While some people may think that house paint is something that will very rarely mix with your car, it’s surprisingly common for your car to come into contact with house paints.
From a spilled tin of paint within your boot when you have to slam on the brakes, to paint splatter when you park your vehicle outside someone’s house that’s getting repainted.
There are so many different ways that house paint could end up on the body of your car.
For most car owners, the paintwork of their car is perhaps the most important part of the vehicle. It is the first thing you see when a car comes into view, it is the paintwork that makes the car recognizable, and in many cases, it is the paintwork that makes the car yours.
So the last thing that you want is some unruly house paint to damage the color of your vehicle. When you do notice house paint splattered on your car, it’s understandable that you might be infuriated.
However, there’s no need to worry. It is surprisingly easy to remove house paint from your car, follow this guide and the process will be simple.
Be Prepared
The key to the removal of house paint from the paintwork of your car is preparation. You will require various products and tools to remove the paint, and the last thing you want to be doing is going back and forth to your tool shed once you’ve started the process.
If you gather everything that you need before you start the process, it will go a lot quicker and the paint will remain on your car for less time.
To ensure you have everything you need to remove the house paint, we’ve put together this handy list. The majority of the things that you need to use to remove the paint, you will probably already have at home, but just in case, here’s a quick list so that you know what you need to gather.
The first thing you will need is packing tape. This might seem like a strange thing to use when cleaning paint off of your vehicle, but it provides a vital role in protecting the paintwork of your car.
Any packing tape will do the job, so if you have some lying around the house, that will easily do the job, there’s no need to buy a fresh roll.
You will also need rubbing alcohol. If you don’t have any of this at home, it’s normally available in most grocery or hardware stores, and it is usually inexpensive. The job of the rubbing alcohol will become clear once we move onto the method.
Additionally, you should gather an oil-based cleaning fluid. Similarly to rubbing alcohol, you will be able to find this in most grocery stores. It is also worth checking the usual cleaner that you use for your car as this may be oil-based, and if it is, you can use that instead of buying new.
Finally, you will need a clay bar which you can buy in most auto-shops or car dealerships.
You will also require a soap and water solution, and some towels and cloths to clean the car throughout the process, there’s no need to buy new, you can simply use your usual cloths for cleaning.
How to Remove House Paint from your Car
Now that we’ve established everything that you need to remove the house paint from your vehicle, it’s time to move onto the method. As we’ve already mentioned, this is a surprisingly easy process and within a few simple steps, the paint will be removed from your car.
The first thing you need to do is identify the entire area where the paint has splattered on your car. Once you have identified the area you should mark it off with some packing tape.
The stickiness of the packing tape might put you off applying it to your car, however, it is an essential part of the removal process. It is important to section off the area that has house paint from the rest of your car’s paintwork to prevent damage to the unaffected areas.
The products you will be using are very powerful, so if they touch the unaffected areas there is a potential for damage to occur to the car’s clear coat.
You might be asking ‘but what about the clear coat within the sectioned area?’, but there’s no need to worry. In this area, the products will work solely on the house paint, and your car’s clear coat will be unaffected.
Once the area is sectioned off, you should take the rubbing alcohol and a clean towel. Using this you should apply rubbing alcohol to the paint splatters coating your vehicle. You must apply pressure when doing this as this is the only way to get the paint off.
You will be able to tell when the rubbing alcohol has completely saturated the house paint as the paint splatter will become a gummy consistency. Once this happens, you can begin to remove the paint.
You should do this either using your fingernail or a dull knife. We’d recommend using your fingernail if possible to reduce the chance of further damage. Ensure you do not apply too much pressure at this stage as it could damage your vehicle.
For the paint splatter that remains, you should then apply the oil-based cleaner. These cleaners are very popular as they can easily remove stickiness. Once the cleaner has been applied, you should leave it for a few minutes to allow it to dry.
After it has dried, simply wipe with a fresh towel. If any paint splatter still remains, you should then take the clay bar. The clay bar also removes stickiness from the paintwork, and all you need to do is rub it over the paint splatter that remains. This should then remove all of the house paint from your vehicle.
Finally, you should wash your car, especially the affected area, with a mixture of soap and water. Before doing this, you should remove the packing tape. After washing, you should then reapply wax to the affected area and it will look as good as new.
Summary
In short, it is very easy to remove house paint from your car. It does not require many tools and most of what it does require you will have at home.
Follow this guide, and removing house paint from your car is easy.
