No, It’s Not MaineDOT’s Responsibility If You Get Road Paint On Your Vehicle

Time to Paint

Once the snow melts the Maine Department of Transportation gets the roads ready for another year of travel and yes, the inevitability of another winter. There's a ton of construction happening right now as well as painting.

It's amazing how quickly the paint fades away. There's nothing more stressful than driving on unfamiliar roads where a driver can see extremely faint lines of what once was. "Is this a turn-only lane? Can I get over?" Without annual painting, the roads can be quite dangerous.

It's Not Their Fault

Painting the roads does create a risk for drivers to get paint on their vehicles. And really, who wants an orangey-yellow in the wheel wells? It happens and the MaineDOT wants drivers to know that they do not accept any responsibility for any damage from driving on wet paint.

Tips

First and foremost the MaineDOT urges drivers to pay attention. Paint trucks are impossible to miss as well as signage indicating wet paint. Keeping your distance is your first line of defense.

When It's Too Late

If ending up in the wet paint ended up being unavoidable, the sooner you act, the better.

MaineDOT recommends the best option is to pressure wash the area as soon as possible. If that doesn't work the next step should be spraying the area with WD-40, letting it sit for 1-2 hours to help soften the paint, and then try pressure washing once more.

In situations where the paint has dried for days or there's a thick coating, they recommend applying petroleum jelly to the area and letting it sit for 8-12 hours, and then pressure washing.

This method can be repeated if needed. Paint on the wheel wells is much more difficult to remove than paint on the finish so MaineDOT recommends utilizing petroleum jelly and letting it sit for days before pressure washing. Full details can be found here.

So be safe and be aware this summer. If you do get paint on your vehicle, remember, it's on you, so make sure you know how to handle it.