Basically the title says it all, I want to remove a pinstripe on a fender, it seems like it was painted on, it is definitely above the clearcoat though. What should I use to remove it? I can pick chunks off of it with my fingernail, but it is slow and I don't want to damage the paint underneath. Will acetone work, or will that damage the paint? Anything else?

Thanks,

Chris

have you tried a blow drier or hair dryer???

Little heat (NOT MUCH) would work wonders..

Or put the car in the sun... take a razor... be careful..

I wouldnt use any chemicals.

Interesting, I'll have to try a hair dryer.

Thanks,

Chris

I don't remember where I heard this... but if it the pinstripe is painted on, EZ Off oven cleaner will remove it. I tried it on an older A1 Jetta diesel I had and it worked like a charm.

Boy Ez-Off is pretty caustic stuff I wouldn't want to put it on my paint and as far as I know heat guns will only remove decal pin stripes

Wait wait, clearcoat? Unless you've had the car re-painted there is no clear coat.

3M adhesive remover should work. If not that, a very warm heat gun and plastic putty knife.

Forget heat if it's painted on. Got any pictures close-up?

You can shave the pinstripes off.

Most auto body supply shops sell a tool similar to this.

Run Razor

its used for removing runs in the paint, a pinstripes profile is probably similar to a run

If it's painted on then you'll probably have to resort to mechanical means of removing the stripes. By mechanical I mean, shaving like Tim said, or with fine abrasives, like 800-1000-1200-1500 grit, which is what I'd probably do. If there's plenty of clear on the car, then you should be able to mask off the stripes and wet sand the stripes off, then polish.

Regardless, it's some what risky business. You could ruin a good paint job (if it has one) just to remove some unwanted stripes.

If there's any chance they are taped stripes, 3M makes a buff for safely removing that type of stripes.

Good luck!