Is Acrylic Paint Washable? – Does Acrylic Paint Wash Off?

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Painting is fun! You get to mix colors, make things look pretty, and enjoy what many people consider to be a therapeutic experience. However, if you’ve ever painted anything, then you know how easy it is to make a mess, even if your workplace has been meticulously covered and you’re wearing protective gear like gloves and overalls. Since acrylic paint is one of the most popular paint types out there, we thought we’d show you how to wash off acrylic paint, and if acrylic paint is conventionally washable in the first place. So, without further ado, here is what you should know about cleaning off acrylic paint.

What Exactly Is Acrylic Paint?

what acrylic paint is, to begin with. Essentially, acrylic paint consists of dyes that are suspended in acrylic polymers along with solvents and binders. The types of binders and pigments vary to a degree, but this is pretty much the status quo when it comes to what acrylic paint is made of. It’s a pretty simple formula for paint that is arguably the most versatile paint type on the market. That being said, how exactly does acrylic paint work? When acrylic paint is applied to a surface, the solvents and pigments are held in place by the binders and/or acrylic polymers. However, the solvent doesn’t stick around for very long.

Due to the paint being spread far thinner and in far smaller volumes than was inside the container, the solvents begin to evaporate. Solvents are usually made of alcohol or water, which tend to evaporate at room temperature over time. When this happens, the polymer/binder and pigment are left behind, which dries too, creating a surface coating on your workpiece.

Pretty cool, right? The simplicity of acrylic paint is what makes it so versatile. While oil and water-based paints rely on binding with wood fibers to and extend, acrylic paint simply degasses and sits on the surface, creating something along the lines of colorful armor on the surface of your workpiece. This is one of the many reasons why it’s so widely used. Why else is acrylic paint so popular? It’s better for the environment! Acrylic paint contains far fewer VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) compared to other types of paint like lead and oil-based paints. This means they are safer to use indoors and can be disposed of without having to worry about harmful waste disposal or having to get any special solvents involved.

Acrylic paints are also fairly durable compared to other paints. Oil-based paints do tend to last far longer than acrylic-based paint, but they contain lots of VOCs and aren’t safe to apply indoors. Acrylic paint is less durable, but it is easy to touch up and is capable of withstanding a range of forces including impact, abrasion, direct heat, prolonged exposure to moisture, insect infestation, and mold.

Is Acrylic Paint Washable?

If acrylic paint is so great, is it washable? I mean, if you’re going to use this good-looking, super-durable paint on your next project, what’s the point if you can’t wash it off when it gets dirty or clean it up if it’s spilled? Is acrylic paint washable then? Yes, acrylic paint is completely washable. In fact, a large portion of its composition consists of water!

That doesn’t mean that it’s easy to clean up. Depending on the thickness and time it’s spent on the surface in question, it can take some elbow grease to clean up your workpiece. That being said, let’s have a look at how you can wash acrylic paint off a surface, and what exactly you’ll need to get the job done in case of an accidental spill.

How Washable Is Acrylic Paint?

Acrylic paint’s washability largely depends on the type of acrylic paint you’ve been using. Additionally, if your workpiece has been sealed with an epoxy sealer, you could end up having to resurface the protective coating or having to remove the surface coating and paint entirely if the paint has begun to lift underneath it.

That being said, here are a few scenarios you could encounter and the difficulty to expect when cleaning acrylic paint.

Removing Acrylic from Hands and Skin

Does acrylic paint wash off on the skin? Acrylic paint is not, and we cannot stress this enough, not meant to be used on your hands and skin overall. Acrylic paints contain solvents and other chemicals that can cause serious discomfort if they come into contact with your skin. This doesn’t mean that all acrylic paint is dangerous, but if you have skin that is easily agitated or a pre-existing condition, take precautions when working with acrylic paint.

If you do happen to get acrylic paint on your skin and it’s still really wet, you should be able to get it off with just a bit of soap and water. However, if the paint dries you could need a bit more elbow grease and something to loosen the paint up a bit. Here are a few things you can use to remove acrylic paint should it dry on your skin.

Use Some Warm Water With Soap

This is pretty straightforward. If the paint hasn’t completely dried, all that you need to do is wet the surface of your skin with some warm water and lather some soap on the affected area. Rub the affected area with a clean cloth or sponge until the paint has all been removed.

Your skin could look a bit red after this, but it should dissipate within a few hours.

Use Some Baby Oil

If the water doesn’t do the trick, there is another option. You can use some baby oil on the affected area to soften up the paint. All that you need to do is apply the baby oil to the affected area and rub it in using your fingers. The acids in the baby oil will break up the acrylic paint, allowing you to wipe it off with a clean cloth or some tissue paper.

Use Some Rubbing Alcohol

If the baby oil and warm water still aren’t doing the trick, the paint has probably gotten harder than you thought it would. Don’t worry about it though, all you need to do is apply some rubbing alcohol to the affected area and allow it to do its thing.

