Insider's Guide on How to Remove Paint from Plastic

Oops! The other day I accidentally got some paint on a plastic chair I was using to reach those high up places. So I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to do a short test on how to remove paint from plastic and share my results. You can watch a slide show of my results by clicking below.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/25207/how_to_remove_paint_from_plastic.html?cat=6

If the paint stuck to the plastic is latex or water based paint, you can use a sponge and soapy water. However, when the paint is oil-based (like mine was) you need to use care in removing in it as you might damage the plastic. You can, of course, try to scrape paint off plastic but you run the risk of scratching it with the tool you use. In the case of my plastic chair, I didn't want to scratch it so I decide to try 4 different readily available household products and report their results. In order of gentlest to harshest, here are the 4 paint removal products I tried:

Vegetable Oil

Yup, that's right. In my case, I had Canola oil so that's what I used. I applied the oil to my rag and scrubbed the affected area. It took a bit of time, muscle and I did use my fingernail through the rag but I was able to remove most the paint. Another plus, none of the color came off.

Pinesol (Orange)

I used the Pinesol concentrate directly on my rag and scrubbed. I still had to use a bit of elbow grease but the paint did come off more easily. Again, no discoloration.

Rubbing Alcohol

The rubbing alcohol was particularly effective. A lot less scrubbing and the paint came off the plastic easily. There was a small amount of color left on the rag but I could see no visible difference on the chair.

Paint Thinner

Using the same method as the 3 previous products, I applied the paint thinner to my rag and scrubbed the area. The paint came off a little but not a lot more easily than the rubbing alcohol. However, a lot of color was left on my rag. The discoloration that occurred was slight and unfortunately, it could not be picked up in the picture.

I tried the 4 above methods on my paint splattered chair and a painted pvc pipe. You can see the pictures by clicking on the link below.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/25207/how_to_remove_paint_from_plastic.html?cat=6

Plastics can be smooth or rough or somewhere in between. They do not respond the same way to different chemicals. So you need to exercise caution when removing paint and always start with the gentlest removal method first. You should also try to test the removal product somewhere not so noticeable or a very small area. Don't vigorously scrub down your plastic chair with paint thinner to discover that upon drying the surface is not only discolored but is unattractive and rough looking. Unfortunately for you, but fortunately for me, there wasn't a camera around then to capture that goof up!