How to Get Road Paint Off a Car
by Jenny Carver
The paint that the Department of Transportation uses to paint lines on the roads is not the same type of paint used to paint your car. The road paint will stick to your car if you drive through it on the street. The road paint will dry on your car's painted surface and eventually chip off, taking the paint off your car in the process. If you recently got road paint on your car, use supplies from an auto parts store to remove the paint in under an hour.
Step 1
Soak a piece of the cotton towel in lacquer thinner. Wipe it on the car's paint in a place not seen, like inside a doorjamb or under the trunk lid. Wait 10 minutes to ensure the thinner doesn't harm the paint. Thinner normally won't harm modern automotive urethane paint finishes.
Step 2
Wipe the road paint with the cotton towel soaked in lacquer thinner. Let the thinner soak into the paint for five minutes and wipe it again with the towel. This should remove all of the road paint.
Step 3
Pour a dime-sized amount of car polish onto a clean cotton towel. Work the polish in small circular motions over the area cleaned with the thinner.
Step 4
Use a dry side of the towel to hand-buff the polish off the car until it shines.
Tips
- Wash some of the road paint off the car with a washer at a car wash bay if the road paint is recent and still tacky or wet.
Things You'll Need
- Lacquer thinner
- Cotton towels
- Car polish
Warnings
- Don't use any type of chemical or solvent cleaner on your car's paint other than the lacquer thinner suggested.
Writer Bio
Since 1997 Jenny Carver has served as editor and freelance writer for many offline and online publications including lovetoknow.com, autotropolis.com, "Hoof Beat News," "Import Tuner" and others. Carver owns a custom automotive shop where she has been doing paint and body work, custom interior work and engine building for over 11 years.