Rubbing alcohol acts as a solvent that will break down the acrylic paint, allowing you to wipe it off with a clean cloth or some tissue paper.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Hair

Does acrylic paint wash off hair? Well, yes, but not very easily. Since acrylic paint is water-based it will come off if you wash it, but it can make your hair clumpy and possibly damage your strands and roots if it’s left in there long enough. That being said, it isn’t impossible to remove. After all, if the paint is water-based, if it’s exposed to enough running water its cohesion will break down, causing the paint to run. However, this isn’t always enough to get the job done, so here are all the methods you can use to get acrylic paint out of your hair if you’ve accidentally got some in it.

Use Some Water and Shampoo

If this wasn’t your first instinct, you should give it a try. After all, almost every shampoo on the market is primarily soap that has been created to clean hair specifically. Therefore, some warm water and good shampooing could remove all the acrylic paint from your hair.

Just be sure to wash your hair thoroughly, as washing it out tends to cause clumps of acrylic paint to build up.

Use Olive Oil and Baby Oil

If you’re still having trouble getting acrylic paint out of your hair, you can try some olive oil or baby oil. All that you need to do is take some olive oil and rub it into the affected areas of your hair. Don’t be shy, use as much olive or baby oil as you feel that you need. Once you’re done, allow it to set in and break down the paint, and then simply wash the residue out of your hair with some warm water.

Removing Acrylic from Clothes

Generally, if you get some paint on your hands you’re probably likely to get it on some of your clothing as well. This can be a rather frustrating thing to happen, especially if you aren’t wearing overalls (always wear overalls when you’re working with paint) but it’s pretty easy to get out if it hasn’t had a chance to dry out too much. As usual, the best way to remove paint from clothing while it’s still wet.

Simply popping it into your washing machine or washing it with some detergent should be more than enough to remove some wet acrylic paint. However, if this isn’t enough, there are a few things you can try to remove when removing stubborn acrylic paint from clothing.

Use Some Rubbing Alcohol

Using some rubbing alcohol can remove even the most stubborn acrylic paint stains. This can be a bit challenging since acrylic paint tends to seep into the fibers of clothing. To use rubbing alcohol on clothing, apply it to the affected area and scrub that area with a brush or a small toothbrush depending on the size of the stain. Remove the residue with a clean cloth or some tissue paper.

Use a White Vinegar and Ammonia Solution

If you can’t get your hands on some rubbing alcohol, you can use a mixture of ammonia and vinegar to loosen up the acrylic paint. All that you need to do is mix some ammonia and white vinegar into a container in an exact 1:1 ratio and stir it thoroughly.

Next, get some on the edge of a cloth and rub the affected area until the stain has been removed. Repeat this as many times as necessary.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Leather

If you have a nice leather armchair and happened to spill some acrylic paint on it, this one’s for you. Leather is generally an expensive material, so getting something like acrylic paint on it would understandably cause panic. However, if you act quickly and don’t give the paint a chance to dry, you should be able to remove the paint without damaging the surface of your workpiece.

Materials like leather and silk tend to be very sensitive to chemicals, so making use of neutral substances is advised if you find yourself working with them. Anything that isn’t acidic or inherently corrosive should be able to safely remove acrylic paint from these materials. That being said, here’s what you’ll need and how to go about it.

Use Some Rubbing Alcohol

All that you need to remove acrylic paint from a leather surface is some rubbing alcohol. Get some on a cotton ball or a really clean cloth and lightly rub the surface of your leather workpiece until the stain has been removed. You can also use some nail polish remover too; just be sure not to use too much or you could damage the leather slightly.

Always remember that leather is sensitive regardless of what you’re trying to remove from it, and always use the appropriate cleaning solutions.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Glass

Are acrylic paints washable when applied to glass? Yes! Glass is a sheer surface and tends to be pretty easy to clean since the paint has a difficult time sticking to it. It doesn’t have a lot of surface friction, which means that paint tends to slide right off of it if the surface hasn’t been prepared correctly. If you intentionally tend to paint glass, you’d usually prime the surface first. That being said, if the surface hasn’t been primed, all that you need to do is get some warm water and a clean cloth and wipe the acrylic paint right off. As you can see glass is a pretty easy surface to clean if you get some acrylic paint on it, so you shouldn’t worry too much unless your glass is really rough or has intricate carvings on the surface, in which case you’ll need to put in some more elbow grease to get rid of paint in the more stubborn areas.

Using Soap and Water

Cleaning acrylic paint off glass doesn’t require much effort. In fact, it should be easier the longer the paint has dried on the surface of the glass. If the paint is still wet, it tends to smear when removed from the glass, especially if you use a wet cloth.

Therefore, it’s best to remove wet acrylic paint with a clean, dry cloth and then wash the surface with some soapy water to remove any paint residue.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Plastic

Are acrylic paints washable when applied to plastic? They are completely removable when applied to plastic surfaces. Like glass, plastic tends to have low surface friction which means that unless it’s been adequately prepared paint tends to slide right off or lift when it’s allowed to dry. Unless you’ve sanded and primed the surface (or spilled some self-priming paint), it should come off pretty easily.

