Will mineral spirits take away overspray or is there something better?

Have you tried claying the car first? That's the normal first step process in overspray removal. If that dosen't do the trick there are chemical options but I wouldn't advise most of those unless you really know what you're doing
 
A few years ago my car and motorcycle got overspray pretty bad from some painters that were spray painting the building next door to my condo complex. I used a claymagic claybar and it took the overspray off both vehicles pretty easily...
 
IIRC (and I'm not sure that I do by a long shot), mineral spirits will remove *some* kinds of overspray but not others.



And I do know that some types of overspray "melt into" the regular paint and have to be wetsanded (try 4000 grit Mirka, or 3000 grit Nikken/Meguiar's Unigrit).



But if you're lucky you can just use clay. I got overspray off my pal's Jag with Sonus gray (pretty aggressive) and they make "overspray clay" that's literally designed for this. If you use the overspray clay, expect significant marring as it's really aggressive stuff. Meguiar's and ClayMagic both offer it.
 
Overspray clay does work on just about any overspray. But if you have traffic paint, most states have now switched to latex, which isn't too hard to remove. If it's oil based, it can be a bit more troublesome.



Worst is the hot plastic "paint" they use with glass beads for reflection. If you get that on a finish, it's very tuff to remove without a solvent to get it off. You can use heat, as long as there is no glass beads used as wiping that off is like wiping a finish with 400grit paper.



Latex paints are easy to tell by feel and the way they peel off.



Most tar removers are mineral based. Some are Naptha and some other spirits.



Always go less agressive first and work up.



Deanski
 
I just finished 3 motorcycles that were severely covered in overspray, it was a urethane paint (spell?) It took Clay Magic Red clay and Megs 2000 grit to remove it.
 
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