Vandalized! :( How to best clean up?

Edwub · Post by **Edwub** » Wed May 28, 2014 7:09 pm

I usually park against the back of my building, with my wife's car (and our neighbors on either side) blocking my scooter in. And cover my scooter. Been working late the last few nights, and my wife+neighbors beat me home. With the weather nice in the morning, I just parked on the street rather than shuffle her car around to fit mine in front of it. So, on the public street, it finally happened....

Walked out to this:

Dripped all the way down

In every crack and crevice

Thick goopy layer of paint

I was able to wash off 95% of it. I was afraid to use anything stronger than soap and water. A few thin streams had dried and my scooter has blue streaks that are settled in in a few places. Luckily nothing made it into my seat or pet carrier, BUT it did get all along the seam of the seat and along the rim of the inside, due to the sheer amount. Called and spoke to a police officer, and will go in person later today to file an official report. Called insurance: it's covered, but my deductible is $250, so this will likely all be out of pocket.

I think most of it I can handle myself. I spent about 2 to 3 hours this morning working on it. I think the seat cover is permanently damaged though (the whole backside was covered, and it started to dry after I wiped off most of it). I'll probably need to ask my shop to remove/replace the seat upholestry. Having that off should make cleaning the rim/seal easier. Right now, every time I open/close it some of it leaks back out, so I basically put a ton of paper towels all along the seat so that when I close it, they suck up more paint. (Ie, I think some paint got sucked up and is covered by the frilly/ruffled part underneath the seat.) So frustrated, and disappointed. I've lived on that block since 2008, first time I ever saw anything like this. Really hurtful to happen on our home street! My wife thought someone was out to get me, because who carries around paint? We occasionally see graffiti in our general area of LA, but this was obviously not spray paint. I'm hard-pressed to think it was an accident....(someone put a giant can of paint on my seat and it tipped over?).

Any advice on what to do for the rest of it? What should I clean it with? At work, I have access to virtually any chemical you can think of, but wasn't sure what would be safe to use without further hurting Blitzen. I was able to wash off most of it, but the parts that had dried before I got to them are left with a blueish tint that soap wouldn't remove.

Edwub · Post by **Edwub** » Wed May 28, 2014 7:15 pm

Most of the paint went down the left side, and it's centered right on the top above the seat, which made me think someone was walking by and just quickly dumped a bottle or can on my scooter.

Despite getting much less paint dribbling over to it, the right side might actually end up being worse because some of the thinner parts dried in.

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Wed May 28, 2014 8:42 pm

Takes a real scumbag to do that.

I'm not sure as to how well the original paint would handle it, but I used denatured alcohol to remove latex paint when I scraped my wife's car against the garage entrance. The paint was on the plastic bumper and size mouldings. I worked a small area with a paper towel soaked in the alcohol, letting it lay on the surface for a few seconds, then wiping gently. Didn't affect the clear coat or body paint at all.

I'd suggest trying a test on an area not readily visible, such as the underside of the cowl's curve.

As for the seat, if the paint got into the foam padding, it's probably gonna ooze every time you sit on it or put any kind of pressure on it. If it didn't get into the padding, then you might be able to get away with a seat cover once the paint has fully dried.

rsrider · Post by **rsrider** » Wed May 28, 2014 9:11 pm

There will be blood.

agrogod · Post by **agrogod** » Thu May 29, 2014 3:29 am

Try Acetone (nail polish remover). Doesn't react with most plastics, but will remove most waxes, polishes and oil based products. It has virtually no residue to speak of and dries super fast. And like charlie55 stated, try it in an
not readily visible area. And just looking at your supplied pics, it looks as if someone set something down because your scoot just happened to be a convenient spot, and then fumbled when picking it up. I don't think it was malicious, just sheer stupidity on their part. Much success with your clean-up efforts.

thespivster · Post by **thespivster** » Thu May 29, 2014 2:16 pm

Turtle Wax Polishing compound should remove it without hurting the plastic or the paint.

The person who recommended acetone is incorrect. Acetone melts ABS plastic, which our body panels are made of.

CEZ2011 · Post by **CEZ2011** » Thu May 29, 2014 11:32 pm

thespivster wrote:Turtle Wax Polishing compound should remove it without hurting the plastic or the paint.

The person who recommended acetone is incorrect. Acetone melts ABS plastic, which our body panels are made of.

+1 on the polishing compound. I had a paint can fall against my car a leave some big streaks on the fender. It cleaned up fine. Remember to wash the area first and if you are successful with removing the paint, wash again and give it a good coat of wax.

If paint is leaking from the cover, I would be inclined to replace the seat.

I am sorry this happened to you.

BeefSupreme · Post by **BeefSupreme** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 3:36 pm

Well, it almost kinda looks cool. I'd do the rest to match and call it a Zeblur.

qballfc · Post by **qballfc** » Tue Jun 03, 2014 3:31 pm

God. People suck don't they? Why would someone feel the need to do this?

Edwub · Post by **Edwub** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:59 pm

BeefSupreme wrote:Well, it almost kinda looks cool. I'd do the rest to match and call it a Zeblur.

Ha, my wife suggested the same thing! I thought about it, but I was worried it would look like "dazzle camouflage" and really make it unsafe for me on the road!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage

agro: I thought the same thing, that perhaps it was an accident, but I'm not sure. I wasn't really parked in a convenient place for anyone to walk or park by. When I filed a report, the police mentioned something similar happened to a few other motorcycles "in the last couple of months, more than usual." Not big goopy paint like that, but some sort of vandalism. Apparently someone put soap into an exhaust on one bike. I guess I'm relatively lucky: it took several hours to clean, but otherwise I think it's almost back to new! Except for some of it that seems to have dried into the seat, hmm.

charlie55 · Post by **charlie55** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 12:31 am

I also doubt that it was accidental. I mean, what are the odds that someone just happened to be walking down the street with an open can of black paint that they then rested it on your scoot and just happened to spill? Pretty slim.

So, what method did you use to clean it up? You have any pics of the results?