barryman9000

I just got a used 2015 XLT and it looks like the previous owner was a painter... there's white paint all over the inside part of the door handles (see picture).

Does anyone know how I can get that off or if I even can?

Thanks!

Coronet

That looks more like wax, and there are a few options to remove that. I find rubbing alcohol works great...

Gx2Lariat

Be careful with the alcohol on the plastic. At least dilute it. You can fade out the plastic.

Rules of Detailers, find out what it is and then use the least aggressive method to remove.

If it is indeed wax, Mothers Heavy Duty Back-to-Black should work.

If it's home paint I would try to figure out what type. Solvent or water-based. Most home paints are water-based these days. Do a test spot with least aggressive first until something works.

I know mineral spirits will be brought up, it is usually ok on plastics but still do a test spot and don't apply to much straight to the plastic at once. Use a tooth brush. I'd only go to this after you've tried other stuff first.

Take a look at Autogeek forums.

barryman9000

Thanks for the suggestions! There are also some little specs of white paint on the steering wheel so I'm pretty sure it's paint rather than wax. Considering it's white I'm guessing it's some water based interior paint but I really have no way of knowing - I bought it through Carmax so all I know about the previous owner is "fleet, rental or lease."

If it's paint, would mineral spirits work or would you start with diluted rubbing alcohol?

Gx2Lariat

Id start with a All Purpose Cleaner, then degreaser, maybe a plastic safe bug and tar remover, then goo gone, then diluted 50/50 alcohol, then mineral spirits. If one starts to remove it don't go to the next, just take your time and work on it as long as needed.

Imissthenorth

Sounds absolutely stupid but I have used smooth peanut butter in the past to get wax off of textured plastic.

awryexperiment

I was a painter and we used to get house paint on our vehicles. Periodically I would use some hot soap and water with a tooth brush to remove the latex paint residues. Goo Gone and mineral spirits (not mixed together) are the next level for stubborn marks.

If the steering wheel is leather then make sure to condition after cleaning.

barryman9000

Follow up: I just used a magic eraser (from Target) which got all the paint/white stuff off. Then I used a tooth brush with some soapy water to get any left overs off. The handles look a little "dry" so I might need to treat them with something else but at least the paint is gone!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

TomboAT65

Get some Meguiars Ultimate Black or Mothers Back to Black, that stuff works really well.

Mike Up

Mothers Back to Black works great getting dried wax out of texture black plastic.