Get Spray Paint off Your Hands

No matter how careful you are, when you paint, you are most likely to get spots of paint on your fingers, hands and fingernails. It is a good idea to wipe your hands with a towel as you paint, so that the paint will not cake up on your hands. But somehow, no matter what you do to prevent it, paint seems to cling to the fingers and hands. Here are several ways to bust that paint from your hands quickly and easily.

Steps

Standard paint removers

These are strong and harsh removers, so if you have sensitive skin, you may wish to consider one of the other options.

  1. Use nail-polish remover (acetone). Take a cotton ball, soak it liberally in some nail polish remover, and rub the stained area.
  2. Use mineral spirits (turpentine substitute). Mineral spirits are a common turpentine substitute, used as a solvent and paint thinner.[1] Just douse a towel with mineral spirits and begin scraping away the paint with the towel.

Lotion

  1. Use heavy hand lotion or cream. A much gentler, albeit more time-consuming, way to release pain from the hands. This method moisturizes instead of stripping the hands of moisture, as acetone does.
    • To remove spray paint from the hands with hand cream, simply squeeze a generous amount over the area that is painted and cover lightly with your hands. Leave the hand cream on your hands for a minute or two; then wipe it off with a cloth or paper towel. Repeat as necessary.

Oil or fats

  1. Use an oil to remove spray paint from the skin. Oil is supposed to soften the spray paint on the hands, while a quick abrasive starts the general process of removal. In fact, oil is such a popular way of removing paint from skin that many different oils are now used; sample one of the oil methods suggested under this section.
  2. Try oil and a cotton cloth. Cover the area with baby oil for one to two minutes, and then begin gently wiping with your cloth. Repeat as necessary.
  3. Use ordinary vegetable oil. Squirt some into the palms of your hands. Rub it onto the spray paint. Leave for 3 minutes, then wash off with ordinary soap and water.
  4. Use an essential oil like lavender or tea tree oil. Dilute some of the essential oil in water, cover hands with oil, and wait for one to two minutes. Begin gently wiping hands with cloth, repeating as necessary.
  5. Use olive oil and salt. Apply a generous amount of olive oil to the hands and set stand for several minutes. Use coarse-grained salt like Kosher or sea salt to begin rubbing between hands. Repeat as necessary.
  6. Try out mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is a simple emulsification of oil and eggs, meaning that this method — like the method above — is all natural. Simply coat the hands with ample mayonnaise and let stand for several minutes. Wipe off with water and a towel. This method should make your hands feel smooth and hydrated.
  7. Try butter or margarine.[2] The oils present in butter and margarine make it hard for the spray paint to properly adhere to your skin, giving you an opportunity to rub it off. Work the butter or margarine into your hands for at least a minute. Then, use coarse salt (Kosher or sea salt) as an abrasive to fully remove the paint. Since your hands will be greasy and oily afterward, wash thoroughly with a gentle soap and rinse.

Baking soda

  1. Try baking soda mixed with water into a paste. Mix together roughly equal parts baking soda and water (err on the side of more baking soda). Pour baking soda mixture over hands and thoroughly work into spots where spray paint has dried. After a minute or so of rubbing hands together, the spray paint should come off quite easily.
  2. If you're having trouble removing spray paint from your hands using the above method alone, try using an abrasive like salt or sugar along with the baking soda mixture. While salt and sugar are both desiccants (meaning that they'll sap moisture from your skin), they shouldn't be too rough on your skin in the end.

Hot water and soap

  1. Fill a bowl with hot water.
  2. Lather up the painted area with a bar of soap.
  3. Dip a toothbrush into the hot water. Scrub it over the painted area.
  4. Scrub away until the paint lifts off. Add more soap now and then.
  5. Rinse. Add a lotion to calm the skin area and soften it again.

Tips

  • WD40® works like a charm. But it makes your hands really oily after and you will need to wash them with dish soap since it cuts through grease.
  • Goo Gone® also works very well on fresh paint on hands and doesn't leave oily residue.
  • You can also coat your hands with liquid soap and let it dry before working with spray paint. It also works if you are working with stains, or grease. Having the layer of liquid soap on your hands will keep paint from sticking or soaking into your skin. Then clean up is easy with more soap and water.
  • It is a good idea to wear gloves while painting.
  • You can use coconut oil, soap, and water.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-use-mineral-spirits#b
  2. ↑ http://www.diylife.com/2007/07/30/removing-paint-from-your-skin-the-natural-way/
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