removing paint spatters from 3M clearbra

bj33813 · 03-17-2010, 11:02 AM

Yo-yo in a truck ahead of me was busy chatting on his cellphone, or texting,

and hit the center median causing junk to fall off the back, some of which apparently was paint.
Got a small amount of white paint spatters on the nose and driver side fender top, and as the car is LeMans Blue, it stands out pretty good.
Tried gasoline, paint thinner, even acetone and nothing softens or removes any of it.

Anyone help me out on this ? Thanks.

DUB · 03-17-2010, 07:02 PM

First off..there should be a law to stop driver distractions while driving. ENOUGH said on that.

Try buffing it off. test a small spot. It will be hard to say what to use (solvent wise)because you do not know what the make-up or type of paint was that spattered on your 3M bra. If it is a latex based paint and has been allowed to dry...solvents usually will not soften them up. Much like getting latex house paint on a brick and coming back the next day and trying to remove it....very much a pain in the backside.

Do not let your buffer get the 3M stuff to hot.

It (the 3M bra) may be damaged if the solvent in the paint that spattered actually "ate" into the film...and now has become one with it. Try CAREFULLY "picking" at it with a pin....and see if it flakes off or not....trying NOT to dig down into the film.

You could try sanding it off with 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and buffing the film out again. Once again...I would do a test in a small spot and see if the film would come back to life IF it did dull out a bit from the sandpaper.

Just some ideas and opinions...free of charge...and may actually be quite worthless.

"DUB"

markids77 · 03-17-2010, 11:05 PM

It did the job and kept the crud off your paint. Why not simply replace it?

bj33813 · 03-25-2010, 07:42 PM

OK, some success. Wanted to post back what worked for me.

Wash car, put on a good coat of wax (your choice, don't want to start a war) which will help protect the 3M material during spot removal.

I then used a magnifier to get the best possible view, and a NEW single edged razor blade, and very carefully shaved each speck off. Had about 90% success, as some of the larger spots welded right into the film and left a slight pock mark.

I also left a very few scratch marks, but small and not as noticeable as the white specks were, so I call that a success.

DUB · 03-25-2010, 08:31 PM

Glad that you got it resolved to your expectations.

Smart guy also...it is very easy to start a war on the forum when sometimes giving to much product usage and information....been there and done that before.

"DUB"

VetteBoy1979 · 04-12-2010, 02:52 PM

Typically you can clean it with the strongest ISO Alcohol you can get. That's what 3M recommends, if you can use it.