Almost everyone who has done a paint job in their home has faced that latex paint stains are almost everywhere on the open surface of plastic material. Removal of this paint stain can be a tricky task. When the painter uses a plastic bucket to mix the paint, the stain of the paint also remains in a great proportion inside the bucket. But how to remove latex paint from plastic?
It’s easy to remove the paint’s stain in wet conditions. Once it dries out, it will stick on the surface. Then you need to follow some tricky techniques to remove the stains. In the upcoming section, Our Craftic World team has jotted down those points, to help you know how to remove latex paint from plastic in a easy way.
Some Useful Products to Remove Latex Paint
Here you are going to be aware of some useful products to remove the latex paints from the surface. You can use any one of these.
- Vegetable oil is a nice product to remove the stains, and this one is available in every home.
- Nail polish remover helps to remove the stains too.
- Turpentine oil works majestically on the stain of latex paints. When you use it, the paint stain has vanished.
- If you don’t want to use any chemicals, then you can go for a paint scraper. This will easily remove the paint from the flat surface.
We will explain all the methods in detail using the above-mentioned product in the next section.
How to Remove Latex Paint from Plastic
There are numerous methods and products which you can try to disappear the stains of latex paints. Here we will discuss as much as 5 different ways on how to remove latex paint from plastic. Let’s learn it together.
Method 1: Wash Off The Fresh Paint, Cleaning the wet paint is the easiest thing. Once it starts to dry out, it gets hard to remove it. To clean this kind of stain, you just need to wash this with water. Take a bucket full of warm water and add a few drops of the liquid dishwasher to it. If your item is water-resistant and small in size, then you can dip it into this water.
For large-sized items, you can dip a sponge into this water and clean the area of the stain by rubbing with it. If the stain doesn’t go with the first attempt, repeat this process 2 to 3 times.
After taking the item, which is soaked into the bucket, you wash it with clean water. You will see the paint’s mark is gone. Then wipe out the water with a dry towel and let it be dry in the air for 2 to 3 hours until it becomes completely dry.
Don’t soak electronic gadgets into this, or else it will damage those items. Before cleaning the stain on an electronic device, makes sure the device is unplugged. If you don’t have a dishwasher, then it can be any kind of liquid soap.
Method 2: Using A Scrapper: this method works best on dry paint, For this, you can use a paint scraper. If you don’t have this, then a flat surface screwdriver will also work nicely. For stubborn stains, you can spray alcohol on it or put a paper shocked in alcohol to loosen the paint.
Then you just need to hold the scraper against the plan surface where the stain gets. Now push it against the paint to remove it. Initially, put less pressure; even if it doesn’t work, then you put a little more pressure. But be careful with any delicate item that can be starched.
For cylindrical items, you can scrape them along with their length. For any curved surface, a paint scraper may not work effectively. For that, you can use your fingernails or a flat surface screwdriver. Now clean the area with water or a wet cloth. If still, stains are there, then scrap it again and wash it with water. Now wipe out the water with a dry cloth.
Method 3. Rubbing it off with vegetable oil: Almost every home has vegetable oil. Vegetable oil is often used to get rid of the stain of paint. All you have to do is take a cotton ball or a cloth and dip it into the vegetable. With this cloth or cotton ball, you rub the affected area. Slowly the paint will come off. If it doesn’t do so, then use something stronger solvent.
Method 5: Apply denatured alcohol, for stubborn stain, the above-mentioned procedure may be found not that much effective. For those cases, denatured alcohol is effective. But this will work on latex-based paint only.
When you are using this solvent, you have to take some precautionary steps. Denatured alcohol has a hazardous effect on health. Before applying this item to the affected area, take a safety test on that material.
If it finds corrosive towards that plastic, then don’t use it. After passing the safety test, put a good amount of denatured alcohol on the affected area and wait for 5 to 10 minutes to dissolve the paint completely. Now start to scrap that area until the paint completely comes off. Clean that area with a paper towel.
Safety Measures During Removal of Latex Paint
Few safety tips are given below so that you don’t face any tragic incident while applying this guide on how to remove latex paint from plastic.
- While using alcohol for removing the paint stain, use proper hand gloves and a face mask. The smell of denatured alcohol can cause breathing problems. Try to do this job in a well-ventilated place.
- As alcohol and acetone are inflammable, avoid using them near the kitchen or any fireplace. Don’t light fire or smoke while cleaning the paint with alcohol or acetone.
- Hold the scraper firmly, or else it may slip from your hand and may hurt you.
- When you are trying to remove paint from any electronic device, you need to be extra cautious. Always make sure that while cleaning, the water doesn’t get inside the device.
Conclusion: So from now, you don’t need to worry much about on how to remove latex paint from plastic or a showpiece or your favorite furniture. Among the 5 methods, you can try anyone. If the moderately strong substance doesn’t work, then you can go for something harder like denatured alcohol. But always try these methods with precautionary arrangements. I hope you will find this article helpful enough.
