How to Remove Acrylic Paint From Clothes

If you are an artist or crafter, at some point you are going to get paint on your clothes. It’s part of the creative process.

The best way to avoid ruining your clothes while painting is to cover them up or wear old clothes. An artist’s apron or smock or even an oversized shirt will protect your clothing from paint splatters.

However, if you are like me then even covering up won’t save your clothes. I have Parkinson’s so I frequently drop my paint filled brush or open tube of paint. 

The paint ends up on me, my shoes, the floor and even at times the walls. It’s a good reason not to have carpet in your painting area!

Acrylic paint is a popular form of paint. One of the reasons is because it is a fast-drying paint. Once it dries it’s like a flexible plastic that is usually permanent. To learn more about acrylic paint, read my article on the types of acrylic paint.

Over the years I have found a few tricks to aid acrylic paint removal from fabric. While not every piece of clothing can be saved, here are a few things to try before you send your favorite outfit to the trash.

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Remove Acrylic Paint from Clothes While Still Wet

If possible, treat the paint stain immediately. Wet acrylic paint is much easier to remove than dried paint so quick action is the key. To learn how to keep acrylic paint wet read my article on How to Keep Acrylic Paint From Drying Too Fast.

Remove the item and scrape away as much of the excess paint as you can. Use a spoon, the back of a butter knife or other blunt knife or a popsicle stick to get the paint off without damaging the fabric.

Once you have gotten most of the paint off, apply a small amount of laundry detergent or liquid dish soap directly to the stain. Gently rub the soap into the paint stain. 

You can use a soft dry cloth or an old toothbrush to work the soap into the fabric. Don’t be too aggressive! You don’t want to damage the fibers of the clothing.

Once you have worked the detergent in, rinse the item in cold water. You may have to repeat this process several times to get the acrylic paint stain out.

Air dry the item and then check to see if you got all of the stain out. It can be difficult to see any residual paint on wet fabric and heat from the dryer can set the stain.

If all is good, you can launder in the washing machine as normal. If any slight stain remains, repeat the process again.

Removing Dried In Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is popular for many reasons. One of them is the fast drying time. That’s great for your artwork, not so great for other things that inadvertently get covered in acrylic paint.

There are times when you can’t immediately take care of the paint stain and it dries into the fabric.

Like when your cat sneaks into your studio and jumps into your wet paint palette! In the ensuing panic, he climbs the curtains and then runs around, decorating your house with tiny, abstract, paw print art! What do you do??

First, take care of the cat. Wash off the paint before he has a chance to lick  it. It should come off with water.

But while you are taking care of your cat, all of these little paint spots have a chance to dry into the fabric. You can try the methods below to remove the pain, or most of it, from your clothes and the fabric around your home. (P.S. Don’t try these on your cat!)

Removing Acrylic Paint from Clothes with Dish Detergent

Dried in acrylic paint is not likely to come out of your clothes with dish detergent but I am a great believer in trying the simplest things first. Dish soap is also the least likeliest thing to damage your clothing.

Start by scraping as much of the dry paint off as you can using a spoon or the back of a butter knife. 

Once you have scraped off as much as you can, apply straight dish soap to the stain. Add a little warm water and gently scrub the soap into the stain using a soft toothbrush. 

I keep a bunch of dollar store toothbrushes on hand for various cleaning jobs. They are also great for splattering paint on a canvas to make stars or snowflakes. 😊

Rinse the stained area with warm water and repeat if necessary. 

If the stain is not coming out, move on to the next method.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Clothes with Isopropyl Alcohol

I have found isopropyl or rubbing alcohol to be the best option to use for removing dried in acrylic paint. Be sure to spot test it on an inconspicuous area of your clothing or fabric first to make sure it doesn’t damage or discolor the material. 

Delicate fabrics can be easily damaged so proceed with caution if you have a paint spot on a fancy shirt. 

Place paper towels underneath the fabric to prevent the paint from seeping into other clothing layers. For example place paper towels in the leg of pants or the arm of a shirt.

Use rubbing alcohol found in most bathrooms or first aid kits or easily purchased at your pharmacy or store to remove acrylic paint stains from your clothes. 

Thoroughly soak the stain with the rubbing alcohol first. Let it sit for a minute until the alcohol has had a chance to seep into the fibers. 

Then use a plastic knife or your fingernail to scrape away the paint. Repeat if necessary.

Wash the clothing with soapy water in whatever temperature is safe for the garment. Then let it air dry. Don’t put the clothing in the dryer until you are sure the stain is gone.

Once dry, check to see if any paint stain remains. If the stain is not completely gone, you can repeat the process.

I actually ran out of rubbing alcohol while trying to remove some paint recently and had to improvise with some alcohol wipes I found in my bathroom.

They worked much better than using the alcohol straight from the bottle. I just dabbed the wipe straight on the paint stain a couple of times and the paint dissolved right away!
I also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my studio for emergency stain removal. Hand sanitizer contains alcohol so it should prevent the stain from drying into your clothes. 

Removing Acrylic Paint from Clothes with White Vinegar

Many people suggest using vinegar to remove acrylic paint from fabric. While vinegar is a great all round cleaner, it is only effective on paint stains while they are still wet. Once the paint has dried, vinegar will not remove it from fabric.

Using Ammonia to Remove Dried Acrylic Paint

Many people use ammonia to remove dried on paint. However, I don’t recommend using ammonia for several reasons. 

1. It gives off intense fumes that can be irritating to the eyes and airways. If you are going to use ammonia, do so in a well ventilated area.
2. Ammonia can discolor or even dissolve brass or aluminum, like the ferrel on your paint brushes. It can do the same thing to brass buttons or zippers on your clothing if you happen to spill any on them.
3. Ammonia is more suitable for hard surfaces which are non porous like glass or ceramic countertops.

Using Acetone to Remove Dried Acrylic Paint

Acetone is a type of nail polish remover. Acetone will remove dried acrylic paint, however I also don’t recommend this chemical. It has a very strong odor and should be used in a well ventilated area. Acetone will also damage synthetic fibers and since most clothing these days are made of some type of synthetics, chances are you will end up damaging your clothing or fabric.

What if Nothing Works!

Acrylic paint is extremely difficult to remove from fabric once it has dried so sometimes even your best efforts will be in vain. You may just have to concede defeat and maybe try and repurpose the item.

Here are some ways you can work with the stain.

• If the stain is in an appropriate spot, you can try covering it with a patch, button, glitter or sequins.
• If you have a circuit machine or know someone who has one, you can make a decal or words to cover up the stain.
• If you are handy with a needle, you can embroider something over the stain to cover it up.
• The stained clothing can become your new studio attire. Wear it every time you paint so you don’t have to worry about ruining your good clothes.
• You can repurpose the ruined clothes to make something new or just use it as rags for your studio.
• Unfortunately sometimes you just have to give in and throw the item in the trash.☹️

When it comes down to it, the best way to treat a paint stain is to get to it while it is still wet. A quick response will probably save your garment. If that’s not possible then isopropyl or rubbing alcohol is the best method to remove a dry stain.

I hope this article was helpful and you were able to remove your paint stain. Thanks for reading. 😊