Can Ice Cream Ruin Car Paint? (Read This First!)

Enjoying your favorite ice cream seating on the top of your car trunk might not be that relaxing if you end up dropping the ice cream on the car. Seeing thick cold elements all over your car is terrifying we understand.

Not only does it require you to clean the car all of a sudden, but also there is a fear of damage done by ice cream. So if you ever experience such an incident you may ask if ice cream will ruin your car paint. You’ll find the answer right here with much more explanation.

Can ice cream ruin car paint?

Ice cream cannot damage car paint unless the paint is fresh and wet. Ice cream doesn’t contain anything harmful elements that can peel off or strip the paint of a car. However, it might stain the car if not cleaned correctly soon but that can be solved.

Having ice cream inside or near your car is nothing new or odd. It’s a harmless act until you drop the ice cream.

Well, anything that’s liquid, thick, or cold is surely not good for your car. They can harm the car by causing short-circuit, heating issues, etc.  if flows inside the internal parts of a car. Same for your favorite frosted dessert, ice cream.

Ice cream when falls inside the car can cause similar damage to any liquid. But what if it messes up the outer part of the car?

It’s normal to panic thinking that cold colorful creamy thing will fade or ruin your cars’ shiny painted body. But thankfully dropping ice cream on your can will not require you to repaint. Because ice cream doesn’t remove or strip the paint of a car.

Ice creams are made of milk fat, flavor, sugar, cream, modifying agents, fruits, etc. All of these are safe and include nothing like acid or soda that can eat up the paint of a car.

But ice cream can stain or discolor the spot if remains uncleaned for too long. Since most ice creams contain color or pigment, light-colored cars are likely to stain. But that’s removable if you know the methods.

Also if you try to wipe the ice cream mess off your car too harshly, you might ruin the paint by taking it off as well as the texture of the car. However, ice cream alone can’t strip your cars’ paint.

When can ice cream damage car paint?

Ice cream might not eat your cars’ paint but it is surely responsible for a few kinds of damage if you neglect the sweet dessert considering it harmless.

Ice cream can discolor the spots if remained uncleaned for a long time. A lot of ice creams now use colors and pigments that can transfer if stays on a surface for too long. And the very low temperature of ice cream helps the color more to sit on a cars’ paint.

Your cars’ paint can be affected by ice cream if you don’t clean it properly. It can leave stains on any colored car if you don’t wipe it off in time or in the correct way.

Moreover, the stickiness of ice cream leaves attracts dirt and dust, so the color of that specific space doesn’t look shiny or vibrant like the other area.

Three reasons why ice cream doesn’t ruin car paint

Worrying about your car’s condition after you’ve accidentally dropped some ice cream on it is valid.

But if you’re anxious about the paint of your car, be glad to know that ice cream will not damage your car paint other than staining it a little, that too rarely.

Here we’ve explained three reasons why ice cream doesn’t ruin your car paint:

It contains no acid: 

Among the things that are responsible for taking off car paint, acid is one. Soda, coffee, bird droppings, or brake fluids are acidic and can penetrate through the protective layer to strip the paint.

But ice cream contains nothing like that so it won’t take off the paint. It is a dairy product. There is nothing acidic in it which can ruin car paint.

It’s not sticky: 

Sticky things like tree sap or glue are too stubborn to leave your car’s painted surface. Thus when tried to remove they can take off the paint.

Ice cream isn’t sticky or rubbery. It can even slip off the cars’ body. Thus ice cream causes no major harm to the paint.

It requires less effort to clean: 

Often car paints are removed because of cleaning it too harshly. People even scrub over car paint sometimes to clean off the dirt. Harsh cleaning damages the upper barrier and removes paint from random spots.

But ice cream is needed to force to wipe off so it doesn’t ruin the paint.

What happens when ice cream gets on car paint?

You don’t need to worry a lot if you somehow some ice cream unintentionally drop on your car. It might be a mess but not something dangerous for your cars’ paint.

Ice cream when gets on car paint doesn’t react uniquely. If the weather is cold, it will take some extra time to melt. Thus it might stain with a water kind of mark, if not cleaned.

It will make the area greasy with the stickiness of the ingredients of ice cream. But that’s removable.

If the ice cream has excessive color, it may transfer to your car, making the paint look different. But the pigment is cleanable so the paint of the car will not be discolored forever.

Other than staining slightly or giving the paint a temporary pigment sometimes, ice cream doesn’t fade car paint, nor take it off.

How do you get ice cream off car paint?

Ice cream lying all over your car’s body isn’t a pleasing scene obviously but it’s something you can deal with easily. There are a few technics that can remove ice cream from your car paint without ruining the car.

Let’s take a look at the steps of cleaning and learn:

Wipe it off immediately:

As soon as you notice ice cream on your car paint, clean it. It’s the very first step you need to take to lessen effort and damage. You can clean with a dry cloth or damp, but the cloth must be soft.

Make detergent-water solution:

Take some lukewarm water in a bowl, mix dishwasher or detergent in the water following the ratio 1:2. Then mix it well.

Clean with the solution:

Using a soft cloth clean the area gently with detergent/dishwasher and water mixture. Don’t rub it forcefully.

Rinse with water: As soon as you will notice no stain or pigment, wash the spot with water. Wipe with hand or cloth while rinsing with water. This will remove the soap as well as the stickiness easily.

Dry:

Don’t let your car dry in the sunlight. Instead, keep it in a shady place after drying the area with another cloth. Be careful of birds dropping if you’re keeping your car under trees.

Apply a polish:

You can apply car polish over the paint if you think the shine is gone. It will make the appearance vibrant and glossy. 

Final Thoughts

Ice cream can barely ruin car paint. Since it’s non-acidic and free of any other materials that take off or fade paint, it’s doesn’t do any major harm to the painted layer of a car. But it can sometimes stain the cars’ bodies or transfer pigment on car paint, which can be cleaned easily.