Woe and alas, did you just spill some paint on your favorite garment? While frantically searching "How to remove paint out of clothes?", the most important thing to remember is to stay calm and treat the stain immediately as soon as possible.
Whether it happened while rolling paint or accidentally rubbing against a freshly painted surface, it's still possible to salvage the situation if you know what to do. This guide includes several tried and tested methods for removing paint from fabric.
What To Do Before Removing Paint On Clothes?
Before we can truly get started, the first thing that needs to be tackled before moving on to how to remove paint from the clothes is to know the kind of paint you're trying to remove as it will determine what needs to be done and avoided to remove it. The easiest way to distinguish the paints is they are either water-based or oil-based.
Water-based paints are acrylic and latex, and can be used for crafts, artworks as well as painting the interior of the houses. However, oil-based paints are glossier and are applied to paint metal, wood, or cabinets. If the above points are not enough to identify the type of paint, ensure to check the label or packaging.
Now even though you have probably most likely found the type of paint involved in your mishap, you're still nowhere close to knowing how to remove paint on clothes. We have organized this guide into several sections based on the type of paint that has to be removed as well as all the materials needed to do so.
There might be some commonalities between different paint-removing measures but make no mistakes as there will also be a few subtle differences that can make or break your entire paint-on clothes removal effort. Also, make sure that your fabrics are durable enough to be machine washed.
Latex Paint
If the stain was from a water-based paint then you're in luck because these water-based or emulsion paints are the easiest to remove from clothing if you spot their stains quickly enough.
Latex paints are the cheapest and the least adhesive making them easy to remove but they are also the quickest drying variety of paints so you're on a tight clock. Even if the paint has dried, there are still plenty of ways to remove latex paint successfully.
So, how do you get paint out of clothes? If the paint is still fresh then it may rinse out completely before it can dry, to do this simply flush the backside of the stain with warm running water. With any luck that should be the end of it otherwise, chemicals will have to be used.
On the other hand, if the paint has already dried, wetting the dried excess paint can allow it to spread to the surrounding area and create a larger stain. Instead scrape and tamp off the excess paint with a hard object such as a spoon before wetting the fabric.
If the previous step wasn't sufficient enough to get rid of latex stains then it's time to saturate the stain spot with a mix of detergent and warm water and blot it with a sponge or a rag vigorously and rinse the cloth.
Repeat the previous blotting and rinsing steps until the paint stain is gone or no longer coming up. We recommended starting with detergent as it is the safest least damaging option but if the stain still remains, it's time to give pre-wash stain remover or dish soap a try.
3. Pre-Wash With Stain Remover or Dish Soap
Since detergent alone is unable to remove the stain, treat with a pre-wash stain and leave for 30-60 minutes, or follow the instructions contained within the product packaging. Soaking the fabric for such a long time within the stain solution, ensure the fabric is then properly rinsed through washing within a washing machine without adding detergent.
If you do not have a pre-wash stain remover, you can simply use a dish soap and water solution. The former is much more aggressive than commercial stain removers and should only be soaked in for 10-15 minutes. Always test an inconspicuous area first.
If the paint still stays even after using a pre-wash stain remover, it is time to try blotting with a nail polish remover. However, before that, make sure the fabric does not contain acetate or triacetate. The acetone in the polish remover will melt these.
If you cannot use acetone, there is a non-acetone version of nail polish remover. Or even better, rubbing alcohol; just make sure to test them out first on a small spot to make sure that won't bleach the fabric.
5. Rinse And Wash Thoroughly
Rinse and wash the garment thoroughly in warm water as usual when you have finished applying the polish remover. Make sure to not skip this step as clothes treated with flammable liquids can ignite in the dryer.
Only move on to the final step of putting it in the washing machine and dryer once all of the paint and any trace of flammable liquids have completely been eradicated.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic and latex paints are technically the same paints because both are water-soluble paints and natural latex rubber has been largely replaced with synthetic resins such as vinyl and acrylic but the brand name hasn't been updated.
