Driving on freshly painted roads can unexpectedly leave your vehicle covered in white or yellow splatter. If not addressed promptly, removing this road paint can be challenging and risky for your car’s finish.
In this post, I’m sharing all the tested and proven methods that I use when removing road paint splatter from cars, all while keeping the car paint safe from scratches.
Key Takeaways:
- Acting quickly is crucial to removing road paint from cars.
- A pressure washer, if used quickly, will remove most of the road paint from your car.
- Natural waxes help with cleaning the residue.
- Lift-off sprays, clay bars, and plastic razors can help with removing the tiniest particles of road paint.
- Road paint is easier to remove from plastics and wheel wells, and you should use all-purpose cleaners and detailing brushes to do that.
Removing Road Paint From Car’s Paint
Since there are more ways to remove road paint from the car’s paint, I’ll write you a few tips and tricks. First on the list will be the most gentle way, and then I’ll continue with more intense tips and tricks.
So, start with step 1, then, if that doesn’t work, continue to step 2, and so on.
1. Pressure Wash The Vehicle ASAP
When you notice road paint splatters on your vehicle, you should immediately go and pressure wash your car.
Most of the time, if the road paint is still fresh, you remove it using a pressure washer only. So, the sooner you notice the road paint on your vehicle, the easier you will be able to remove it.
If you can, make sure to pre-wash your car with snowfoam, then rinse it with a pressure washer. That way, the foam will loosen the road paint, which will go off quickly by doing a pressure wash.
Just to emphasize, pressure washing your vehicle (or the part that has road paint on it) should always be the first step for removing road paint from your car. You can’t continue with other methods without washing your vehicle.
Pressure washing is important because it removes all the other dirt from your vehicle, so there’s less chance of causing swirl marks and scratches when removing line paint.
2. Use Natural Carnauba Wax on Microfiber Cloth
The second least abrasive option you can do is by working in some natural carnauba wax on a microfiber towel. Natural carnauba waxes will quickly remove any fine road paint from the painted areas on your vehicle.
Of course, you need to be gentle and don’t press the microfiber cloth too much. Just make circular motions, and everything should come off quickly.
This method requires a little bit of elbow grease but is one of the best methods since you won’t damage the clear coat. Also, you’ll save some time since there’s no need to apply waxes afterward.
I recommend you use Chemcal Guys Butter Wet Wax for this purpose.
3. Use Lift Off Spray By Mostenbocker
Even though removing road paint isn’t the primary purpose of Mostenbocker's Lift Off Spray, many people successfully removed road paint from their cars by using this lift-off spray.
Just spray the product on the splattered area, wait a minute or two, and then wipe it off with a clean microfiber towel. After that, wash the area to remove any product residue.
This method will remove waxes and sealants from your vehicle’s finish (if you had them), too. So, you’ll have to re-apply wax to your car to make the paint protected again.
4. Try With Clay Bar
If there’s not too much road paint splatter on your vehicle, you can remove it by using a medium clay bar. The best thing is that you can combine it with lift-off spray for the quickest results.
The clay bar is abrasive and should easily remove line paint from the car’s finish. To prevent damage to the clear coat, keep the surface lubricated all the time by using clay bar lubricants.
Claying will probably remove the waxes you applied to your car, so don’t forget to re-apply them when you finish removing road paint from the paint.
5. Remove Road Paint by Using a Plastic Razor Blade
If none of the above methods work, this one will work for sure. Using a plastic razor blade is the best way to remove dried road paint from your vehicle, especially if it sits there for a long time. I would suggest using this method if there’s a lot of road paint, especially if there’s a thick layer of it on your vehicle.
So, if there’s plenty of thick road paint on your car, you can pressure wash it and skip the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th steps and immediately jump to this one since it’s the quickest way for larger splatters.
Take a plastic razor blade and gently scrub the surface to remove all the line paint from the car’s finish. Make sure to keep the surface lubricated the whole time. You can lubricate the area with soapy water (car shampoo). This method will probably cause some light swirl marks and scratches, which will require light polishing of the area.
Removing Road Paint From Plastic Parts and Wheel Wells
Removing road paint from a car’s plastic parts and wheel wells is much easier and straightforward. There’s almost no chance of damaging something, so you can try more abrasive and sturdier methods. There are two methods I suggest you do, so check them below.
The same as with cleaning paint, you should thoroughly wash the area first, preferably by using a pressure washer.
1. Use an APC and a Brush
You can quickly remove road paint from plastic parts and wheel wells by spraying them with some APC and then agitating them with detailing brushes. My advice is to use a stiffer detailing brush for wheel wells and a softer one for plastic parts.
When you spray APC, let it sit there for a minute or two. That way, it’ll break up the road paint, so it comes off easily by agitating it with a brush. After brushing the area, rewash it, and it should be immaculate.
Since plastic parts and wheel wells aren’t as sensitive as car paint, you don’t have to be afraid that you’ll mess up something. Don’t be scared to press the brush a bit higher, too. This will require more elbow grease, but the results are fantastic.
2. Remove Road Paint From Plastic Parts by Using a Magic Eraser
This second method will work primarily for plastic parts only since wheel wells are often lined with fabric. Of course, if the wheel wells on your car are lined with plastics, you can use this method on them, too.
Make the initial wash using a pressure washer, and then rub the area with a magic eraser. Since the magic eraser is abrasive, it’ll easily remove road paint from the plastic parts of your vehicles. Also, this method is plastic-safe, so you shouldn’t make any damage to it.
For prevention, however, don’t scrub the area too much.
Final Words
These methods are designed to help you remove road paint from your vehicle effectively. It works on both yellow and white road paints.
However, if the task seems challenging, don’t hesitate to hire a professional car detailer. It might come with a price, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing the paint is removed safely without harming your car’s finish.
IMPORTANT: Whenever you finish removing road paint from your car, don’t forget to check the paint’s condition. Sometimes you’ll realize that a clear coat requires some light polishing to bring the gloss back. Also, always apply some paint protectant (wax, sealant, ceramic coating) after doing this job.
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