Spilled acetone onto rag sitting on trunk.

[vortex2450]

I was using acetone to clean some goo off my rear window and although I usually place it on the ground I hap hazardously placed it on my spoiler, the wind tip it over and it spilled onto a spare yellow rag laying on the trunk. It took me about 5 seconds to realize what had happened and I immediately yanked both the bottle up and the rag.

Where the rag was sitting it left a yellowish blemish. Upon closer inspection there are yellowish/green dots from the rags texture in the paint. I tried using bug and tar remover, goo gone and lots of elbow grease but these spots are persistent.

Is there anything I can do about this short of repainting? It looks as if the paint underneath is fine. I have considered breaking out the buffing wheel and heavy rubbing compound but I don't wanna go to deep and etch beyond the clear coat.

Any suggestions?

-josh

 

[RonPorter]

Yeah, you f-ed up the clearcoat. "Gently" try to buff it out with light compound. I would suggest by hand.

BUT...the clearcoat layer isn't very thick, so you might have to go all the way through it. Acetone or lacquer thinner are user-friendly for paint.

 

[sheenut]

Cleaner wax, clay bar, turtle wax polishing compound

 

[rubydist]

the acetone actually dissolves the paint, so the 'spots' you see are likely where the chemical makeup of the paint was damaged by the acetone. you will almost certainly need to repaint to get it to look right.

 

[shobote]

I would use rubbing alcohol or anything else. Acetone is a well known carcinogen, i.e., from inhaling the fumes or subcutaneous absorption by getting any of it on your skin. OSHA mandates use in labs only under a fume hood, while wearing protective gloves and eyewear.

 

[JRA2000TL]

I didn't realize acetone was that bad. I once used it to remove one of those stupid dealer advertisement decals off the trunk of a previous car. Never damaged the paint and the "goo" from the decal came off easily. Guess I won't get near my cars with it now.

 

[jlunde15]

pssh...i've been using acetone and goof off (glorified "proprietary" acetone) to strip spray paint off a car. think of it as a general remove-all.

There's a reason women tend to use acetone to remove nail polish, fake nails, etc.

 

[frosho]

Goof Off has xylene in it. Nastier shit than acetone. I recently used some on my TD 1.2's to remove adhesive from wheel weights, and it significantly dulled the already flat finish.

 

[vortex2450]

I've used acetone a lot for cleaning up glue spots when installing all sort of hardwood, VCT, and plank floors. Never had any issues with finish.

That's why I wasn't hesitant to use it for stripping the decal glue off my rear window.

-josh

 

[SHO1]

It's usually fine when on a rag and wiped on with quick swipes as the residue evaporates quickly, but when left on for more than few seconds such as a soaked rag left sitting for a bit their is a very good chance of damage for many finishes in a very short time.