car.

I now have a nice silver dusting all over my black car. It looks like the car is always dirty now. He's agreed to clean it up, but once he got the $400 quote from a detail shop, he decided to do it himself. I left the car with him for a day, and came back to find only the roof cleaned up. He was using some sort of putty to get it off (no clue what it was) and it seemed to be working, but it made the paint look like hell. I'm getting a little sick of his procrastination and want to get things going on my own. Any recomendations on how to clean this up? What products, processes to use, etc?

[autobodygal]

He could try a reducer, if the overspray is fresh that should remove it no problem. If your car has never been repainted, thinner will work without damaging the paint. It can be buffed with compound and then glaze. It can be wetsanded and polished. All of these depend on the severity of the overspray and the experience of the person doing the work. Hope this helps.

[Moe Man]

repaint it, easiest ways to do it , if you use thinner it will dull out the paint and look different in surtain areas, and to wet sand you need to take it to a pro and will cost as much as a new paint job. buffing simply wont work and is hard work even if it does work

[autobodygal]

I disagree, you don't need to repaint it. Repainting is excessive and expensive. Wetsanding when done properly is a fraction of the cost of a paint job. We surely don't charge near as much as a paint job for wetsanding and polishing after. If the car has never been repainted, gunwash thinners do not affect the finish.If someone is stupid and leaves thinner sitting wet on the paint is will dull it. There are many reducers designed to cut paint when fresh as well. Anything you use must have a glaze applied afterwards. Detail shops and autobody shops clean overspray off all the time.

[freakin]

Well, the spray paint has been on the car for a little over a week now and the car was repainted once. I guess that limits my options. It is after all my mechanic's responsibility to get it cleaned up, I just want to get things rolling. What would happen if thinner was used after the car's been repainted?

[sxtasy]

"Clay Away" or a clay bar should get rid of all the overspray, you can find this at most automotive stores. You will need to cut and polish after that is done.

[autobodygal]

If the car has been repainted thinner will damage the finish. The longer the overspray sits on the harder it is to get off, why not take it to the detail shop and make the mechanic pay for it? If you owe him money for something he has done for you it should make it easier for you to just get it done yourself.

[freakin]

Took me a while, but I finally got some pics of the damage. I've left it for so long that I think it's going to need wetsanding.

[method]

that's ridiculous... get him to take off the overspray...

you shouldnt even be concerned about how YOU'RE going to fix it, because you shouldnt have to in the first place. how could you paint next to a car at all? what a retard.

[freakin]

Yeah, I wan't too impressed either. The problem is that I've been dealing with this guy a for a long time, and he lets me use his tools and hoist when I need to, he gives me good deals and whatnot. He is going to take care of it, but I just want to make sure it gets done properly. What I'm trying to figure out is what this kind of job should cost. I owe him some money for some work, so we might just call it even and I'll take it to a detail shop or something.

Here's another shot.....the entire car looks like this

[Moe Man]

is it craking it looks like it?

[ex1z7]

well why not just totally repaint the car red or something? :P that sort've looks cool, might be diff in person - looks like un-mettalic mettalic paint

[grocko]

Whatever you do don't use thinners on the paint! Try a rubbing compound. You put it on the surface...let it set for a few minutes, then take a buffer/polisher and it should do it, might take some time but it's gonna be cheaper than taking it to some shop...At the shop I worked at we had a rubbing compound from a company named APC (No, it's not the one that makes all those ricey car products), it always came in a large bottle, kind of blue-ish green in color. Try Carlson's Paint and Body Supply up by Deerfoot Mall, that's where we got ours Their number is in the phonebook too if you would rather call first......

[Alcorn]

check out napa the other day when i was there i saw a product called overspray remover. just ask any one of the guys at the counter of the store and they will have plenty of info for you.

[lowryder99]

Okay,

Ive had lots of experience in this.

Just go to your local crappy tire and pick up the Meguirers clay bar kit. Claybar's main purpose is to remove overspray and other impurities that have "etched" their way into your clear coat.

It comes with their quick detailer and the clay bar. Just soap the car up and wash it like you normally would.

Then you take the quick detailer spray bottle and mist the car and rub the clay bar back and forth making sure you keep the surface well lubed. Once you do this the paint will look like new. Read the instructions and you will be fine and the car will look better than ever!

Best part is an entire car takes roughly 3 hours with a good waxing afterwords and you don't have to cough out tons to a body shop to do the same thing.

[lam-boy]

Originally posted by lowryder99
Okay,

Ive had lots of experience in this.

Just go to your local crappy tire and pick up the Meguirers clay bar kit. Claybar's main purpose is to remove overspray and other impurities that have "etched" their way into your clear coat.

It comes with their quick detailer and the clay bar. Just soap the car up and wash it like you normally would.

Then you take the quick detailer spray bottle and mist the car and rub the clay bar back and forth making sure you keep the surface well lubed. Once you do this the paint will look like new. Read the instructions and you will be fine and the car will look better than ever!

Best part is an entire car takes roughly 3 hours with a good waxing afterwords and you don't have to cough out tons to a body shop to do the same thing.

will it work even if the overspray on my car is like 1 yr old?
i have some crap ass blue overspray...

[lowryder99]

If you really take your time with the clay bar system it will take the overspray off. How much your car is in the sun is a big factor as well and how often you wash/clean your car.

Ive had overspray on my truck before for 6 months at a time and removed it with the clay bar sytem, it just takes a lot longer and you have to be more careful doing it.

Overspray is usually never permenant because there is no prep work involved (obviously) therefore it can never find a good surface bond except for todays modern clear coat's which are incredibly soft, once you get it out of the clear coat your gold

[cartuner]

lowryder99....you da mang..everybody listen to this guy that is EXACTLY how you do it. i've spent many a year detailing and still do for high end cars clay bars are the SHIT!!!!! works awesome, easy to use, just did an 04 m3 cabrio...turned out better then when he picked up his car from bmw!!cust was really happy!

[lowryder99]

Ive painted and detailed cars for awhile now, im still working on my painting but my detailing is where I shine

[HellfireR6]

try low grade thinner, works for me...