how to remove acrylic paint from clothes

You can try to be careful, but when you're painting canvases, spills happen! The best thing you can do is rinse it out with soap and water while it's still wet. Acrylic paint is water-based, and when it's still wet, it'll come right out!

But what about when you don't notice the spots until they've already dried?

Acrylic paint that's already dried can be much more difficult to remove, but that doesn't make it impossible. We've tested five different products to see what would give the best results. It'll take a little bit of elbow grease, but saving your favorite pair of jeans will be worth it!

Please note: These methods work best for articles of clothing that are non-delicate and can go in a normal wash cycle. For specialty items, get those to a dry cleaner right away! These products may damage certain fabrics.

THE 5 PRODUCTS WE TESTED:

• Murphy Wood Cleaner
• OxiClean Stain Remover
• Klean Strip Brush Cleaner
• Professional Nail Polish Remover
• Dawn Ultra

We've personally tried dozens of products over the years, and we've found some success with these five. Let's see which worked best!

MURPHY WOOD CLEANER

This product is not just for wood furniture! This cleaner is our #1 choice for soaking paint brushes that have dried out acrylic paint in them. As it turns out, it works on clothes as well!

Here's the process we used: We poured a couple of tablespoons of the cleaner onto the stained jeans. Using a dull butter knife, we distressed the painted fabric to work the cleaner into the fibers. We let that soak for a few minutes, and then distressed it again. Then, we washed the jeans as normal! Keep reading to see how well each test worked!

OXICLEAN STAIN REMOVER

OxiClean is a household favorite, so chances are, you already have some of this on hand. It gets out a pretty amazing variety of liquid stains, but since acrylic paint dries hard, it's a different type of issue.

For this test run, we used the exact same strategy as the Murphy Wood Cleaner. We sprayed it on, worked it deep into the fibers of the fabric, let it soak, and then distressed the fabric some more to help work out some of the paint.

After letting it soak one more time, we washed the jeans as normal!

KLEAN STRIP BRUSH CLEANER

This product is a solvent that can even remove dried oil paint from paint brushes. Keep in mind when using it that it contains harsh chemicals, and using it according to the recommendations on the label is extremely important.

Just like with the other products, we applied it to the stained area, distressed it to work it into the fibers of the denim, and let it soak for a few minutes.

In order to make sure it soaked in enough without drying out too quickly, we also applied the product to a cotton ball and left that on the stain for a few minutes. Because this product has strong fumes, we recommend that you wash your jeans separately from any of your other clothes. It may take two washes to get the strong solvent smell out.

NAIL POLISH REMOVER

We selected a nail polish remover that is 100% pure acetone. A non-acetone nail polish remover may work okay on your nails, but it is going to be less effective on other surfaces.

Just like the solvent we just used, we applied it, distressed the fabric, and then let a cotton ball soaked in the product sit on the stain for a few minutes to prevent it from drying out too quickly while it soaked.

As always, the last step was to wash the jeans in a normal wash cycle!

DAWN ULTRA

Dawn is another product that you most likely already have on hand! It works super well on greasy stains, but since acrylic paint dries into a hard plastic, does it work for this purpose?

The process for this one was super simple. We put a squirt of Dawn on the stain, worked it into the fabric with a dull butter knife, and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then the jeans went through a normal wash cycle!

AFTER WASHING

After washing your items, you want to check the stain before you put the clothing into the dryer. If the stain is still there and you dry it, you'll set it into the fabric even worse. Still see a little paint residue? Try the process again, and then rewash.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Are you ready to see which product worked best for removing acrylic paint from clothes?

Murphy Wood Cleaner removed the paint almost without a trace! This product is 99% naturally derived, so that makes it a great option for a cleaner that works well without the harsh chemicals contained in the other products. For that reason, we're calling this one the winner!

Klean Strip Brush Cleaner also did a great job removing the majority of the acrylic paint from clothes. Because it is such a harsh solvent with strong fumes, this one is in second place. When the results are the same, we'd always recommend the more natural alternative.

OxiClean Stain Spray removed some of the paint, but as you can see above, a good bit of it is still there. This product works really well when you're able to spray it on when the paint is still wet, but when you're trying to remove acrylic paint that has dried, it doesn't quite do the trick.

Nail polish remover smeared the paint into the fibers of the jeans, making it impossible to get the rest of the way out. We wouldn't recommend this option!

Dawn Ultra didn't do much to remove the stains at all. Again, this product is awesome for greasy stains, but when it comes to the hard plastic stains of acrylic paint, it isn't the way to go.

The next time you're painting canvases and spill some acrylic paint on your jeans or favorite top, you'll be prepared! Whenever possible, rinse the clothing out and throw it into the washer before it has a chance to dry. But when you don't see the stain until the paint is dried, you now know exactly how to remove acrylic paint from clothes!