How to Remove Acrylic Paint From Wood
Published on August 2, 2022
Wood and acrylic paint go hand in hand. The former makes an excellent medium for the latter. It is for that reason that many painters choose to use wooden palettes with acrylic pain. Also, it is also why pieces of wooden furniture, decorations, and other items are painted with acrylic paint.
Have you asked yourself, how to remove acrylic paint from wood?
You’ve got three basic methods to choose from to rid wood of acrylic paint that’s coating it. In this guide, I’ll tell you all about these methods and what you should do if ever they don’t work.
Tips Before Starting
In order to avoid damaging your wooden surface and to make sure you’re safe, we recommend reading the tips below. How come? Applying them will help greatly with your endeavors:
- Keep any detergents out of the reach of children or pets.
- Upon finishing, air out the room by opening the windows.
- Apply a safety test before starting with any of the three methods we recommend.
- Make adjustments accordingly depending on the wood you’re working with.
- Wear safety equipment such as cleaning gloves and even goggles.
Remember that safety should be your utmost priority before starting any type of DIY project at home. Suffice to say, it’s only the responsible thing to follow the tips mentioned above.
Effortless Ways To Remove Acrylic Paint From Wood
As mentioned, you can easily remove acrylic paint from wood in three ways:
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Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is your best friend when it comes to removing dry acrylic paint from wooden surfaces. It’s a substance that should get the job done in most situations.
Follow these steps to eliminate acrylic paint from wood using rubbing alcohol:
- First, you’ll need gently scrape the paint with a paint scraper.
- Gently rub what remains of the acrylic paint using a pad of steel wool.
- Pour rubbing alcohol onto a cloth and then apply some onto the stain.
- Rub the stain continuously for several minutes.
- If any paint transfers to the cloth you’re wiping with, change it.
- Rub the stain to remove any remaining alcohol using a cloth moistened with water.
- Following that, wipe everything dry.
- Repeat the process if you’re not satisfied with the results.
The one drawback to this method is that it’ll leave your wooden surface smelling like alcohol. Of course, that smell will go away once you repaint or apply varnish or any sort of other treatment.
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Olive Oil
A great and better-smelling natural alternative to rubbing alcohol is olive oil. However, it isn’t as effective as the former so you should treat it as an intro to the prior method if it doesn’t work.
Here’s how to remove rid wood of from acrylic paint using olive oil:
- Apply the right amount of olive oil to the wooden surface to soften the paint.
- Cover the applied area with a piece of cloth.
- Leave that piece of cloth alone for a minimum of one hour.
- Try to scrape the acrylic paint with a paint scraper or knife.
- Repeat all the steps or move on to the prior method if results don’t appear.
My experience with removing acrylic paint from wood using olive oil has been decent. While the chances of success were lower, I’d still have to say that the method is still worth giving a shot.
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Soap & Wate
You’re best off using soap and water to remove acrylic paint that’s just been applied. However, it hasn’t been unheard of for some people to fully get rid of dried acrylic with this method.
Below are the steps necessary to remove acrylic paint from wood with soap and water:
- Wipe the surface with a cloth that’s soaked in soap and water.
- If that piece of cloth gets saturated with paint, switch to another one.
- Scrub gently until all the paint is gone.
- Dry the surface with an unmoistened piece of cloth.
Now for completely dried surfaces, you’ve got to scrape away the paint after step #4. If ever you don’t get satisfactory results, switch to the other methods that we talked about.
What If I Don’t Get Results?
In some instances, dried acrylic paint removal on any surface can be next to impossible.
Fortunately, you can resort to heavy-duty measures to finally get the job done. For example, you can gently use an electric sander.
Alternatively, you can utilize paint thinners to make the acrylic paint softer, and therefore, easier to remove. However, the downside to such solvents is that it is easy to harm yourself with them due to their potency.
Last of all, you can attempt to get rid of as much paint from your wooden surface as possible. If there are still stains that remain, simply paint over them.
Apply several coats to even everything out. Finally, make sure the paint you’re using is suitable for the wooden surface you have got.
Putting It All Together
Acrylic paint can be very tough to eliminate from wooden surfaces. However, with a little effort and know-how, it’s possible to get the job done. Furthermore, you don’t need to invest in any expensive materials. The only things you’ll need are common household and kitchen items.
Sadly though, there are some acrylic paint stains that can’t be removed without the help of paint thinners and mechanical sanders. However, if you don’t want to deal with such things, you have always got the option to simply paint over your wooden surface that still has some acrylic paint.
(Related: How To Clean a Sticky Wooden Table?)
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About The Author
Christian Cruz is an experienced blogger with a deep passion for carpentry and home design. Over the years, Chris has written hundreds of articles on a myriad of topics. As a result, millions of people worldwide have read and benefited from his work.
