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Drove Over Wet Paint on Freeway

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Mongiamc10, Feb 25, 2021.

  1. Mongiamc10

    Mongiamc10 Junior Member

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    As the title reads sadly... it was unavoidable...

    was wondering if anyone has had this experience and if so what is the best way to remove it?

    it is all over the right underside of my car, the skirt, the wheel wells, and on the tread of my tires.

    thanks in advance
     

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  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Get out there and work on it now!

    Even if all you have is a dry towel, you can remove a lot of it- although it is much better if you have some soap and water, so-called cleaner wax, bug-and-tar remover, mineral spirits, paint remover.... pretty much any of those will be helpful.

    Ignore any on the tires, that will scrub off with regular driving. Do the wheel wells last because they'll also have a lot of dirt that you don't want to grind into the painted surfaces.

    The most important part is to basically drop everything and work on the problem before the paint hardens.
     
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  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Depends. If it was latex paint, which is common, it will wash of most surfaces. If so, I would not worry about the tires and under the car. On the car's paint or finished metal pieces, try soap and water and a sponge or microfiber towel. If it is an oil based paint it will take a more careful process with rubbing compounds, citrus or other heavy duty cleaners. The good news is you have a clear coat over the paint and almost anything can be cleaned off.

    A detailer might be best if it does not come off with soap and water.

    I find this citrus product to work amazingly well, even removing asphalt spots.
     
  4. Mongiamc10

    Mongiamc10 Junior Member

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    Thankfully I Immediately removed any paint that was on the exterior of the vehicle. The only area of paint that I did not get to was the under portion of the side skirt. The wheel wells are the worst. I’m going to try some of those products. I went over the paint on the freeway and I still had like 10minutes if driving before getting home, so it seemed like it was dry by the time I got home when I tried removing some of the wheel well area. I may try to take the wheel off and spray it with a wheel cleaner that has those special additives to remove stuff.
     
  5. Mongiamc10

    Mongiamc10 Junior Member

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    the paint seemed to have dried pretty quickly so idk.

    I’m gonna try that citrus stuff. Thanks!
     
  6. Mongiamc10

    Mongiamc10 Junior Member

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    nvm that stuff can’t shop to California lol
     
  7. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Apply Vaseline. Wait a few hours and pressure wash off. Might take a few tries or a longer soak time depending on the type of epoxy paint.
     
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