# so... some %@@#$ tagged my car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125 "2002-11-17T04:06:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/1 "2002-11-17T04:06:02Z")
Anyone have any idea how to clean a streak of spraypaint off of my Civic? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Garrison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Mr.Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/2 "2002-11-17T04:09:39Z")
1. Take sandpaper and sand down to metal 2. Apply primer 3. Take to Maaco to get painted ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/3 "2002-11-17T04:15:14Z")
Move to a different `hood. Seriously, take it to a body shop and ask them what they would do, then do it. It matters what kind paint you have on the car, how much wax, is it clear-coated, etc… ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/4 "2002-11-17T04:52:05Z")
well before you go and spend a bunch of money, try a power sprayer at the car wash and maybe some elbow grease. I don’t know if it will work but I’ve taken similar things off with that technique. I’ve also used WD-40 for things like that, though you may want to experiment on a not-so-visible section to see if it damages your paint (I don’ think it will) ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/5 "2002-11-17T05:33:14Z")
Both acetone (read and follow warnings - it’s nasty stuff) and 1000# emery cloth will work (on both the tag and the original paint, so use care). I’d try the WD-40 and/or polishing compound first. Whatever you do, do it quickly - after a week, it will be much tougher to remove. ---
**Author:** ![Flashpaper\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Flashpaper\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flashpaper_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/6 "2002-11-17T12:30:16Z")
When the restaurant I worked for used to get tagged occasssionally we used a product called “goof off” to remove paint from the painted cinderblock walls. Don’t know if it will work on auto paint or not, but you may check your local hardware and/or auto supply store and see if they can recommend something. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/7 "2002-11-17T12:35:31Z")
Don’t know if you already did, but file a police report. If they did it to 10 or 15 other cars, there’s a greater chance that they’ll be caught, and if they are caught, you wan’t to be on the list of people who get money from them. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/8 "2002-11-17T13:01:48Z")
Crome polish and elbow grease will get it off. Then follow up with a fine polish and wax. Depending on how much paint is on the car it will take you from an hour to an afternoon to fix it. /Markus ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/9 "2002-11-17T15:04:39Z")
Ditto giving acetone a shot. Just go buy some nail polish remover; it’s not pure acetone but it’s close enough. It’s not incredibly dangerous, but it is inflammable and you don’t want to inhale lots of it. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/10 "2002-11-17T15:08:24Z")
I second filing the police report. Especially if this is a real tag, and not some copy-cat or fake used only that one time, there is a chance that the local cops have an idea about who that tag belongs to. Pathetically enough, people who tag don’t always make efforts to keep their tags a secret (I’ve seen people at school walking around with their tag on their _backpacks_, and then wondering why they always get caught :rolleyes:. And take your own set of pictures, too, as evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/11 "2002-11-17T19:38:34Z")
Okay, I’m ignorant of this, and I don’t think it’s been _that_ long since I was a kid. Tagging? Anyone? Huh? I ask because it sounds like this is more than your garden-variety, punkish vandalism. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-some-tagged-my-car/137125/12 "2002-11-17T21:06:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Balthisar \* > **Tagging? Anyone? Huh?** Graffiti. Basically, taggers have their own alias or tagger name, and they spray it on some poor schmucks’s car/garage door/bus for it to be seen. The more often a person’s tag is seen, or the more dangerous/difficult place it’s in, the more “respect” they get from other taggers.