Will Mineral Spirits Damage Car Paint? (Quick Answers)

Mineral spirit is a chemical liquid that consists of a mixture of aliphatic and alicyclic petroleum-based compounds. The essence is used over paint and varnish products to put a protective coat on them and prevent corrosion and extend lifespan.

In this article, we will be discussing the impact of mineral spirits on car paint.

Will mineral spirits damage car paint? 

Mineral spirits are mainly used to remove stubborn stains and unwanted marks from your car’s body. If the proper ratio is maintained when using mineral spirits, it won’t cause any damage to your car paint. Besides, it can remove paint, oils, tar, and gunk from your car body to make it look clean.

 Usually, when you drive your car, it attracts different types of stains. The car can often get stubborn stains that cannot be easily removed even if it is easily cleaned with water. In that case, you need to use mineral spirits to remove the stains from your car.

It is a type of chemical that is a combination of liquid hydrocarbons of aliphatic and acrylic petroleum. You need to use a very small number of mineral spirits to remove stains from your car.

Using the right approach and the right amount of mineral spirits will not damage the color of your car. However, in many cases, the excess of mineral spirit liquid can cause harm by damaging the color of your car and causing you expensive repair.

Because once a certain portion of paint in your car gets ruined, you need to repaint the entire part of the car. This might cause you big trouble and hassle.

Cleaning with mineral spirit is simple and won’t hurt the paint, it leaves no residue on your car paint if used properly. Some of the spirits that are generally used in cars to remove stains are mentioned below: 

White spirit

White spirits, also known as methylated spirits that are fermented, are used to remove glue or sticker residue from car paint.

The texture of the white spirit is very mild so they are not most likely to cause any harm or damage to the car paint.  

Water spirit:

When you wash your car using a soapy water-based solution, it leaves some water stains over the car’s body.

This cannot be removed by wiping a cloth over it. These marks are most noticeable in the headlight portion of your car. So, using white spirit is best to remove water stains

Can you use mineral spirits on car paint? Will mineral turpentine damage car paint? 

You can use mineral spirits to clean your car paint if it is damaged and contains any stubborn marks or stains. Just make sure to balance the mixture of mineral spirits and other elements and follow the proper instructions to get the job done.

Sometimes, using excess mineral spirits can even harm your car paint. Also, using mineral spirits to remove any residue is a time-saving job, since they take around 15-20 minutes to dry.

You can also use mineral turpentine to remove residue or stubborn stains from your car. Turpentine is a type of thinner that works best against adhesive residue.

In addition to that, when polishing your car, it might leave some marks due to brushing the polish over it. So, when you have such type of issues or adhesive residue over the car paint, you can use turpentine and it will not cause any damage to your car paint as well. 

Will mineral spirits take the clear coat off my car? Will mineral spirits remove touch-up paint? 

A clear coat over your car is applied to prevent the paint from getting damaged. The clear coat itself also prevents anything from sticking into it. So, when you are applying mineral spirits over a clear coat of your car, you don’t need to worry about the harm.

Mineral spirit does not cause any damage to the clear coat of your car. Even if you apply it over a clear coat, it will remain intact.

Since mineral spirits are effectively thin and work as paint remover, it will remove the touch-up paint when used on it. The touch-up paint will act like a stubborn stain to the mineral spirit.

When you apply it over touch-up paint, it will help to remove the paint. Mineral spirit works best when applied over dried paint that is used for a touch-up.

So, when you rub off mineral spirit over the touch-up paint, you’ll notice that the paint is slowing coming off and smoothing out the surface.  

What does mineral spirit do to your car paint? 

The car can often get stubborn stains that cannot be easily removed even if it is easily cleaned with water. In that case, you need to use mineral spirits. It is a type of chemical that is a combination of liquid hydrocarbons of aliphatic and acrylic petroleum.

You need to use a very small number of mineral spirits to remove stains from your car. Using the right approach and the right amount of mineral spirits will not damage the color of your car.

However, too much of the mineral spirit liquid can cause serious damage to your car by damaging the color. The effects of mineral spirits on car color are as follows:   

Thins the paint:

Mineral spirits are used as thinner. So, when you are using mineral spirit over paint, it will thin your paint slightly. The more you use mineral spirit, the thinner your paint will be, so you can use it to spray car paint over the old one. 

Remove stains:

When you drive through muddy or dirty areas, different stains get stuck in your car. Sometimes if you wash your car using the soap-based solution, the water stain remains over the paint.

Use a little bit of mineral spirit and rub off over the car paint to remove them.

Smoothens by removing residue:

After you’ve finished working on a touch-up on your car, your car might catch some residue paints and adhesive. Rinsing them with water won’t help to remove them. So, the mineral spirit will be the best choice. 

How to safely use mineral spirits on car paint? 

Generally, mineral spirits are used when there are no other alternatives to apply. It is mostly used to remove stubborn paint stains, that do not go if washed using water.

You need a very little amount of mineral spirit to clean the paint by removing any existing residue caused by the sticker, excess paint, or any type of stain. But be careful as the mineral spirit contains the formula of thinning.

So, using an excess amount of mineral spirit might damage the paint. You need to make sure you balance the proper mineral spirit ratio that won’t cause any harm to the car paint. Follow the instructions to use mineral spirit on car paint: 

Surround the area using masking tape:

You need to determine the area where you are going to put the mineral spirit to remove the stubborn stain or residue. Spraying mineral spirit in the car paint might spread to the clean areas of your car and cause you the extra hassle.

So, make sure to mask the surrounding area where you are going to apply mineral spirit. 

Create the mineral spirit solution:

Prepare to apply the mineral spirit solution. Get a clean cloth and pour a few drops of mineral spirit to make the cloth wet. This depends on the number of stains you will be working on.

Apply and rub it off:

Gently place the cloth over the stain and hold it by pressing on the stain for two minutes to absorb the stain. Once the stain has loosened up, remove it by rubbing it off using the cloth.

Do you need to wash mineral spirits off car paint?

You do not need to wash mineral spirits off car paint unless you have applied way too much than the required amount.

If you use too much mineral spirit to clean the stains, it might cause damage to your paint and as a result, your paint might come off with the stain as well.

So, if you think you have applied a little bit more mineral spirit than required, you need to wipe the applied place using a wet cloth and wash the area carefully.

Although mineral spirits are not likely to cause any type of paint damage to your car, still you should not take any risk while doing this. You can also get this job done by an expert automobile mechanic and that should not cost you much.

Final thoughts 

Although mineral spirit won’t cause any damage to the car paint, it is still recommended to avoid cleaning residue or stains from the car paint with it. Applying excess mineral spirit might cause damage to the paint of the car. But it’s a time-saving procedure as it takes 10-15 minutes to complete.