So you just finished up your beautiful painting and you happen to look down and realize that you may have painted on a little more than just your canvas. Or you come home from a fun “wine and paint” night out with your friends and discover you may have had more wine than you thought and that paintbrush you dropped got paint all over your jeans.
At the Cocktails & Color studio we paint with acrylic paints and a lot of people at home use acrylics as well. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and quick to dry. Acrylic paint is water based and clean up is generally pretty easy if it’s caught before it dries. If you are painting with us at the studio and you happen to get paint on your clothes let us know immediately and we’ll give you a baby wipe and it should come off easily. The best way to avoid stains is by planning to wear older clothes and an apron when painting.
Once acrylic paint has dried it develops a plastic type coating on it’s surface and becomes much harder to remove. The first step in the removal process is to take off as much of that coating as you can by gently picking it off. Be careful not to pull the fabric away with it. Once you’ve removed as much as you can then soak the spot with a decent amount of rubbing alcohol and allow to sit. Make sure you have tested the alcohol on an inside part of the garment ahead of time. Next, take a rough cloth or even a toothbrush and gently scrub at the spot. You may have to let the alcohol sit and repeat the process a few times, but most of the paint should come out. Afterwards wash clothing according to the manufactures directions.
**Added tip- for paint brushes that have acrylic paint dried up on them try soaking them in fabric softener or apple cider vinegar!