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I have a steel grey honda city 2017 model. I drove to my hometown recently from Bangalore. Somewhere
on this journey I drove on a road which had recently been painted with street markers:Frustrati. This white paint has formed very small spots on my car which are clearly visible. I have tried removing them with nails, turpentine oil but without any luck. I am afraid to use any sharp objects as I might scratch the paint surface. Request the groups suggestion on this.

Thank you,
Varun

Hi,

You can try with some petrol to clean the surface. It can be of some help.

Please try a clay bar with any soap solution or alternative as a lube. I had a similar experience a month back except the paint particles were from ships which were being spray painted and I had parked my car in a parking spot. The particles were in the air which settled down on the vehicles parked there.

I used the clay bar from Amazon and a soap solution, tried it on the windshield and was pleasantly surprised when it removed the particles completely! I did it panel by panel later on and removed it. Do try it out.

Alternatively, you an also take your car to 3M, they will get this out for you.
What Gannu_1 said is a cost effective method and would get it done for you, however if you have second thoughts over it, 3M or any other professional detailer can help you out.

I have been using GooGone (Not sure if you get the original in India) for hard to remove spots/goo for ages. Just wash off with soapy water, post removing.

If I might add to whatever has been said above - the most important thing is to act quick.

One update, tried petrol, after a lot of elbow grease I was able to remove only some of these marks. I will try acetone based removers and clay this weekend. My last resort is I will rush to 3M if everything else fails. Thank you for your advise, will post an update once I am through with these menacing spots:)

You can use claybar (Meguirs, bilthammer or locally available cheaper version) as advised by Gannu_1, they are available in different abrasion grades so be sure to use the light or medium grade. Alternatively if you have access to DA polisher you can use 2000 grit sandpaper, some wet sanding and polishing should make your car like new.

Before you put your money on any costly solutions, try a simple fix which has worked for me it in fixing the most adverse spots on my car:



Yes, this one fix for all has been an unsuspecting solution for many problems.
It may not work if the paint has dried out and baked due to surrounding heat but it is definitely worth a try. Also, being a very mild solvent, it won't damage the paint work.


A day before my cousin's wedding, the groom's car came back covered in Tar due to roadworks it crossed on the way. The drivers at the venue jumped in with petrol and diesel to clean the spots. After 10 minutes of their rubbing and cleaning efforts, the car was looking as if purposely smeared with grease as the petrol was dissolving the tar but drying out real quick. With no time left for the car to be sent to a professional body shop/detailed, youtube & lil WD-40 was our savior and the car was squeaky clean within 20 mins. And guess what - it left a glossy shine on the whole car comparable to wax polish! Also, it's been 5 years since the incident and there is no sign of any paint damage to the car.

If it can dissolve paint, it can dissolve your car's paint too

I would strongly advice you not to use anything like WD40, petrol or kerosene. They will ruin the shine in your car's clear coat. This is a job for a clay bar. Get yourself a clay bar and some soap solution, or even water will do. Clay till the spots are gone. It will slightly marr your paint surface if too aggressive but it's better that others. Clay+buff=Perfect solution

I tried 3M's Finesse it with a uniform light pressure by a Microfiber cloth. Later a light layer Perfect-It and a light coat of wax (in my case it was Meguiar's Yellow Wax) it worked perfectly for me. Hope that helps you as well. :)

I had a similar experience after my car was parked in an open parking lot of a high-rise & some paint work was happening on a top floor. I was disappointed to see minute spots all over. I took it to 3M & got it perfectly removed. This was about 3 years back & cost around Rs.3000 (for hatchback). I will strongly recommend.

Petrol/Kerosene cannot be compared with WD 40. Petrol/Kerosene act as powerful solvents. On the other hand, WD 40 has a very different function. "WD" stands for Water Dispersal. The primary function of WD 40 is to penetrate & lubricate. Given its thin viscosity, it is able to get into tight spots and aid lubricating jammed up bolts, joints etc.

As for its solvency properties, as compared to petrol, it is very mild and will not damage the car's clear coat unless you use extremely large quantities and rub aggressively. Then again, aggressive / incorrect claying and buffing will lead to similar or more irreversible damage.

From personal experience, claybar with a lubricant (car shampoo dilution) is your best bet. Had paint droplets from a nearby ceiling painting exercise fall all over the car. Fortunately had claybar with me. Used it first on a small surface on the c-pillar. It worked brilliantly.

I couldn't complete the procedure immediately. Due to a death in the family had to travel and could complete the entire car only after 4 weeks.

I was maybe fortunate enough to have it come off after such a long time.

thanks for this info. I didn’t know what it stands for. I agree hat kerosene cannot be compared with wd40 but when it’s able to dissolve the paint that’s fallen on the car, it is also ab,e to dissolve the car’s paint. Paint is paint after all. And obviously all paints are not same, but why take a chance when we have a system in place for this exact problem.
True that. Let’s ask our better halves to help us clay the cars since they would have a little more experience kneading. Kneading the clay is he most important part to prevent marring from improper claying. And it will definitely take some clay, but it will also free the clear coat of OP from some contaminants, nic excuse to go buffing ;) any job done without experience and expertise will be bad. But this is what the clay bar and lubricant were born for. Their purpose in life. Let them have a feeling of usefulness please: