Removing (DODGE BALLS) spray paint from my truck

So I did a thing today, and found my new winter beater with a heater.
However it has some interesting custom paint that I would like to remove.
30 years ago I would have proudly driven this as is, but my more mature self understands that the neighbors may not like this sitting out in plain view. And I don't need to draw attention to myself while driving down the road.

The paint is fully cured, it's been on there for 8 months or longer.

I'm not worried about the finish under the paint, the picture speaks for itself on that.

Eventually a quicky weekend garage spray, or rattle can job in olive drab or camo will be done,

I'm hoping a solvent will be able to remove this. I no longer have the tools, or physical ability to DA the entire truck.

You wont believe this and I Did NOT till We cleaned a nice Dark Blue Econoline Van . EZ -Off oven Cleaner , I KNOW better stuff avaiable today , But it worked , MINT . Buddy is a body shop guy , Sprayed on a tee-shirt or old cotton rag , then Gently ONLY work on the Old paint . We had that Econoline Ready for a New home in 24 Hours . Wear gloves . Old formula was stronger , but it was NOT that long ago . I thought he was Nuts , till I saw it work . Any other Moparts cleaner Tidbits ? R

And HP , the advertising paint , which should be stronger than your paint , we removed was 8 YEARS old , NOT 8 months old ! I agree , nice truck , that stuff should clean up with a little elbow grease . Show some pics AFTER it's mint next week ! R

Shouldn't it read "Mushy Blue Balls"?

I have read that to get off spray paint “tagging” by gang “artists”
one technique is to heat the spray paint up with an electric heat gun
then shock stress the spray paint by touching it with solid dry ice
causing it to contract and break off at the layer between the 2 paints.

I have not tried this myself.

I have been amazed more than once in the past what a help dry ice is for certain uses.

Someone should do a youtube on “amazing things that you did not know dry ice could do”

I now own 2 UV-C disinfecting battery powered light “wands”
one by Brookstone,
another by the PureMobile division of Vivitar, Sakar International.

I wonder if Ultraviolet C light could degrade the spray paint after a certain time?
Mask off the original paint.

The electric arc of welding puts off intense UV light.

Looks like an 80 grit problem to me. Maybe just some tractor paint and a throw away roller to cover it up.

That's what I use, too. But it has to be EZ Off. The other cheap brands just don't work as well. And keep it off the trim.

Berkebile 2+2 will make quick work of that.

X3. I used EZ Off to take the old registration numbers off of my boat (painted on), but that was on gel coat. It yellowed the gel coat, but vinegar neutralized it and it came back to white "like it never happened."

Acetone, Carb clean come to mind. Goop off but it's a bit pricey. If you have a body shop nearby maybe they have some leftover paint(s) they can just blow over the "graphics". a couple of other option's: hit the local Home depot / lowes etc. They usually have mixed paint that was wrong for whatever reason, grab a roller as previously mentioned and go for it, or walmart's cheapest spray bomb paint

Xylene, works great, cheap, but wear gloves, it's hot stuff. I think goof off is ~ 98% Xylene anyway?

One of my bud's truck was vandalized with black spray bomb. Took it off with aerosol brake cleaner. Finish was BC/CC and the cleaner didn't touch it.

There is a reference to my past that I haven't heard in a very long time!

LOL 😆🤣😂

Wax and grease remover might soften it up.

Clay bars will take off cheap paint if it's not too thick.

They make a super fine steel wool too.

Add me to this list. EZ Off. Don't let it get to the trim though. May take a couple of applications, I like to remove the "art work" it in layers.

ez off x4

Wow, I would've thought that would eat the paint underneath as well. EZ-Off was pretty nasty stuff years back.
So how do you guys use it as a paint remover ?
Spray it on, wipe off the offending layers and rinse with water ?
I'm assuming you're all referring to spray bomb paint ?

My recommendation? Go find some mud and have fun. This method also works great to hide rust and mismatched paint.

I removed old hand painted lettering from an old truck with EZ Off. Spray the E Z Off onto the door lettering, wait a few seconds for the lettering paint to bubble, and wipe it off. Repeat until the lettering is gone, hose off the truck body.
If the lettering was there for a long time, sometimes the paint around the lettering was faded, and after the lettering was removed, you could still see where it was because the surrounding paint was faded. Often a bit of buffing would match up the colors better, but then the entire door (or where the buffing was done) looked better then other parts of the faded paint. Some colors faded worse then other colors. Gene

I have no recommendations on removal, but have to say that custom work is amazing.

You could totally get those reproduced in vinyl so you could reinstall them at a later date!

When the OP said bought it as a winter beater was kinda thinking the same thing - a thick layer of road salt should cover it.

thanks Gene

I haven't tried EZoff but I will.

When painting cars with factory vinyl tops i Use Goof Off to remove the glue residue and I was very surprised to find it will also remove the 30 year old pain if left on too long.

If easy off doesn't work try goof off.

OR

Maybe add a few words and a couple cherry stems to make the slogan so much more interesting LOL

go around and scavenge up all the left over paint you can find from your neighbors and local body shops. then stop into the dollar store and load up on cheapo brushes of all sizes.
call up your local high school art class and invite them over.
you will have a truck that nobody else will ever have after the art class is done.

great Idea BTW I have a lot of paint, Mainly spray can but some spray gun type with hardeners etc.

You might want to OK the design first...

I am planning to go with an olive drab paint.

But I had given thought to finding someone that does the tagging on railcars. Some of those paint jobs are very artistic.

That is what I was thinking also. Heck, it takes paint off when you don't want it to.

This! EZ Off,it works on hand pinstriping also like done at car/motorcycle events.New stuff is not like the old as stated but might be easier on your base paint. EZ off is also good for degreasing the innards of an old engine block with caked on oil. ~RT


Wow, I would've thought that would eat the paint underneath as well. EZ-Off was pretty nasty stuff years back.
So how do you guys use it as a paint remover ?
Spray it on, wipe off the offending layers and rinse with water ?
I'm assuming you're all referring to spray bomb paint ?
[/quote]

I removed old hand painted lettering from an old truck with EZ Off. Spray the E Z Off onto the door lettering, wait a few seconds for the lettering paint to bubble, and wipe it off. Repeat until the lettering is gone, hose off the truck body.
If the lettering was there for a long time, sometimes the paint around the lettering was faded, and after the lettering was removed, you could still see where it was because the surrounding paint was faded. Often a bit of buffing would match up the colors better, but then the entire door (or where the buffing was done) looked better then other parts of the faded paint. Some colors faded worse then other colors. Gene [/quote]

I'd get some reducer