Remove Paint from an Acrylic Tub or Bath

An acrylic bathtub can make a beautiful addition to your bathroom and is often resistant to dirt and grime. But be careful—acrylic scratches easily, and many chemicals will dissolve or destroy the material. Acrylic is irreparable once it has been damaged, which makes it one of the hardest materials to keep clean, but with the right treatment you can take difficult stains like paint and other hard-drying messes out of your tub without ruining its surface.

Steps

Removing Fresh Paint Using Soap and Water

1. Run some hot water over the paint spot. If the paint spill is relatively fresh, you might be able to get rid of a good amount of it by flushing the spill with hot water. Use a detachable shower head (if you have one) or a separate container to pour the hot water over the spill so that the runoff flows in the direction of the drain. If you simply turn on the tub’s faucet and let it fill, the paint may mix with the water and stain other areas of the tub.
   • If a lot of paint has been spilled, it might be safest to first wipe up as much as you can using paper towels, rinsing immediately afterward. This way, there will be less chance for the paint to mix with the water.
   • Never use cold water when cleaning, soaking or rinsing your tub. This can actually cause grime and stains to set in faster, whereas warm or hot water will keep messes from taking hold on the tub’s surface.
2. Soak the spot in laundry detergent. Fill the tub a few inches deep with hot water and pour in a liberal amount of liquid laundry detergent. Unlike most powdered laundry soaps, liquid detergent does not contain abrasives that might take the finish off your tub. The detergent will spread evenly throughout the water and create a concentrated sudsy solution. Let the spot soak in the solution for a few hours, or overnight, if the stain has dried and set in.
   • Laundry detergent is designed to cut through stubborn dirt and stains while acting gently on clothing fibers, making it ideal to treat an easily-damaged material like acrylic.
   • 2-3 ounces of detergent per inch of water in the tub should result in a solution of sufficient cleaning strength.
3. Scrub the stain gently by hand. Using a washcloth or soft sponge, go over the stain vigorously. Drain the tub first, or leave the detergent solution in it to act on the stain as you scrub. Softer scrubbers are preferable for use on acrylic because scouring with abrasive items like steel wool or stiff-bristled brushes might permanently scratch the tub.
   • Since a washcloth won’t have the scouring efficiency of an abrasive scrubber, you might have to scrub the area long and hard. The detergent should have dissolved enough of the stain to allow you get the worst of it out by hand.

Treating the Stain with Baking Soda and Vinegar

1. Wet the stain with warm water. Once you’ve given the stain an initial work-over, wet the area again with warm or hot water. The point is to keep the area moist to ensure that the paint isn’t allowed to dry on the surface of the tub. Run the water over the entire floor of the tub and give it time to warm the acrylic.
2. Sprinkle baking soda over the area. Dust the floor of the tub with a coating of baking soda. Use an especially heavy hand in the area around the stain. Wetting the tub beforehand will allow the baking soda to stick. The baking soda will act as a mild abrasive which will help remove set-in stains without damaging the surface of the tub.
   • A natural chemical compound like powdered Borax will also work in the place of regular baking soda.
   • The wet baking soda will form a paste and will start to loosen the stain on its own. Leave this paste to sit on the stain for 5-10 minutes before adding the vinegar.
3. Spray the stain with vinegar and allow it to sit. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and apply it to the baking soda paste. The vinegar will activate the baking soda (think of the volcanoes you made as a kid) and form a frothy layer on the tub. Allow the mixture to sit and bubble for a 5-10 more minutes. Together, the two will eat away at any accumulated grime or discoloration.
   • If you prefer, you can soak a sponge in vinegar and use it to treat the area directly. The vinegar and baking soda will begin to react as you scrub, enhancing the effectiveness of manual cleaning.
4. Wipe away the solution. Again, use a washcloth or sponge to scrub the area. Make sure the vinegar and baking soda mixture has had ample time to work on the stain. If need be, repeat this process once more to make sure that no traces of the paint stain remains.

