Get Spray Paint Off Skin

Spray paint is almost always oil-based, so you need to use other oil-based products to get spray paint off your skin. Paint thinners and chemical solvents can cause severe skin irritation and damage, so instead of relying on these heavy-duty fixes, you should turn to your own cupboards and look for something a little gentler yet just as effective. Here are some suggestions.

Steps

Oil or Cooking Spray

1. Pick your oil. Vegetable oil and cooking sprays made of vegetable oil are often believed to work best, but you could also try other cooking oils, like olive oil or coconut oil, and non-cooking oils, like baby oil. Butter and margarine have even been known to work.
   • Oil is one of the most effective remedies for removing spray paint from skin. The vast majority of spray paints are oil-based. This means that water will not affect them at all—since oil and water do not mix or bond—but other oils and oil-based products can bond with the paint and lift it away.
   • If at all possible, you should avoid corrosive oils like turpentine. Such oils are harsh and can very easily irritate the skin, especially if used on sensitive areas. If you must use turpentine, only use it on areas of tougher skin like the feet or hands; never use harsh oils on the face or neck.
2. Spray or rub the oil onto the spray paint. If you work with cooking spray, you can spray it directly on the paint-covered skin. For other oils, you can soak a cotton ball, cotton pad, or clean rag in a little oil and rub it onto the paint that way.
   • You could also put those other oils into a spray bottle and spray them onto the skin as you would do with cooking spray.
   • When applying the oil with a rag or cotton pad, rub the oil into the skin using the material. When applying it in spray form, spray your fingers with a little oil, as well, and scrub at the oil-soaked paint spot with your oil-covered fingers.
3. Rinse and repeat. To avoid making a mess or creating further stains in your sink or tub, it is recommended that you rinse the oil and paint off under rapidly running water while it is still wet. Use soap, if necessary, to help strip it away from your skin.
   • You may not be able to get rid of all the paint after your first attempt. If some still remains, repeat the process as often as necessary to lift it off.

Lotion or Moisturizing Cream

1. Put a dollop of lotion on the paint. Choose a heavy lotion or cream and squeeze a generous amount over the skin stained with spray paint.
   • Baby lotion is often recommended. Any lotion will do the trick, really, but baby lotion contains little to no added chemicals, fragrances, or dyes, so it is the gentlest and best suited for areas of skin that could be sensitive or prone to irritation.
   • Lotions, hand creams, foot creams, and similar moisturizing products usually contain oil, which can bond with the oil in spray paints in order to lift it up and off of the skin.
2. Thoroughly rub the lotion into the skin. Scrub the lotion into the skin, restricting it to areas covered by paint. Use your hands to rub the lotion in, applying firm pressure without being abrasive.
   • Avoid letting the lotion spread to untouched parts of your skin. There is some chance that the paint lifted out and carried into the lotion could spread to previously unstained areas of skin in this manner.
3. Let it sit before wiping clean. Let the lotion sit on your skin for one or two minutes before wiping it off with a clean paper towel.
   • By allowing the lotion to sit, you give it a chance to penetrate the pores deeper, sinking further into the skin and coming into contact with more of the spray paint.
   • You could also use a clean rag instead of paper towels.
4. Repeat as needed. Depending on how much spray paint you got on your hands and how deeply it sunk into your skin, one application may not be enough. If you notice some change but some paint still remains, repeat this method again until the rest of the paint lifts out.

Petroleum Jelly

1. Coat the paint-covered skin with petroleum jelly. Rub a generous amount of petroleum jelly over the paint on your skin, using your fingers and applying firm pressure.
   • Keep the petroleum jelly restricted to the area contaminated by paint. If you let it spread too far past that area and onto clean skin, there is some risk of spreading the paint onto your previously clean skin, as well, causing the stain to spread.
   • Petroleum jelly is an oil product, so it is often effective against spray paints, which are largely oil-based, as well.
   • You could also use other beauty products that use petroleum jelly as their base. Vapor rubs and petroleum jelly products mixed with lotions and creams can even prove more effective due to the added oils and chemicals they contain.
2. Wipe clean with a paper towel. Wipe the paint and petroleum jelly off simultaneously by passing over them on the skin with a clean paper towel, working in even, straight strokes. Continue until all the petroleum jelly is gone.
   • You could also use a clean rag, but understand that this rag may end up being stained permanently by the paint.
3. Repeat as needed. If you notice some change, but also see some spray paint left on your skin, repeat the process until all the spray paint has been removed.

