Yellow street paint

Is there a good way to remove yellow street paint from the bottom trim without doing more harm than good?

Let it age a bit (couple-three weeks) then use turtle wax liquid bug remover per label directions.

I'm gonna catch heck for his BUT if you know what you are doing you can use DOT 5 brake fluid, which is silicone oil (NOT ANY OTHER BRAKE FLUID!!!) Basically it's liquid dimethylpolysiloxane. Dab it on with a cotton ball or corner of a rag or some such. Let it stay a while, the street paint will more or less pop off when you go back to wash it off with any car wash and a cotton or microfiber washrag. . If you do this do not use DOT 5.1 or DOT 4 or DOT 3 or any other glycol (antifreeze) they will *ruin* your paint. Straight DOT 5 is a silicone oil that wont hurt paint, preserves rubber, is *not* hygroscopic, and is used largely in classic cars that are not driven much to eliminate the risk of getting any brake fluid on or near their paint. All silicone brake fluid is **the same** and its all made, I am told, by Dow Chemical. Its all purple.

Just an FYI - Hemmings.com says: "DOT 5 is silicone-based brake fluid and is used in most new cars today. DOT 5 is expensive, but it has a dry boiling point of 356 degrees. Newer brake rotors tend to be smaller and thinner, which means they disperse heat a lot less efficiently. Also, DOT 5 does not absorb any moisture. DOT 5 will not harm painted surfaces and acts as a weather barrier for your brake system, preventing rust. DOT 5 can be used as an upgrade or replacement for both DOT 3 and 4, but should not be mixed with any of the other fluids. The procedures to convert your DOT 3 or 4 systems to the silicone-based DOT 5 are similar to the Dot 4 conversion procedure mentioned above. Silicone-based brake systems tend to be more difficult to bleed, but once this is accomplished, a DOT 5-filled system will resist rust better and last longer than the other formulations. Silicone brake fluid is also much lighter in cold temperatures, only about 900 weight at -40 F."

When you get that DOT 5, use it to preserve rubber and to get paint off car, you can even mix a little with the bucket of soapy car wash water as a paint conditioner. But DO NOT take it anywhere near your Rivs brake system because if you put even a little in there it will turn the DOT 3 or 4 glycol into goo. It will kill your master cylinder in the process. You *can* convert but that will involve overhauling all the moving parts (wheel cylinders, ABS motor, master cylinder) and replacing the other rubbers/plastics (MC reservoir, soft hoses at each wheel).

Brian , can you post a few photos of the car so we can see what`s that about.

A coworker had to deal with this a few years ago. Her insurance paid for professional cleanup under comprehensive coverage.

Thanks Albert & I will take a pic tomorow.

carguy8888 wrote:

Thanks Albert & I will take a pic tomorow.

You also might want to ask Terrance about that comprehensive claim, if there is enough paint on the car. Although, really, the stuff comes off the gray plastic alright using bug remover or silicone oil.

It's not too bad, I will try the bug & tar remover first. Tomorrow for the pic, I did not move today.

I finally got some time and tried bug and tar remover. The paint did not even budge LOL.
https://flic.kr/p/2iMoTBb

Try 97% rubbing alcohol. I've used it to remove interior paints, not always on purpose!

carguy8888 wrote:

I finally got some time and tried bug and tar remover. The paint did not even budge LOL.
https://flic.kr/p/2iMoTBb

No surprise there. It was March 28th when I posted the note about letting the paint age 2-3 weeks then going after it with bug/tar remover.  Two things.

1) The B/T you want is Turtle Wax Bug & Tar liquid, such as https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-T-520A-Remover-Trigger/dp/B0009JKGII.   The various surfactant spray on stuff won't work.  As for the Turtle Wax stuff, it is combustible (see label).  You will have to  let it sit a while then wash it off. You may want to open the bottle and apply it with a sponge instead of spraying it all over the place.
2) Today is April 6. It has not been 2-3 weeks yet.  You have to let the polymer in the pain have UV exposure, cross link and start to embrittle before it will come off, unless you can get it while it is wet and has not cured yet - nearly impossible because they put stuff in that paint to make it cure really fast.  You would have had to pull over into a parking lot or some such and got it off then with some thinner or Bug & Tar or GoofOff or some such.  So the earliest you will be able to get that stuff off would be around April 11 and even then it depends a bit on paint chemistry.

The other thing that has been said to work, although I have never done it (I have used bug & tar) is WD-40, spray it on liberally and let it soak at least an hour not more than 2 hours, then the spots will wash off for the most part but may need to be scraped off with the edge of a plastic credit card.  Problem there is that credit card method will likely leave scratches, although maybe not on the plastics. It is also said that petroleum jelly will remove that paint as well - see https://www.wtae.com/article/traffic-line-paint-removal-tips/7457662. I have never had to try that either.

After you are done with all this, wash the car.  By the way, cleaner waxes that contain petroleum solvents may well work in getting the paint bits off.

The paint was on long before my first post, at-least a month or two. I have lots of time now to spray and wait so I will continue. Thanks Albert.

carguy8888 wrote:

The paint was on long before my first post, at-least a month or two. I have lots of time now to spray and wait so I will continue. Thanks Albert.

Sorry about your paint troubles.

You might want to try the credit card scrape and see if it helps.

Road paint is tough (for a reason) but not impossible. Bug & Tar and the silicone brake fluid worked for me.

I actually bought plastic razor blades but the paint was still too strong.

I meant 99%

just making sure as long as I buy the particular brake fluid that Albert suggests it will not hurt the gray trim?.

carguy8888 wrote:

just making sure as long as I buy the particular brake fluid that Albert suggests it will not hurt the gray trim?.

You have to be absolutely certain it is NOT the type DOT 5.1 - 5.1 is glycol fluid and will strip the paint.

DOT 5.  Only.

THIS -->  https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/carquest-wearever-dot-5-silicone-brake-fluid-w20018/7060602-P

ABSOLUTELY NOT THIS -->  https://www.autozone.com/brake-and-power-steering-fluid-additives/brake-fluid/prestone-dot-5-1-brake-fluid-12-oz/666643_0_0?review

This page lists both so be careful --> https://www.amazon.com/slp/dot-5-brake-fluid/mpx3dwz7eggh64b

Is this on the lower plastic along the bottom of the door?

Thank you everybody, no need to deal with the brake fluid I got it with the bug and tar remover. After spraying it a few times and letting it sit overnight the paint finally came off. Too bad there's not a product to make the roads as good as that paint sticks. Thanks again for everybody's patients.