Cleaning the Tub with the Appropriate Cleaners

1. Use non-abrasive cleaners only. Because acrylic is highly susceptible to scratching and may react negatively when exposed to certain types of chemicals, you should be selecting non-abrasive cleaning products to treat your bathtub. Ordinary cleaning products like Comet and Ajax that are recommended for bathtubs made of ceramic and other materials will likely be too harsh for use on your acrylic tub.
   • Look for cleaners that are non-acetate, as well, as these chemicals can eat away at an acrylic surface.
   • Mild all-purpose cleaners like OxyClean, Scrubbing Bubbles Bathtub & Shower Cleaner, Fantastik and Kaboom have been shown to produce good results cleaning acrylic bathtubs.
2. Perform a test on your tub first. Spray or dab a small amount of a chosen cleaning product onto a corner of the bathtub and make sure that it wipes away clean before using it on the rest of the tub. Remember to use non-abrasive cloths as well as cleansers. If you have any doubts, do a little research on gentle cleaning products that are suitable for use on acrylic.
   • If the cleaner you’re testing has no effect on the tub’s surface, or if it causes small cracks or discoloration, discontinue use immediately and flush the spot with warm water.
3. Apply the cleaner to the stained area. Hit the stain with the cleaner and allow to sit for a few moments. By now, little of the original stain should remain. The acrylic-safe cleaner will work on what’s left.
   • While you don’t want the stain to dry, give it a quick wipe with a towel before using the cleaner so that any standing water left in the tub doesn’t dilute the chemicals.
   • You can and should reapply cleaner to the stained area frequently. Acrylic tubs need regular cleaning, and even if the stain doesn’t come out with the first few attempts, it will continue to fade with future cleanings.
4. Scrub and rinse the tub. Go over the area once more with your sponge or washcloth. Really dig in: be forceful and use small swirling motions with the cloth to coax out lingering stains. After you’ve done all you can, rinse the entire tub with hot water. With any luck, you’ll never be able to tell the spill happened.

Tips

• Acrylic bathtub finishes are designed to be stain-resistant, so as long as you act fast following a paint spill, chances are good you'll be able to knock the stain out entirely.
• Paint can be stubborn to remove, so don't give up. It may take a few cleanings for a stain to come out entirely.
• If you have any questions about the safety of a cleaning product, consult your tub's manufacturer or a maintenance professional to see if the product is appropriate for use.

Warnings

• Always keep the door open and a fan running to keep the room adequately ventilated, and wear rubber gloves and a face mask to protect you from contact with chemical cleaners.
• Never mix chemicals when cleaning. Not only will this have no real effect on overall cleaning strength, it can produce toxic fumes that might be deadly to breathe.
• Avoid using hard, stiff or abrasive items to scrub your acrylic tub. This can easily scratch away the smooth outer surface, leaving the damaged area even more vulnerable to future stains.
• Resist the urge to bleach a stained acrylic tub. Bleaching is a harsh chemical treatment that works well on hard, porous materials like porcelain and ceramic, but will cause yellowish stains to form on acrylic plastic, compounding your original problem.

Things You'll Need

• Warm water
• Liquid laundry detergent (or dish soap)
• Baking soda (or Borax)
• Vinegar
• Non-acetate cleaning solution
• Washcloth or soft sponge

Related Articles

• Sponge Paint a Bathroom
• Remove Acrylic Paint
• Paint the Bathtub

Sources and Citations

See also

• Clean Bathroom Tile
• Clean Moldy Grout
• Clean a Toilet With Coke
• Clean a Shower
• Clean a Jetted Tub
• Clean Tough Stains from a Bathtub
• Clean Grout Between Floor Tiles
• Remove Bathroom Mold
• Prevent Mold in a Bathroom
• Survive the Horrible Bathrooms in Your Dorm

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