Acrylic paint has a greater acrylic-to-vinyl ratio than latex paint which makes acrylic paints thicker, better adhering to surfaces, and superior elasticity and resistance to cracking as it expands and contracts. This makes acrylic more expensive, durable, and harder but not impossible to get out compared to latex.
Because of acrylic paint's stronger adhesive property, we aren't even going to bother trying to rinse it off without the application of any chemicals, instead simply attempt to scrape off any amount of dried paint that still remains over the layer of adhered paint.
Reducing the total acrylic paint compounds present in the clothing will prevent its spread and make cleaning it much easier than it would have been otherwise.
Flush the back side of the stain under warm running water to further weaken the bonds between various acrylic resins as well as dislodging any acrylic that failed to bond and adhere properly.
Now that only stubborn stain remains, the non-stubborn elements of the paint stain shouldn't eat up any of the applied stain-removing chemicals.
3. Sponge The Stain With Dish Soap Solution
Mix equal parts of dish soap and warm water into a solution and using a disposable sponge, blot and rub against the stain vigorously in order to break up the stain. Continue doing this until the stain shows no signs of giving away further and rinse the cloth.
This step isn't expected to get rid of all the stains but it will make any subsequent applications more effective due to direct mechanical action which cannot be done for the next steps. Rinse off the
Since the situation calls for it, apply a pre-wash of your choice such as a commercial pre-wash stain remover, baking soda, or a nail polish remover. Pre-wash stain remover is the safest option for your fabrics while both acetone and non-acetone polish removers have a chance of damaging your fabric.
Soak fabric with commercial stain remover or baking soda for 30 minutes to 1 hour while polish removers should only be soaked for 10-15 minutes. Remember to not use acetone polish remover on fabrics with acetate or triacetate whereas rubbing alcohol has negligible effect against acrylic paint.
5. Rinse And Wash Thoroughly
Repeat the previous until the paint is completely removed or no more of it is getting removed. Attempting to reapply the stain removers that don't have any effect could result in severe damage to your fabric with little gain.
Afterward, rinse the piece of clothing thoroughly to remove any trace of any flammable and non-flammable pre-wash liquids before doing one final through wash in the washing machine with detergent.
Oil Paints
Now that you have learnt how to get water-based paints out of clothes and thought getting rid of acrylic paint was difficult then getting rid of oil paint stains will be even harder yet.
Oil paints have pigments mixed with linseed oil which gives it perfect durability and the resin in the paint adheres very well to all surfaces and dries to a hard coating. Thankfully, it takes around 3 days to a week for oil paints to dry successfully so you shouldn't be dealing with any hard oil paints.
As is the norm, scrape off any excess non-adhered paint from the garment by using a spoon because the less paint that you have to remove, the better while also giving the treatment chemicals a clear contact surface area to work with.
After scraping off with a spoon, use a clean white cloth or paper towel to blot and remove the paint as much as possible without rinsing the garment as the paint repels the water.
Once you have broken up the paint stain mechanically as much as be done, rinse the garment under running water and place the garment stain face down on a stack of disposable cloths or towels. Then wet a sponge or a cloth with a paint thinner and blot the stain vigorously to remove the paint.
Make sure to replace the towels or cloths as they become stained by the paint to prevent the paint from seeping through and staining even more surfaces. If you don't have a paint thinner you can also substitute with turpentine which should be easier to find than a paint thinner.
3. Saturate Stain With Pre-Wash Stain Remover
After the stain stops being affected and dislodged by the paint thinner or turpentine, give it a quick rinse and soak the stain in a commercial pre-wash stain remover or an acetone-based nail polish remover.
A nail polish remover that isn't acetone-based isn't going to do anything to oil paint so you can forgo that step. Follow the precautions outed previously such as avoiding acetate or triacetate fabrics and soaking for 1 hour for stain remover and 10-15 minutes for polish remover.
Rub water and dish soap into the stain and then place the garment into a tub of water to soak overnight to weaken and remove any last traces of oil paint stains. Unfortunately, this still doesn't completely guarantee undamaged stain-free clothing.
