Paint overspray on dashboard - how do I remove?

[lawrenceSA]

I was just contacted by a prospective customer who advised that he recently had some spray work done to his car (2011 VW Polo) and the panel beater never closed his windows when spraying, resulting in overspray all over the inside of the car, in particular on the dashboard.

The panel beater has advised they plan on using thinners to remove the overspray.

Is this safe, or are the better alternatives, and if so, what are they?

The dash is not an absolutely hard plastic, but more of a 'soft-touch'.

Any and all advice will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Lawrence

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

One thing I've noticed with "new" cars, is the vinyl, leather and plastics being used continually seem to be changing and becoming less "chemical friendly". We see this with dressings, cleaners and conditions and I'll take a guess that this will apply to solvents also.

In one of my sections in Renny Doyle's book I talk about the learned art of turning business down...

Or as I like to say... sometimes you're better off to let someone else have the blessing...


The last thing you want it to wipe some type of solvent down on the dash of a new car only to find out that while it may have removed the overspray, it also destroyed the appearance of the material the dash was covered with.


I'd advice your prospective customer to take pictures of the dash and interior "before" it's worked on for a type of insurance. Maybe they should also contact their insurance company and let them know of the problem "before" the interior is worked on.

Also find a similar car, same year, same color interior so you have a control or benchmark to compare to for the before and after work.

 

[master detailer]

dont let them do any thing to your car.Take it to a good detailer and send them the bill.

 

[lawrenceSA]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Master Detailer, the car is not mine, but rather a potential client who contacted me after seeing some of my work. He explained that the body shop had got overspray on his dash and that they intended using thinners to remove it. His car is still at the bodyshop though. He expressed concern at what this may do to his dash and asked me if I had a solution as he is nervous to give them permission to proceed with their plan of attack, which I didn't, hence my request to all of you knowledgeable AG'ers.

So I will certainly pass on Mike's valuable advice (thank you for taking the time to respond) in terms of some before pics and a notification to his insurers.

I am still however quite intrigued as to whether or not there is indeed a SAFE way to remove overspray from the interior dash.

If anyone has successfully done this, I would love to hear about it. The more information I can provide to this chap, the better the chance of him coming out of this with his dashboard still in tact.

Thanks again