How to Remove Paint and Graffiti from Trucks and Cars

How to Remove Paint and Graffiti from Trucks and Cars

We’re often asked if our products work well on truck bodies, trailers, car exteriors & interiors, so we wanted to share some information on this topic with you


Most graffiti and other marks on cars and trucks are fairly easy to remove, especially if they’re less than 72 hours old. The quicker you can get to them the better! Though even very old graffiti can be removed successfully without any damage in most situations.


Using World's Best Sensitive Surface Graffiti Remover or Graffiti Safewipes with a damp toweling rag, you can start cleaning, and complete small areas at a time. Wipe away with a damp toweling rag as you go.


Paint transfer, overspray, paint scrapes and other marks can be easily wiped away using the same methods as for graffiti. Safewipes can be very useful for these types of jobs.



Aluminum box trucks and trailers are a common target for graffiti often attracting larger tags. Always start small with Sensitive Surface Graffiti Remover and take on larger areas once you are comfortable the underlying paint is not being removed. A pressure washer may be used to rinse the dissolved graffiti away.


As always make sure you test first in an inconspicuous spot before attempting large-scale removal on any vehicle.


Also, look out for vehicles that have been cheaply resprayed or have a wax coating that may be affected by solvents and would need to be reapplied as well as polypropylene plastics that could have been affected by solvent paint spray cans and subsequent cleaning.


In our experience, most drivers would rather see the graffiti removed, even if it means exposing a little of the aluminum underneath. If needed, you can lightly mist over the body again with a thin coat of white paint using a Graffitibeater Paint Turbine or HVLP sprayer.


Safewipes can be used on most car interior surfaces including leather seats. Always test first before starting. Wet down the surface first with a damp cloth and wipe away dissolved marks as you go.

Products Mentioned

Removing Spray Paint from Car

Removing Spray Tag from Vehicle. Courtesy of Professional Equipment Sales.


Tips & Tricks

1) Most graffiti on vehicles, cars and trucks is fairly easy to remove, especially if less than 72 hours old. That said, remove graffiti as soon as you can.

2) We always recommend you do a test patch at first, but especially with Aluminum tractor-trailers as they're typically have a very light coated of paint, so proceed with caution.


3) When dissolving larger baked on graffiti from trucks, it can be helpful to add Heritage Graffiti Remover to Sensitive Surface Graffiti Remover (SSGR) to pep it up and make it dissolve spray paint faster. Say 1/3 Heritage to 2/3 SSGR. Broom on solution and agitate a little between coats, before rinsing with a pressure washer.

Expert Advice

Click on any of the icons below for more how-to's and advice