Alternatively, instead of using dish soap and soaking for a day, you could soak in mineral spirits for an hour and rinse the garment. Technically you could use mineral spirit from the 2nd step but it costs at least $25 a gallon so it's cheaper this way as it uses way less spirits.
5. Rinse And Wash Thoroughly
Finally after treating in dish soap for about a day or a few minutes in mineral spirit, you are finally likely to see a complete remission of oil paint stain after rinsing. Make sure to rinse it repeatedly to get rid of any chemicals that were used to treat the stains.
Mineral spirits are also flammable petroleum-based fluids so make sure not to put it in the dryer until all traces of it are gone, afterwards, you can put the clothes in the washing machine and dryer for a thorough cleaning.
Fabric Paint
Fabric paint is also a water-based paint which is very similar to acrylic paint which makes some of the steps very similar to removing acrylic paint. However, that's where all the similarities end because fabric paint is set by the heat which means applying any sort of heat including hot water can make the paint harden permanently.
While fabric paint isn't as difficult to remove when compared to oil paint, it can still pose a fair challenge for different reasons such as being unable to apply hot water and refraining from rubbing to remove the stain which will only spread it.
Scrape off and remove any excess unabsorbed paint immediately by using a spoon or a putty knife to prevent the paint from spreading to the clear sections of the fabric while also preventing it from setting into the fabric any further.
Since it is water-based, water can allow the paint compounds to penetrate even deeper into the fabric matrix so avoid using water during the scraping process. Don't rub the paint with any sponge or cloth as it can make the stain worse due to compounds sliding over each other.
Once you’ve gotten as much of the paint as possible off the fabric, rinse the stained area under cold water to avoid accidentally setting the fabric with the heat from warm water.
Make sure to rinse from the opposite side of the fabric to prevent the paint from being rubbed deeper into the clothing due to water pressure. Avoid the urge to rub the stain while flushing with cold water.
3. Soak Stain In Detergent
Once the stain has been thoroughly flushed, make a 1:1 mixture of detergent water or dish soap and water solution. Allow the affected area of the clothing to soak for upwards up to an hour.
After an hour, rub clean the affected area with a sponge or an old toothbrush to get every last bit of the persistent stain out. Give a periodical cold flush while continuing to scrub the stain until the stain is removed or stops being thinned.
If you're lucky, your problem should already have been solved by this stage. However, if you're one of the unlucky few then blot the stain with an acetone or a non-acetone nail polish remover depending on your fabric (avoid acetone on acetate or triacetate).
After a few minutes, rinse the flammable nail polish remover thoroughly by handwashing as it has the potential to be ignited if thrown into the washing machine and dryer immediately afterward.
5. Machine Wash With Cold Water
After having removed as much of the paint as possible by hand and ensuring no flammable fluid remains on the garment, toss it into the washing machine with pretty of detergent with the coldest water temperature setting possible.
This should get the rest of the stain out once it comes out of the washing machine. If there is still a stain after all this then nothing more can be done from the comforts of your home. Avoid machine washing delicate fabrics such as silk, if you're not sure make sure to read the label of your fabric.
Going To The Dry Cleaners
Delicate fabric types for example silks can only be taken directly to the dry cleaners due to their fragility. Even after you have followed all instructions on how to get rid of the stain if the garment was not cleaned then it should also be taken to the dry cleaners by the end.
Dry cleaners are professionals who have a greater experience in clearing stains out of clothes without damaging them as well as having a wider range of chemicals that are not freely available over-the-counter. However, sometimes some paint stains are permanent so there's no guarantee that it will be removed completely.
Can You Get Paint Out Of Clothes After It's Dried?
If the paint has been dried and hardened to an extent that even after following the above treatments you didn't manage to reduce the size of the stain then you may have to admit defeat as clearing this garment is hopeless.
While it is true that there are more DIY homemade cleaners out there such as using hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, bleach, or baking soda, none of them are as effective as the measures that we have cited above. Instead, you may just be causing even more damage simply by trying to remove the stain.
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