Makeup Remover

1. Soak a cotton ball or pad in makeup remover. Take a little wad of cotton and dunk it into your favorite eye makeup remover or other type of makeup remover product.
   • You could also use nail polish remover. Acetone-based removers are especially effective, but acetone is a harsh, abrasive cleaner, so you should not use this if you have sensitive skin or if you are getting paint off your face or neck.
   • You could use a cotton rag, too, but disposable cotton pads are preferred.
   • If you have makeup wipes, these can be used in place of the liquid remover and cotton.
   • Makeup remover is designed to lift out stubborn dyes and oils from your skin, so it can be effective against spray paint.
2. Scrub the paint with the cotton. Thoroughly rub the cotton pad with the makeup remover on it over the skin covered by spray paint. Use firm pressure, but do not rub your skin raw.
   • Most of the paint should lift up and into the cotton pad directly. You can rinse your skin when done, but any paint that will come off will likely come off into the cotton.
3. Repeat as needed. If some of the paint has still stubbornly stuck onto your skin, you could try another method or repeat this one a few more times. After a few disposable cotton pads soaked in makeup remover, most if not all of the spray paint should wipe away.

Baby Wipes

1. Fold the wipe into a small square. Fold a baby wipe in half lengthwise or vertically, then in half once more crosswise or horizontally. You should have a neat little square wipe.
   • By folding the wipe, you give it extra layers, making it more resistant to tearing and shredding.
   • Having a thicker wipe also gives you a little more power than a thin wipe would.
   • This method is not necessarily the most effective one, but most baby wipes contain cleansers that are gentle on the skin yet strong enough to wipe away big messes left by little ones, so they can generally tackle spray paint, as well.
2. Scrub the paint off. Use firm, even pressure to scrub the folded baby wipe over the skin, back and forth, passing over all areas of the stain as you work.
   • Once one side of the wipe is too covered in paint to be of use, unfold the wipe and flip it around to reveal a new, clean side. Continue unfolding and refolding the baby wipe in this manner until the entire thing is covered in paint.
3. Repeat as needed. If you got a lot of spray paint on your skin, one baby wipe probably won't be enough. You can repeat this method as needed, however, until all the paint does eventually lift off.

Physical Removal

1. Choose an object with a clean plastic edge. An old credit card or the handle of a disposable razor both work well, for instance.
   • If using a credit card, make sure that you do not use the portion of the card nearest the magnetic strip, since this magnetic strip could get damaged, thereby rendering the card unusable.
   • If using a disposable razor, make sure that the handle has a blunt, defined edge.
   • Do not use anything that could cut your skin, and avoid objects made from glass or metal. Sturdy plastic will work best for this method.
2. Scrape the edge over the paint. Hold the skin taut with one hand. Use your other hand to gently scrape the paint off your skin, starting from one end of the paint splotch and working your way to the other end.
   • Note that this will work best if the spray paint has already dried onto your skin. This method may not prove as useful if working with wet or tacky spray paint.
3. Rinse and repeat. Thoroughly rinse off the flakes of paint under running water and wipe your skin with a clean paper towel to dry. If you notice additional paint still stuck on your skin, you can try repeating the process to flake it off, as well.
   • For paint that has seeped too far down into the skin, however, this may not work. Physical force does not lift paint in deeply stained skin up and only takes care of the paint lying on the surface.

Pumice Soap

1. Lightly wet the skin. Spritz your paint-covered skin with a little water or rinse it under a running faucet to get it somewhat damp.
   • The water alone has no effect on the paint, since most spray paint is oil-based and does not bond or mix with water. The water will help the soap get sudsy, though, maximizing the usefulness of the soap and preventing the abrasive pumice from damaging your skin too severely.
2. Apply pumice soap. Use either liquid pumice soap or bar pumice soap to scrub over the spray paint on your skin. If using bar soap, you can scrub the skin directly with the bar. If using liquid soap, scrub the skin with a nylon scrub pad.
   • Pumice soap is usually used to remove automotive grease and oil from the skin. It is highly abrasive and not recommended for sensitive skin.
   • For areas of sensitive skin, you can try an exfoliating facial cleanser, instead. While this is not as abrasive, it will still help you exfoliate and scrape away the dead skin cells stained with paint.
3. Rinse and repeat. Rinse the skin under running water to remove all traces of soap and paint. If some of the paint still remains, you can repeat the procedure, but do so with caution. Using something as abrasive as pumice soap can cause damage to your skin if used in excess.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton balls, cotton pads, rags, paper towels
• Soap
• Running water
• Spray bottle
• Cooking oil or cooking spray
• Lotion or moisturizing cream
• Petroleum jelly
• Makeup remover
• Baby wipes
• Plastic card or tool
• Pumice soap
• Nylon scrub pad

Sources and Citations

See also

• Clean an Automotive Paint Gun
• Paint a Car with a Spray Can
• Spray Paint Metal
• Make Spray Paint Stencils
• Paint with a Compressed Air Sprayer
• Clear the Opening on a Spray Can
• Spray Paint Furniture
• Do Camo Spray Paint
• Get Spray Paint off Your Hands
• Stencil an Item Using Spray Paint

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