How tough a job it is going to be to remove it will depend on a lot of factors. First, you need to determine the type of paint. Hopefully it will be a water based paint which is much easier to deal with. All you will most likely have to do here is wash the area down well with soapy water. Now if it is an oil based paint then it makes things a bit more difficult. Then the other dilemma may be you don't even know what kind of paint it is.



First of all, there are several types of paint. It could be lacquer or acrylic. It could even be enamel but this isn't as popular as it used to be. If your original paint on your car happens to be enamel then if the accidental spray paint is lacquer or acrylic will make the enamel paint look wrinkled. Unfortunately, the only solution in this case will be to scrape the area clean and then repaint it to match the cars original color.

If you are fortunate enough to have an original finish of acrylic or lacquer and enamel paint has been sprayed on top of it, there won't be any wrinkles to the original. You want to determine if the paint is enamel, so here is what you do.

Take any paint thinner, kerosene, gasoline or turpentine and apply a small amount to a clean white cloth. Now very lightly rub over the paint you want to remove. If you see the paint color being transferred to the cloth, then its enamel. If the cloth remains clear then its acrylic or lacquer. If it did turn out to be enamel then just continue to lightly clean off the residue of the paint.

So if you have ended up with either lacquer or acrylic being the culprit then you will need to go and buy the finest grade of rubbing compound on the market for car finishes. Take a hand sized white cloth and lightly moisten it with some kerosene or turpentine. Just enough to dampen the cloth, as it prevents the compound from caking, and makes the abrasive finer, which results in a better finish.

Patience will be the virtue here, as you must keep inspecting the area you are working on so you don't remove or damage the original finish of the car. Work in small circular motions with gentle pressure. Keep checking the color of the paint on the cloth. Keep using different parts of the cloth, so your cloth stays fairly clean, and you are not just putting the paint back on again.

Naturally, the best solution of all would be not to get the paint on the car at all. Accidents do happen though and fortunately for this particular one there is a solution.