Whether you’ve recently become a homeowner and are undertaking a large renovation project, or you’ve simply decided to spruce up your favorite rooms, nothing is able to elevate and brighten an area of the home quite like a fresh coat of paint!
However, the frustrating side effects that often come along with any type of painting project can be off-putting to even the most experienced painter, especially when unwanted splatters and drips can be so difficult to remove.
Rubbing alcohol, which can also go by the name of isopropyl alcohol, is a type of liquid that is used for many different types of household and industrial uses, such as cleaning.
This readily available cleaning agent is readily available in a variety of different homeware and general grocery stores, and can indeed be used to remove paint from a range of different surfaces.
Though it is not as powerful as paint stripper, rubbing alcohol can be used to help remove latex, oil-based, and acrylic paints from a variety of porous and non-porous surfaces, although it may struggle to remove paint that has been allowed to fully dry and cure.
In addition to that, rubbing alcohol can also be used to effectively remove paint from clothing and other types of fabric.
In contrast, choosing to remove paint from a wood surface by using isopropyl (or rubbing) alcohol means that you will be essentially stripping the surface, which makes it one of the more invasive methods to paint removal.
For this reason, rubbing alcohol will not only ensure that the polymer binding of the paint is broken down (which will make it easier to wash off) but as rubbing alcohol is a liquid, it means that it will be able to seep into the porous surface of the wood to help completely remove the paint, making it a great choice if the wood in question has intricately carved areas that a sander or steamer simply wouldn’t be able to get to.
`Keep in mind that, as rubbing alcohol is strong enough to effectively strip the paint, it means that any varnish or lacquer across the surface of the wood will also get stripped if it comes into contact with the rubbing alcohol.
Therefore, if you only want to remove a small stain from a wood piece rather than completely strip it of paint, you should consider a less intensive method that will ensure the finish of the wood stays intact, such as by using vegetable oil or warm water and detergent.
Will rubbing alcohol damage car paint?
Rubbing alcohol can be used for a wide variety of purposes, including cleaning and car detailing.
However, pure rubbing alcohol can potentially damage the paint, so it’s very important that you make sure that it has been diluted prior to use.
If you wish to use rubbing alcohol on your vehicle, it is recommended that you dilute your rubbing alcohol to anywhere between 10% to 15%, as this will ensure that it won’t damage your car’s paint.
As a side note, even if you have diluted your rubbing alcohol, it is not recommended that you use any type of solvent on your car if it has been freshly painted, as this can cause the painted finish to become permanently damaged.
Will rubbing alcohol remove oil-based paint?
The answer to this depends on whether the oil-based paint has been freshly applied, or whether it has been allowed to fully dry and cure, which is a process in which an oil-based paint is able to reach maximum hardness and durability.
If you are applying oil-based paint to a wall or piece of furniture and feel as though you have made a mistake, then you will be able to use rubbing alcohol to effectively strip the layer so that you can then go ahead and apply a new coat.
Similarly, you can also use rubbing alcohol to remove oil-based paint splatters that have accidentally landed on an item of clothing or a piece of furniture – although keep in mind that, due to the durable nature of oil-based paint, it’s likely going to need a little elbow grease!
On the flip side, if oil-based paint has been allowed to fully set and cure, rubbing alcohol is almost certainly not going to be strong enough to break down the polymer binding, especially if you want to strip a large surface.
For these sorts of projects, you should use an oil paint stripper, as this type of solvent will be able to break down the oil-based paint and allow you to effectively remove it.
Will rubbing alcohol remove paint from glass?
Accidental paint splatters across glass can be very difficult to remove without causing the surface to become scratched or damaged in the process.
For this reason, you’ll want to avoid using any scrubs or razor blades that can cause the glass to become ruined, and rubbing alcohol is just the solution for restoring your glass back to its pristine self.
Before you go in with your rubbing alcohol, however, you should first take a moment to assess how much dried paint is stuck to the surface of your glass piece.
If there is quite a bit of excess paint, then we recommend taking a moment to gently pull as much of it as you can off, as this will make the removal process a whole lot easier.
After doing this, you can then take some rubbing alcohol onto a soft (non-wiry) sponge and gently saturate the dried paint in it, allowing it to soak for around 10 minutes.
After you have given the stain enough time to soak in the rubbing alcohol, take a damp sponge and gently begin to rub the stain in circular motions.
Though you should find that the stain will come right off, you might find that you need to repeat the process again if there are any stubborn spots that wouldn’t come off the first time.
