Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

[davidc1]

Hello Everyone,

First post! So, I got my car newly painted. It was a 2004 Honda S2000 convertible being restored, so at the time of repainting it didn't have the soft top or windshield, so those areas were covered and tapped off when painting.

After I got it back I noticed that the inside of the windows had some blue paint overspray on them. And then I noticed some "colorless" coating which I assume was the clear coat overspray.

The instrument panel also appears to have some sort of very light coating on it as well which obscures the gauges slightly.

I tried soap and water, windex and ammonia for the the window coating, but the only thing that removed it was Acetone.

But I know I can't use Acetone on the plastic face of the gauges. And I assume I can't use it on the vinyl dashboard either?

I can sort of scrap off the stuff from the instrument panel with my finger, but it still don't look perfect that way.

Any recommendations from the experts? Going back to the paint shop is my very last option as the circumstances that this all happened in were sort of "complicated".

Thanks all!

[Detailing by M]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

Clay these areas, it's what clay does, removes overspray

[davidc1]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

OK. I'll I've that a try. Will the coati work on vinyl and leather like I mentioned?

Mequiars makers several kinds of clay. Which world be best?

Lastly, I think I remember hearing that clay had very small "hard' particles in it. That won't scratch plastic?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

Clay would have been perfect for the windshield, but it could very well prove a bit aggressive on the instrument cluster cover as these tend to be pretty delicate. While clay does not actually contain hard particles, technically it is an abrasive and, as you've noticed, comes in various grades just as any other abrasive does (including compounds, polishes, cleaner waxes, etc). Because of this, we highly recommend you stick with the white consumer clay found in our Smooth Surface Clay Kit. But claying the vinyl and leather is not a practical solution as these are textured surfaces that will tend to grab onto the clay and basically make a mess.

Before you start doing anything that could cause any sort of damage at all, you really should talk to the body shop about having them fix this - to your satisfaction - and repairing anything they may damage in the process or can not fix. They are the ones who masked and sprayed the car so it really is their responsibility to correct this. If you try it and cause a problem you won't have any recourse against the body shop.

[Eldorado2k]

What color is your cars vinyl/leather?

[davidc1]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

forgive me, I'm not really trying to dodge your question, but why do you ask?

[davidc1]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

What color is your cars vinyl/leather?

sorry,,I'm not really trying to dodge your question, but why do you ask?

[Eldorado2k]

Because I've got a recommendation. However, it's sort of a strange recommendation.. And if your leather/vinyl is black it may not be worth trying as you might not be able to "see" the same results compared to tan or light colored leather.
But it Will clean what "soap" can't.

[davidc1]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

Because I've got a recommendation. However, it's sort of a strange recommendation.. And if your leather/vinyl is black it may not be worth trying as you might not be able to "see" the same results compared to tan or light colored leather.
But it Will clean what "soap" can't.

Sure, no problem. I welcome advice. It's just sort of a difficult situation with the body shop.

The interior is blue. The vinyl dash looks just sort of dull, although I can't really "see" anything coating it.

The plastic on the instrument panel and plastic vents and such are defiantly "coated", although I can scrape it with my finger. I'm just assuming it's all the same stuff that I cleaned off the side windows with acetone.

I also need to figure out how to get some of the color paint overspray off of some flexible rubber window weather seal.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[pawo]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

There is a proper solution to this because fortunately the overspray doesn't develop a strong binding on the different surfaces inside the car (can scratch away with fingernail) and also is not an even closed coating but is sort of porous. Sorry to hear about this mess. I had exact the same problem when some cosmonauts at the paintshop not properly masked the car (dismantled door) hence fog of clear coat overspray invaded into the car putting a very fine matte layer on everything. This was particularly visible and annoying on all high gloss things inside the car, like plexiglass of the instruments and some high gloss black inserts in the dashboard. Obviously you cannot use anything you would be using outside the car. Clay needs proper lubrication with rinsing moisture, you cannot do this inside and risk its rinsing everywhere and into the electronics. All sorts of polish/compound is the same problem as it will go into places you will be never be able to properly remove it again. All strong solvents like Aceton cannot be used on plastics of course. However, I found a safe and practical way to completely remove it without any risk. I used Isopropyl Alcohol (don't take any other alcohol!) which is safe on all surfaces inside the car. I took a high quality fluffy microfibre towel, rinsed it at one edge with the alcohol and then carefully rubbed the matte layer away. You need to take enough alcohol to make the towel really wet and then wipe away with a dry part of the towel. No worries even if it might be rinsing over something else. It will disappear without any traces or harm to anything. I was able to completely remove the mess without any further problems or residues. Just in case, if there might be the risk that some alcohol could rinse into electronics, you might want to disconnect the car battery before and wait until all is vaporized - this happens in seconds. Hope this helps.