If you do manage to get some acrylic paint on a plastic surface, the best way to get rid of the paint is to use some soapy water or some denatured alcohol. If you’ve removed the majority of the paint and still can’t get rid of the residue all that you need is some soap and water, and you’re pretty much good to go. You can also use some denatured alcohol and sandpaper if the paint has dried.

Using Water and/or Denatured Alcohol

Plastic shouldn’t be too tough of a surface for you to get paint off of. If your plastic has been sanded and primed it could require the use of denatured alcohol. All that you need to do is pop some of a cotton swab and rub it on the affected area to remove the paint. This works particularly well if the paint has had some time to dry. However, if the paint is still wet it shouldn’t be that difficult to remove. All that you really need is some warm water and a clean cloth.

Using some elbow grease, scrub the surface until all of the paint has been removed, including the residue that’s likely to stick around. If you still can’t get rid of the paint, feel free to try a combination of these methods in addition to a scrubbing sponge.

Removing Acrylic Paint from Metal

Washable acrylic paint should be quite easy to remove from metal, as for the most part metals tend to be sheer like glass and plastic. Unless your acrylic paint is self-priming, it shouldn’t be able to stick to the metal initially, which means that you can use some soap and water to remove it with virtually little to no effort. However, if the paint has dried on the surface of the metal it can be far more difficult to remove. Once again, using an appropriate solvent like rubbing alcohol should remove dried paint from the surface quite nicely. We recommend avoiding the use of acetone or anything related to it as it can damage the surface of your metal workpiece.

Using Rubbing Alcohol and/or Soap and Water

As we mentioned previously, washable acrylic paint should come off quite easily if the paint has not had an opportunity to dry completely. Using some warm water and soap applied with a clean cloth should remove the acrylic paint from your metal surface instantly. Be sure of the type of metal you’re using too as it could react to the type of soap you’ve attempted to use. If the paint has dried, you might need something a bit stronger to remove all of the paint.

As we mentioned previously, rubbing alcohol is a great way to get rid of acrylic paint on a metal surface. All you need to do is get some on a cloth or on a swab and rub it on the affected area of your workpiece and you’ll notice the paint start to lift and dissolve.

Tips for Washing Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint is generally easy to remove as long as there isn’t a sealer on the surface. However, there are a few tips you should keep in mind when removing acrylic paint from a given surface. That’s why we’ve prepared a short list of things for you to consider when removing acrylic paint to ensure you don’t damage the surface of your workpiece.

Know Your Materials

Understanding the properties of the material you are trying to clean can go a long way in ensuring that the surface of your workpiece isn’t damaged in the removal process. All you need to do is look up whether certain removal agents or tools will damage the surface of your workpiece if applied. 

Ensure that you follow the usage instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Work Carefully

This can be challenging to do especially if the stain is particularly stubborn. The best thing to do is start off working carefully and if you feel that the surface can handle a bit more force, go for it. This is why you should always start off with a clean cloth cotton swab before moving on to a scrubbing sponge or something similar.

Now that you know what acrylic paint is, how it works, what surfaces it can be applied to, and how to remove it from each surface, it’s time for you to get out there and put your newfound knowledge to the test! Remember to always work as carefully as possible, and to ensure that you have the right tools for the job.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Acrylic Paint Wash Off Skin?

Acrylic paint is pretty popular these days, and it can make quite a mess if some were to spill on you. Does acrylic paint wash off skin? Yes! Generally, all that you need is some soap and water, but baby oil and olive oil can also be used if the stain is super stubborn.

What Is Acrylic Paint Made Of?

Virtually everyone has used acrylic paint in the crafting industry, but have you ever asked yourself what it’s made of? Essentially, acrylic paint is made of pigment and solvents that have been suspended in the acrylic polymer. When the paint is applied, the solvent evaporates and leaves behind the pigment.

Can Acrylic Paint Be Removed When Dry?

Yes, acrylic paint can be removed when dry. If the paint has already had the opportunity to degas, then you will need to use a solvent to loosen it up and lift it from the surface of your workpiece. Generally, rubbing alcohol works really well for this task.

Larissa Meyer( Art Addict, Illustrator and Graphic Designer )

Larissa Meyer is a 32-year-old mother from Michigan and creative spirit since childhood. Her passion for painting and drawing has led her to an education as an illustrator and a career as a freelance graphic designer. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and a degree in Graphic Design. Larissa is a talented artist who is able to master a wide range of styles and techniques to bring her artistic vision to life. Her greatest passion is currently fluid painting and epoxy resin art. Larissa’s love for art and her knowledge and experience in illustration make her the perfect Creative Director for our fluid-painting.com team. She is the creative head of our team and shares her passion and knowledge with our community through articles and tutorials.

As a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, Larissa also understands the importance of fostering creativity in early childhood. She uses her experience and knowledge to help other parents inspire their children and develop their artistic skills as well.

Learn more about Larissa Meyer and about us.