How to get Paint off Clothes

If you are anything like me, when you get focused on a project you don’t think about stopping to change your clothes first.  I’ll admit I have painted in all kinds of things I shouldn’t: my nice jeans, cute dresses, I could go on and on!  I’m usually really careful and don’t get paint on my clothes but every once in awhile something ends up looking like this…

Yep, that’s my super nice Guess jacket.  I actually wasn’t even painting in this, what happened was I walked past some wet paint in our house.  I wasn’t even being “bad” and I still got paint on it!  So it got me thinking… “what’s a good trick for how to get paint off clothes?”  I had seen this pin for how to get lint off sweaters and thought it was worth a shot to try for removing paint!

All you will need for this trick is a disposable razor.

(Make sure the razor is not dull, otherwise it might cut your clothes). I DO NOT recommend using this technique on cotton clothing, but it works perfectly on sweaters, wool jackets and jeans, to name a few that I’ve had to remove paint from.

Here’s what to do:

1. Lay the painted clothing item flat on a clean surface: the kitchen counter, the dining room table, etc.

2. With short, quick motions “shave” the paint off of the clothing item.

3. Repeat the “shaving” motion, being careful to not press too hard, until all the paint is gone.

4. Once the paint is gone remove the lint/paint debris with your finger or a damp cloth.

The reason this technique works so well is because it shaves off the lint layer of the clothing surface. This technique also works well for removing lint “pills” from old sweaters {which is what the original pin was about}.

Since I’ve discovered this trick I am actually less likely to change out of my good clothes before painting, but luckily I’ve gotten really good at painting carefully so I rarely have to use it! For all of you DIYers out there, I hope that this tip helps to save some of your painted or “pilled” clothes, and give them a second chance!