[pawo]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

...one quick addition: don't use the Isopropyl Alcohol on leather seats, that is not necessary and there is a better way for leather to remove overspray on this natural material. Leather comes with a quite rich and repelling surface from the tanning process. This stays many years and occasional cleaning/treatment with a good quality leather conditioner e.g. Meguiar's Gold Class will keep it up and renew it. Therefore any overspray will not really stick to the leather. In case you have overspray on leather just use the mentioned leather conditioner for cleaning it up.

[davidc1]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

There is a proper solution to this because fortunately the overspray doesn't develop a strong binding on the different surfaces inside the car (can scratch away with fingernail) and also is not an even closed coating but is sort of porous. Sorry to hear about this mess. I had exact the same problem when some cosmonauts at the paintshop not properly masked the car (dismantled door) hence fog of clear coat overspray invaded into the car putting a very fine matte layer on everything. This was particularly visible and annoying on all high gloss things inside the car, like plexiglass of the instruments and some high gloss black inserts in the dashboard. Obviously you cannot use anything you would be using outside the car. Clay needs proper lubrication with rinsing moisture, you cannot do this inside and risk its rinsing everywhere and into the electronics. All sorts of polish/compound is the same problem as it will go into places you will be never be able to properly remove it again. All strong solvents like Aceton cannot be used on plastics of course. However, I found a safe and practical way to completely remove it without any risk. I used Isopropyl Alcohol (don't take any other alcohol!) which is safe on all surfaces inside the car. I took a high quality fluffy microfibre towel, rinsed it at one edge with the alcohol and then carefully rubbed the matte layer away. You need to take enough alcohol to make the towel really wet and then wipe away with a dry part of the towel. No worries even if it might be rinsing over something else. It will disappear without any traces or harm to anything. I was able to completely remove the mess without any further problems or residues. Just in case, if there might be the risk that some alcohol could rinse into electronics, you might want to disconnect the car battery before and wait until all is vaporized - this happens in seconds. Hope this helps.

OMG, you won't believe this one now....so, I tired what you suggested and it worked well. Thanks very, very much. About a month after that my car drifted backward and bumped another car. My fault.

I took my car to a paint shop who matched the newly painted car very well. But, I brought it back after I noticed they didn't blend in the trunck well with the bumper. That...was a mistake.

They didn't properly mask off the car this time, and a clear overspray has settled over the whole car. I can feel it with my hands. The only panels that are smooth now are the one's they buffed after painting. But the other panels now are not smooth anymore. I don't want to bring it back to them after a stupid mistake like this.

Acetone takes the tiny clear droplets off the glass very well. But what should I use for the paint? I prefer not to "buff" it in any way as it was just painted 6 months ago and looks fine. Since this clear overspray apparently doesn't adhere well, is there a product I could use?

As i said, acetone worked well for the glass, isopropyl alcohol worked well for the interior. How about for the paint.

Thanks all!!

[J4o2el7]

I would say it's risky, if you do decide to do that, go panel by panel wipe and wash immediately. But it wouldn't be a first choice. If it was 6 months ago, I will try ultimate compound after you clay the car. 6 months is plenty for the paint to be cured. Just go least aggressive to more aggressive of needed..

[Selectchoice]

Re: Newly painted car - but it looks like clear coat overspray inside car! ugh!

Try detailing clay. When I started using clay a looooong time ago it was marketed simply as overspray clay.

It's designed to remove the overspray safely. Depending on the level of overspray and how firmly it's bonded you may need either meguiars consumer clay at the easiest but you can step up to either their mild or aggressive professional level clays if the consumer clay isn't enough.