Looking for recommendations to remove paint overspray from a wire harness. The overspray has been on for at least 30 years so my guess it's enamel, before I start experimenting thought I would ask if anybody knows what works best or if you've tried something and it didn't work or messed up the insulation I would like to hear that too. Hope to remove the overspray and leave the wire markings intact but that's probably not going to happen.
Thanks.
Lee

Carb cleaner, acetone, goop off, citrus based hand towels. The towels might stand a better chance of leaving the markings behind. paint stores usually have and overspray remover as well

I have been using cheap thinner and a rag to wipe down all my wiring harnesses in the restorations over the years. Yes some of the paint has been on the wires for over 20 years.I clean them a few times until the wires look like new. It removes old oil and grease along with the paints. I use an old tooth brush to scrub the end connectors with the thinner. After cleaning I always check each wire with an ohm meter to see if there are any breaks in the wiring harness. The wires get brittle with age. This method has worked for years of cleaning. Hope this helps.

I use lacquer thinner as well. Works quite well. You sometimes loose markings on the wire.

Cheap lacquar thinner here for over 40 years, never an issue. ECS sells some wiring part number tags. Keep simple green and any citrus based products away from wiring, especially the terminations, it soaks in and will corrode the wires. Simple green, and that purple power will corrode your terminals. Thinner cleans and evaporates fast, always the best choice.

Thanks for the reply's and suggestions. Should have mentioned the wire type in 1st post, it's a '70 Cuda trunk harness so it has open wires and some with the cotton braid cover. Tried a couple areas where the wires are exposed along with cleaning the sockets, so far its looking much better. Have only tried acetone and some 3M citrus base cleaner, found that most paint on the wires will scrape off with a finger nail, the sockets not quite so easy. What seemed to work was the citrus base cleaner sprayed on a rag then wipe down the wires, the sockets required a little more effort. I saw the post referring to citrus cleaners causing corrosion after i had already used some, hopefully it wasn't on long enough to start corrosion. Only did a couple small areas to test the outcome. Will go with lacquer thinner next time i have a chance to work on it. The cotton braid may not survive since it's brittle & ready to disintegrate. Here's some before & after pics.
Thanks.
Lee

Edit: I should have mentioned the pic with 3 sockets started out all white prior to cleaning.

I haven't tried it on a wiring harness, but brake fluid will remove paint. Used brake fluid to clean overspray off the work bench.

Looks good, just use a little light oil on the metal parts and you should be fine. Evans wiring can redo the braid if you need that done.

If you soaked the sockets and exposed wires for an extended period you might have an issue. Assuming you rinsed them off when done ,and with the galvanizing still being present in your pic's, along with the wires being coated with some form of plastic I seriously doubt you have cause for concern

If you soaked the sockets and exposed wires for an extended period you might have an issue. Assuming you rinsed them off when done ,and with the galvanizing still being present in your pic's, along with the wires being coated with some form of plastic I seriously doubt you have cause for concern . Awesome job BTW