Cars define your personality. Guess what? Suppose you are on a romantic date and get out to wash up your car for tonight. There come you notice defective old paint jobs ready to lean away from the body of your car. Wait, what now? Panic!! Especially if you don’t know how to fix it.
Well, rewind, and don’t panic; I am here to get your back. There are many simple ways to remove car spray paint. Let us quickly catch up with them and fall in love. So,
Table of Contents
Why do Car Paint Job Issues Occur?
Defective paint jobs can occur due to many reasons. Some of the top and most common reasons among them are:
Peeling
When an adhesion factor between the paint surface and substrate occurs, the paint starts to separate from the surface. To eliminate this condition, you must prepare your car with a wash before doing other experiments like sanding, cleaning, and using the correct primer.
PinHole
Pinhole occurs when there are air bubbles in body fillers. These bubbles come up when you sand the surface. Pinhole leaves marks and holes in the area. Pinhole also occurs when you mix hardener and filler incorrectly. So, it is advised to use a hardener in a decent amount to avoid the situation.
Debris Caught
Getting your car paint in a speck of dirt and debris-free environment is recommended. Also, after every single coat, dry the paint out smoothly so that there should be no chemical reaction. Ensure that the car’s surface and upper coat are immaculate before you treat it.
Orange Peel
An orange peel surface is one appearing in the form of an actual orange peel. This surface results from applying low pressure and a high amount of paint on the surface. If the orange peeling surface is not too bad, you can treat it using sanding.
With the help of grit sandpaper, you can do sanding followed by buffing and repainting the car. Don’t try to overcoat the car, as you can end up making a big mess. Always paint according to the given instructions.
Bird’s Feet
There are some cracks visible in your topcoat. Treating them may result in damaging the paint more. Some leading and common reasons behind these cracks are applying too thick coats, lack of drying time between coats, using a blowgun to dry the primer coat, and using a catalyst in primer.
To fix these, you must strip the cracked paint film and reapply the paint.
How To Remove Spray Paint From Car?
Well, to treat your previous and fading spray. There are two types of ways and methods:
- Remove spray paint using household items.
- To use premade products for treating the spray paint.
Removing Car Spray Paint Using Household Items

Soap And Water
Soap and water is a quick, easy, and cheap method to get your spray paint off the car. If your paint is out of shape, you can quickly catch up and start washing the car with two simple things. Notice that you need to do this process quickly before the paint dries.
- All you need for this process is soap, water, a bucket, and some towels.
- Start by mixing the soap and water in a bowl. You can use warm water as well.
- Use a clean towel, as a dirty towel might increase paint defects.
- Now, run the solution containing the towel over the surface.
- Do this process in a circular motion. Wash the area with water and let it dry.
- You can repeat the process if required.
- Once the paint is eliminated, you can notice the results.
- While doing the process, you must keep an eye on the scratches.
Acetone / Nail Paint Remover
Water and soap solutions might not work for everyone. But it is not an issue, as you can catch up with another mixture: acetone or nail paint remover. Nail paint contains a rich amount of acetone that helps you efficiently fix the defective parts of paint. So, buy yourself a bottle of nail polish and some clean towels and start.
- Apply the nail paint remover over the clean microfiber cloth.
- Run the cloth through the paint surface.
- It would help if you rubbed the solution very gently in circular motions.
- You will notice that the paint is transferring from the car to the cloth.
- Repeat the step until you get desired results.
- Once you are done, you need to wash the car with water. Lastly, dry.
Gasoline
Gasoline is another quick, best, and cheap paint remover Autozone. Gasoline also works like a nail paint remover. You can quickly locate it at some general stores.
- All you need for the gasoline experiment is gasoline and some clean microfiber towels.
- Use gas and apply it on a towel.
- Spot the place which you want to treat.
- Now, rub the towel in a circular motion on the area.
- Apply a little pressure.
- Do the process unless you notice that the paint is captured by cloth.
- Now you need to wash the area with clean water.
