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Old 05-17-2009, 09:13 AM   #1
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Paint Sprinkles on Van

Driving back north from Moab last week in northwest Colorado, I got behind a Colorado Department of Transportation paint crew, stripping the northbound lane's far right line. These guys were traveling about 20 mph and had about thirty vehicles backed up behind them on this narrow road for over ten miles before they allowed anyone to pass them. It was infuriating.

I was more infuriated when we stopped and found out that the right side of the van was speckled with white paint.



I tried wiping the speckles off immediately, but that only smeared them. Later that night when we stopped in Rawlins, Wyoming, I washed the entire van at a truck wash, and about a third to a half of the speckling came off.

Anyone have any suggestions for removing the rest of them, without damaging the original paint job?

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Old 05-17-2009, 09:50 AM   #2
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Try WD40 thats what I used on my truck when I got paint on it worked great.
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Old 05-17-2009, 11:02 AM   #3
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

That happened to me in Iowa. Only I got yellow speckles all over mine. It must be different paint through, because the yellow stuff was hard as a rock in the three minutes between my running over it and trying to get it off.

I wound up using my fingernail to 'pop' each speckle off. Fortunately, I had a recent coat of wax so it didn't really get to the paint.

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Old 05-17-2009, 02:23 PM   #4
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Take lots of pictures first, just in case they don't come off, and if there's even a small chanc of filing a successful claim against the CO DOT.


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Old 05-17-2009, 11:01 PM   #5
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Ed,
As previously suggested WD-40 sometimes works well if you get to it soon enough . Another product that works well is the citrus based solvents such as Goof Off or Goo Gone , both of which I have used with great results on several different vehicles. Purchase a small bottle and perform a sample test , I found that applying with a fine synthetic sponge in a patting motion
and allowing to sit for a few minutes before wiping off was a viable solution most of the time .
On one occasion I had to resort to using a plastic Bondo applicator , after two separate pat and wipes . Good luck Ed .
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Old 05-17-2009, 11:21 PM   #6
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Goof Off is a lot stronger than Goo Gone although I've never used either on paint.
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Old 05-18-2009, 07:56 AM   #7
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Quote:
Originally Posted by jage
Goof Off is a lot stronger than Goo Gone although I've never used either on paint.
Didn't know there were two similar products. Whichever one I've used, hasn't worked very well on removing the stickers that the PO put on the paint.

BTW there is a gel version of one of the products out now. Haven't had a chance to try it yet, though I did buy it.

I've heard about using WD40 to remove stickers, though I haven't tried that yet either.


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Old 05-18-2009, 08:22 AM   #8
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

How about using a T-Cut compound or tar remover?
There also sorts of bodywork paste which might work well...

Right shame about that mind you!
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Old 05-18-2009, 10:54 AM   #9
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

I'd recommend the wd-40 repeat application for a couple of days, and, if that doesn't work, alternating hot and icy water. There is almost certainly a coat of wax between the paint and the sprinkles. I bet they are going to pop right off over time.
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Old 10-25-2009, 06:12 AM   #10
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Re: Paint Sprinkles on Van

Finally got most of the white paint off of the Sportsmobile yesterday. Posters were correct that the paint sprinkles popped off over time, and I finished the job by scarping most of them with a razor blade. If you are slow and careful, you can get nearly all of the white drops off with the razor blade without scratching the underlying paint job. All told, it took about six hours of scraping over several weekends to get them all off.

I took the SMB past a local auto detaling establishment last July and the owner said that they could clean the paint off. The detailing "specialist" took one look at the van and said that he couldn't, because the paint was burnt on by the summer heat. I think that he basically didn't want to do the tedious work involved.

WD-40 helped a little, but didn't do the job. I tried a couple of other cleaning solvents, but nothing really dissolved the paint. I will take a couple of after pictures as soon as it warms up and I get the rig washed and waxed for the winter.
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