So I happened to look at my driver side rear tire and noticed what I thought was cherry blossom leaves stuck to the tire. It was time to run it through the car wash anyway. I did and I noticed there was still some left on the tire. I thought it would have all come off and most of it did.

I then looked a little closer and the whole driver side of the truck at about shin height is splashed with paint or something very similar.

The only thing I can guess is I drove past a puddle of paint while someone along side of me drove through it and splashed it on my truck.

Not being a paint and body man I am looking for suggestions on how to remove it without doing any damage.

I have goo gone, but not sure if that would be the best chemical to use or it if would even have an affect since it doesn't harm paint.

The last resort and one I would resort to is to take it to a body shop.

Here is a quick video of the damage.

 

As frustrating as it may be, the fingernail is an amazing tool for removing this sort of stuff. More advanced methods would involve a rotary buffer and some light polish... but that doesn't help you on the trim.

The longer it sits, the worse it will be. I'd plan on detailing the whole truck. Start with a good thorough wash with a pressure washer and a wax-stripping soap (Dawn dish soap is a good choice). Use a paint cleaner and polish. Whatever's left, try to soften up with something like bug-and-tar remover or WD40. Then work it all off. Clean the paint again , clay-bar it, and wax/seal.

 

I would take it to a professional detailer in your area, have the truck wash, wax, and clay bar and see what they suggest as well.

 

That looks like you drove on a freshly painted line on the road to me!!!

 

∆this. You start with the least abrasive and go from there. Goo gone will work and hit it with a polish and wax afterwards.

 

Back in the early 90's my wife lived across the street from a baseball park and they decided to have the chain link fence painted on the windiest day. Her black Nissan looked like a bass boat after. The township ended up paying to have half a dozen cars rubbed out and two or three houses pressure washed.

Looks like what Golfman stated fresh line on the road or someone spilled a paint bucket. Sucks either way. It should come of the body easy but the trim will be a pain.

 

I've heard WD-40 will do the job; I haven't personally tried it-supposedly spray it on; let it soak for a few minutes and get a clean rag to start rubbing it off. It's supposed to take the offending paint off w/o harming the original paint.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The leading edge of the running board I can paint black if I have to. The top of the running board with the black strips are spattered as well and that would require a lot of masking if I decide to paint that. Don't know how well that would hold up over time though.

My first thought was goo gone, but having a little difficulty understanding how that would work when it doesn't harm paint. Of course there is a clear coat on top of the body paint. Since I have a bottle of it I suppose that should be my first thing to test.

I was able to scrape a little bit off with a finger nail on the chrome bumper so there is some hope there. Don't know if I want to do that against the clear coat.

The trim if worse came to worse, I would just order a new piece.

Will have to take it to a detailer after I get a couple recommendations from the locals here. Wonder if insurance would cover it - $1000 deductible - and how much that would jack up my premium? Haven't made a claim in 20 years, so they owe me a little bit of it back.

 

Goo gone will work. Heck, even brake parts cleaner will do the trick. That is what I am using on my topper right now. The key is least abrasive first then work down.

 

My gf bought a new silverado last year and it had pink and purple paint speckles all over the drivers side. No way it came from the road. They told us it was probably from someone spraying graffiti on the rail car. Came right off with a fingernail and after coming back from detail there was no sign of it ever being there.