- Once you are done with the washing. It would help if you dried the spot too.
- Keep in mind not to destroy the paint of unwanted areas.
Using Petrol
Treating your paint spray with the help of petrol is another best tip to apply. However, only use this method if the paint cover is in small areas. It would be best if you kept in mind that this step might also end up giving damage to the clear coat.
- All you need is petrol and some clean towels.
- Firstly clean your car and wash it.
- You can apply wax after cleaning to make this process more reliable.
- Apply petrol on a clean cloth and run it through the spots.
- You can clean it by using another clean cloth.
Removing Car Spray Paint Using Premade Products

Using clay
Clay usage is another simple method to get overspray off the car.
- It would be best if you had gloves, a towel, and clay.
- Wash and dry your car. You need to wash the dirt and debris off the surface.
- You can wash the car by hand or go to a car wash.
- Once the dirt is off. It’s time to section the clay bar.
- Try and use a low amount of clay. Ziploc is the other section.
- Use oil and apply it to the paint. Oil helps you do the job quickly without getting clay stuck on the surface.
- Once you are done. You can use a clean microfiber towel to remove the mud from the surface.
- Work in small sections and get the best results. Don’t rush and destroy the pain.
Get Help From Carnauba Wax
You can use carnauba wax to treat your scratched paint surface. Carnauba wax will never damage the car. Also, you will be able to peel off spray paint.
- All you need is liquid carnauba wax, some clean clothes, and water.
- Apply the wax on the cloth. You need to put a good amount of drops on it.
- Now, apply the product to the damaged surface.
- Rub the cloth on the surface in a circular direction.
- It would be best if you had firm pressure while doing the process.
- Don’t try to over-rub the area.
- Once the spray paint is removed, you can buff the wax off the car.
- Use another clean cloth and do the buffing process.
- Clean the area.
Go To Professional
If you have applied every possible solution, but still there are no results came out. You can try contacting and going to a professional detailer. They will help you remove the spray paint from the surface after looking out for the possible chances. Like they will look if the car needs to be painted, waxed, cleaned, or some other process.
Car Spray Pray Removal ProTips
- Suppose you notice a hard spot that is not coming off quickly. You can use an aggressive clay bar and put it off. Also, use a lot of oil and lubricant with it.
- Wear safety measures while doing the process, as some of the products might contain harmful substances that can result in damage.
- You can use a pressure washer as it can help you get rid of the elbow grease in no time. So, you can get overspray off the car quickly.
- Don’t use the solvent method’s help on the headlights, as you can damage them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to remove 3m adhesives?
Submerge a clean towel in hot water and put it over the tape. Give possible steam to remove the adhesive. Now, pick an edge and, with the help of a scraper, try to remove the adhesive. You need to be very careful and do the process with extra care.
How to remove paint scuffs from the car?
Damp clean clothes. You need to apply some amount of toothpaste to the cloth. Start rubbing it on the scuffed paint in a circular motion. Repeat the process until results come up.
How to remove spray paint from concrete?
Concrete absorbs the paint quickly. It would help if you had a heavy hand to remove the spray paint from it. You can either use a power wash or work with trisodium phosphate. Both of these solutions are perfect to go.
How to remove overspray from car paint?
The most commonly used and efficient method is using wax. Use wax to get rid of the spray pain in no time. You can also get the help of clay bars to remove grease. However, it would help if you were careful while working with it.
What takes spray paint off the car quickly?
You can easily remove the spray paint from the car’s surface using nail paint. Spray paint contains acetone that works excellently. All you need to do is apply nail paint on the surface and rub it with the help of a clean cloth. Do process in a circular motion.
Conclusion
Spray paint removal is now an easy and efficient task to do. You can do it all at a low cost at home if you have any experience; however, if you don’t know how to get rid of paint spray. It would help if you did not try doing experiments on your own, as you can end up damaging the paint job too. So, get yourself a detailer who knows how to help you out. For any more conditions, you can contact me. Thanks for the read!