I painted my E - unintentionally.

http://www.hondaelementsucks.net (http://www.hondaelementsucks.net/)

I havent tried it yet, but I do believe using a clay bar may just help.

Hello.

Sorry to hear that you got paint on your ride.
My father painted cars for a living and is now a handy man. I called and asked him what he would do. He said assuming that this is basic house paint you could use mineral spirits.
Here is how he said to do it:
1) soft rags
2) mineral spirits ( you can get it at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, ect...)
3) apply a small amount of ms to the rag.
4) starting from the outside/edge of the paint work it lightly.
---- ms will evaperate quickly you'll have to apply often to rag.
5) DON'T SCRUB!!!
6) repeat light rubbing untill whole area is clean. You my find q-tips work well too...
7) clean w/ soap and water before moving on to next area.
8) move on to the plastic. This area my require more ms because it is plastic.

BECAREFUL after all this is your baby!

Good Luck if done right this will work.

GOD SPEED!

Jessy

wouldnt mineral spirits remove the clear coat?

Denatured alcohol.

It is likely latex paint, so neither mineral spirits nor alcohol will touch it.

If you get really brave, try this in an inconspicuous area:

Get a brand new, green plastic Scotch=Brite scouring pad -- the kind you use in the kitchen for cleaning pots and pans.

Now mix up some very soapy luke-warm water. Use any kind of liquid soap you want -- Dawn, Joy, car washing liquid, whatever...

Using plenty of sudsy water on the painted area, lay your whole palm and fingers flat on the pad, than move the pad very, very softly over the paint. You don't have to move slowly, but do not press any harder than possible.

The pad will ride smoothly across the clean glossy paint and will not scratch it unless you press hard. But the fibers will snag on the paint spatters, and cut the tops off of them. Its sort of like shaving your face: only the stuff sticking up gets cut off!

This process difficult to describe, but your hand will feel the textures underneath the scrubber pad, and you will just 'know' how to do it. Keep at it for a while, and you'll get 99% of the paint off.

And, the original paint will hardly be dulled, if you can resist the temptation to push a little too hard in order to speed up the job. A good wax may well be all it will need to be good as new.

I have used this method successfully on a number of cars splashed with paint, road tar, and the infamous Florida Love-Bugs. (The bugs are actually the worst, since their juices have already burned a tiny pit through the original paint.)

This also works almost miraculously for cleaning up old cars with a decade of dusty old surface paint. Scrub it all over with the pad, give it a coat of wax, and it looks like new! And, I almost forgot, it is great for cleaning off surface rust, too.

Get some claymagic clay or the mothers clay kit at Autozone. Try it first. This should pretty much get most of it off. The scotch brite will leave a bunch of scratches on the paint.

If all else fails you could buy yourself new panels and put them on yourself. They really arent that expensive. Looks like you would only need the rear tire panel and the under door panel.

I kinda like the "splatter" look. I would touch it. :grin:

Alternately, if you don't want to take on the project yourself you can submit an insurance claim and have it professionally done for the price of your deductible. If you have full coverage insurance on your E this type of damage is eligible.

hey so whats the update? the end of the story? how much did you have to pay the deteailing place. did they give you some advice? show us before and after pics.

Like the pp said, you can file under your insurance under the "road debri" policy. It should be about a 50 buck deductable. My hubby had a piece of rebar fall on the hood of his truck while driving 70mph. Caused 950 dollars worth of damage. Cost us 50 bucks to repair. Most insurance policies have coverage for "freak events". I'd let a body shop handle it rather than attempt it yourself. You may even get a new clear coat out of it!
Manda

Since this happened I've noticed about 1/2 a dozen roads in town where white paint has been spilled on the road. I just don't get it. How do you spill paint on a road?

Half-dozen? Sounds more like vandalism than accidental spill. In light of the extensiveness of the paint splatter, I'd consider that trip to the insurance agent.

Half-dozen? Sounds more like vandalism than accidental spill. In light of the extensiveness of the paint splatter, I'd consider that trip to the insurance agent.

I second that vote (or third it seems). That was really a lot of paint that you must have gone thru for the size of those 'splatters', but you could not have been going too fast as they are fairly low on the E. Give us an update Handy Mann!

Sorry I didn't see this post earlier, detail shop should have taken care of it but for anyone else in a similar spot, there is an easy solution that won't hurt the clear coat or the plastic. Mix a mild solution of Ammonia and warm/hot water. Sponge over the "painted" areas and keep it wet with the solution for 5 minutes or so. Then scrub with the solution using a car wash mit. Should work fine on gray plastic or finished paint. Once the paint spatter heats up it gets softer and Ammonia really attacks it.

It will remove wax but not clear coat, so you may need to buff with whatever wax you have used.

This will work with majority of latex and acrylic based finishes. If the paint was oil based (polyurethane, alkyd) a stronger solvent is needed, toluene works well or OOPs brand spot remover, usually won't harm the plastic or the finish, test first. Oops will work on the latex paints as well but the Ammonia is less harsh.