Removing Painted Pinstripe

[importfan878]

I think i have a pinstripe on my 07 camry. I am 99% its painted. What would be the best way to remove it? I hear mineral spirits on a q tip? Whats the danger of this? The pinstrime is very thing and i can scratch it of with my finger almost.

 

[Accumulator]

AFAIK it's a question of what kind of paint they used for the striping. You want to use a solvent that'll dissolve the stripe but not the underlying paint. Or you could abrade it off.



I'd be a little surprised if mineral spirits took it off, but that oughta be a pretty safe thing to try. I'd be a lot less surprised if lacquer thinner removed it, but I *really* don't like using that as you can never be 100% certain it won't cause a major "oops". If the stripe is enamel, an enamel reducer might work safely...but no guarantees from *me* Using paint-compromising solvents is always risky IMO.



But note that you might end up with some kind of artifact/"ghosting" where the stripe was- discoloration from the effect of the stripe on the underlying paint, difference in color from where the stripe protected that paint from UV exposure, or crazing from the solvents in the strip affecting the paint.

 

[tom p.]

I've done this before (GM car) using EZ Off oven cleaner on a Qtip. I took a while but it certainly did the trick. A ghost image did remain but it was far more palatable than the hideous pinstripe.



Mechanical polishing will certainly remove it too.