How To Get Car Paint Off Windows: The Simplest Way
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If you ever find in situation where someone paints your car windows, the cleaning process is slightly longer, but it’s pretty straightforward to do. In this post, I’ll show you the exact steps I take when removing paint from car windows.
Quick Steps For Removing Paint From Car Windows:
- Clean car windows.
- Identify the type of paint (water-based or oil-based).
- Use a razor blade to remove larger flakes of paint.
- Use WD40 or liquid detergent to remove paint leftovers. For tough paint stains, use professional removers such as Goof Off.
- Clay bar the glass.
How To Remove Paint From Car Windows
Let’s see the exact steps I use when removing car paint from windows.
1. Clean The Glass
We can’t work with dirty glass. If you want to achieve the best results and remove 100% of the paint from windows, you should clean the glass first.
That will help us determine the type of paint and also work more easily on the surface.
Here’s my guide on how to wash car windows properly. You can follow it if you don’t know the right procedure.
2. Identify The Type of Paint Marks
There are two main types of paint:
- Water-based
- Oil-based
Water-based paints are much easier to apply, dry quicker, and are also easier to clean. On the other hand, oil-based paints are harder to apply, but if you have to remove them from any surface, it will be harder because they bond to the surface much better.
Most car paints are water-based, so if you paint something on your car, it will probably be water-based paint. If you painted some walls in your garage or some furniture, it may be oil-based paint.
3. Remove Larger Paint Flakes
First off, you should scrape away larger flakes of paint. That’s done with a razor blade.
How to use razor blades on car windows:
- For tinted windows, use a plastic razor blade scraper so you don’t damage the tint or film on the window.
- For windows without tint, you can use a real steel razor blade, and that’s the most effective way. Just make sure to lubricate the glass while using a razor blade.
4. Remove The Remaining Paint
After removing larger flakes of the paint, many tiny paint particles will still be left on the windows, and we need to remove them as well.
Removing water-based paint:
- Mix liquid detergent with warm water.
- Scrub the paint off with a sponge.
- Repeat the process multiple times until the paint is completely gone.
Removing oil-based paint:
- Spray the area with WD40 and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Wash the area with a mixture of liquid detergent and warm water.
- If that doesn’t work, apply a small amount of acetone to a microfiber cloth and wipe it off that way. Again, wash it off immediately so the acetone doesn’t damage something.
If those methods aren’t helpful, I suggest using some professional remover such as Goof Off Remover, but use it with caution only after the methods above don’t work.
When you’re finished, just clean the window once again and you’re done.
Optional: Clay Bar Treatment For Perfection
If you want to make sure that even the tiniest particle is cleaned from car windows, I suggest that you do a clay bar treatment on windows after washing them.
Doing clay bar treatment on glass is doable and will help you to achieve a perfect finish.
The Importance of Cleaning Paint as Soon as Possible
Remember, time is of the essence when dealing with paint on car windows. Act quickly to prevent the paint from drying and becoming more challenging to remove.
The reason is that the longer the paint sits on windows, and it’s especially true on hot sunny days, the harder it will become to remove.
Frequently Asked Questions
WD 40 is a fantastic product for removing paint from glass, and it works especially well on oil-based types of paint.
For water-based paints, you should use liquid detergent with warm water and a sponge, and for oil-based paints, use WD 40 or acetone.
The best natural paint remover for glass is a mixture of white vinegar and water. Mix three tablespoons of hot white vinegar with three tablespoons of warm water, and use it on a rag to remove the paint from the glass.
Rubbing the alcohol mixture with water will help you break down the paint, making it easier to remove. But I suggest following the methods I have shown you above.
In the end, I invite you to consider using rain repellents or, even better, ceramic coatings for glass on all car window surfaces. That way, even if someone paints windows, it’ll be much easier to remove since the paint will bond to the coating instead of glass.
