Paint Dissolving/Bubbles

[wiskioti]

Hello TBN'ers,

Yesterday when I was running the trail mower, I happened to look at the rear fender and noticed what appeared to be a pile of orange dust. Not thinking too much about it, I brushed it away with my hand and was surprised to see that it was the orange paint and now the orange paint in that spot was completely gone! The spot is about the size of a dime and there was a smaller second spot about 4 inches away. I'm pretty confident this is the result of 2 drips of something that landed here and caused the orange paint to bubble/dissolve, but for the life of me, I can not think of anything that would have caused that. Does anyone have any ideas of what type of common chemicals would have caused this?

Thanks

 

[oosik]

Yes - - Lacquer thinner. Normally this product is a mixture of various chemicals. It is an exceedingly powerful chemical and will remove most all types of paint from most all surfaces.

I worked for a company and we used quite a bit of the stuff to clean sheet metal. It will very easily & quickly reduce latex rubber and nitrile gloves to a jello like substance. We had to use very special gloves when handling lacquer thinner.

 

[Kioti Paul]

Automotive brake fluid will do that; also MEK or acetone. Moonshine...???

 

[wiskioti]

I know there are some common chemicals that will do this but couldn't think of how this could have happened recently, especially considering the tractor is store indoors and I know it happened recently. (It was only 3 weeks ago that I washed and waxed the tractor and stood back and admired the shine. I know I would have seen this when I was waxing if it was there). Then I thought of something. Could common mosquito repellent do this? When I was using the tractor a week ago, I tried to apply mosquito spray with the spray can that was in the tool box while on the tractor, but because the can was old and had apparently lost its aerosol, all that came out of the can was a fine stream of solid liquid. I didn't think much about it at the time, but it's extremely likely a solid drop of mosquito spray could have landed here since it's on the rear fender that faces the cockpit. Thoughts? Could mosquito spray really be that toxic to paint?

 

[wiskioti]

Bingo!

Warning about bug spray and your car's paint | TD Customs

Unreal. I never knew.

Edit - And the can in the picture is exactly the product I used! Off to the dealer to get some touch-up paint. Grrrr!

 

[smstonypoint]

Bingo!

Warning about bug spray and your car's paint | TD Customs

Unreal. I never knew.

Edit - And the can in the picture is exactly the product I used! Off to the dealer to get some touch-up paint. Grrrr!

Who knew?

Thanks for posting. I carry Repel in my RTV. I'm now going to be more careful about its use.

Steve

 

[oosik]

I never thought about bug spray. I have a can of Raid bug spray and down in the uber fine print is a warning about painted surfaces.

 

[Wagtail]

Thanks for this post wiskioti.

I just consulted the fine print warnings on my brand of bug spray "Mortein" and it does indeed say, "care should be taken not to spray delicate fabrics or furnishings and plastic surfaces without prior testing."

I did chuckle at that 'get out of jail free' card caveat "without prior testing". :laughing:

 

[Kioti Paul]

Great information! If it does that to paint, how can it be safe to spray on your skin...or a little kid's face!!

Just one more reason to justify a cab!!:laughing:

 

[cphilip]

...Just one more reason to justify a cab!!:laughing:

Brilliant!

I guess I'll stick to my Deep Woods off pump spray or the towel wipes perhaps?

 

[wiskioti]

Brilliant!

I guess I'll stick to my Deep Woods off pump spray or the towel wipes perhaps?

Since it is the deet in the product that is destructive, I'm thinking that whether it is aerosol, pump or wipes, it wouldn't matter. Although, it is certainly easier to control overspray with a pump and completely eliminate it with a wipe.

Perhaps a deet-free product would be safe on paint, but my new course of action is to get off the tractor and downwind before applying.

 

[Ritothebull]

So it's ok to put on your skin but not on your paint job.

 

[MickeyDBC]

Some wasp spray will do it too. Dripped some on the hood of the car once and it ate the clear coat. Grrrr!!!

 

[dragoneggs]

Reminds me of when my daughter and friend applied mosquito repellent to themselves and the overspray clouded the clear soft plastic windows on my brand new boat! Was I ever surprised it could do so much damage! I made it much worse by trying to wipe it off!

 

[chiefcook]

The army issue bug juice we had on Vietnam repelled everything including leaches. But if it was on your hands you didn't touch anything plastic. It would melt a ball point pen.