How to Remove Paint From Sneakers

Whether painting a house or canvas; and whether the paint is latex, oil, acrylic or watercolor, you can always step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. While your work is ripe with freshness, sometimes a byproduct of your work is a rotten mess of paint on your sneakers. Unfortunately, the paint will not normally come off in the laundry washer. How do you clean the mess off your sneakers so you may wear them again with confidence at your next social gathering? The answer is surprisingly easy.
What you need can be found in the bathroom.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Murphy's Oil Soap, petroleum jelly, 91 per cent alcohol (isopropyl) or oven cleaner
• Toothbrush, steel wool or abrasive soap
• Salt

Instructions

Cleaning Paint Off Your Sneakers

1. Apply warm water to the paint spot. Warm water will most easily dissolve the paint. The warm water will also dissolve the salt which will be needed if the sneakers are not colorfast.

2. Add a moderate amount of Murphy's Oil Soap. For most types of paint, this will be all you need. If the paint happens to be oil-based, use oven cleaner.

3. Use 91 per cent alcohol (isopropyl) to wash off paint stains. This will be necessary if the Murphy's Oil Soap is not working. Murphy's Oil Soap usually is enough, but you should always have Isopropyl on hand just in case.

4. Use a toothbrush to scrub the paint stain off the sneakers. This will loosen the dried paint. If the toothbrush isn't working, you can always use an abrasive soap.

5. Immediately after scrubbing the stain with your toothbrush, use a towel. The towel acts as a blotter. The towel should pick up the loosened paint like a charm.

6. Soak the sneakers in warm water. If you want, you can actually put the sneakers in the wash. The sneakers will come out of the wash as if you never stained them in the first place.

7. Add salt to the warm water if the sneakers are not colorfast. The water must be warm. Warm water dissolves the salt most easily.

Tips & Warnings

• If the paint is latex or acrylic, you can also use petroleum jelly if that is more convenient. Steel wool can act as a replacement for the toothbrush if you're cleaning jeans.

• Apply salt to the water if your sneakers are not colorfast. If your sneakers are not colorfast, the colors will run when washed in any way.

References

• Interview with Art Teacher, Beth Plante