How to Get Spray Paint off of Skin – One Simple Trick

ByKaren Sloan

This post will show you how to get spray paint off of skin. This is an easy trick, using natural products that you probably already have in your house. Want to learn how?

I spray paint a lot around here.

Spray painting is one of my favorite DIY projects ever!

Here are a bunch of my past Spray Painting Projects …

hand under running water in a sink

Let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of spray paint on my skin. And I should also note that I almost exclusively use Rust-Oleum Spray Paint.

I’ve discovered a really easy way to remove spray paint off of skin using just a few natural products that you have in your kitchen cupboards. (I’m assuming you have them – 95% sure you do).

A quick note about Spray Paint and your Skin

There are a lot of articles on the internet stating how spray paint is dangerous when absorbed into your skin. I’m honestly not sure if they are true or not. But I think it’s important to be safe regardless. There are a bunch of things that you can do to make spray painting a much safer activity. Here are my tips for making spray painting safer …

  1. Always spray paint outside and wear a mask if you can. You don’t want to breathe in spray paint fumes.
  2. Wear safety goggles too – it never hurts to protect your eyes.
  3. Wear gloves! I buy a generic pair of rubber gloves or use those surgical latex gloves. Sometimes I even double up. You can even buy rubber gloves that cover your forearms too. And they are cheap enough.

Ok – so now that we got all the safety stuff out of the way, let me tell you how to get that spray paint off your hands. Trust me – I’ve been there!

How to Get Spray Paint off of Skin

Here’s how to remove that spray paint. This is using 1 simple trick! A combo of these ingredients, or frankly, just using the oil will work too with a bit of patience!

showing a hand covered in spray paint
How to Get Spray Paint off Hands

You will need:

  • Canola Oil
  • Baking Soda or Course Salt
  • Soap and Water
baking soda in a jar

Instructions:

  1. First, pour a good amount of canola oil into your hands. I haven’t tested this with other oils such as Coconut or Olive but I’m sure they would work too. Canola oil is cheap and readily available, and I’m not about to waste expensive cooking oil like Avocado on this. But that’s just me.
  2. Now – we need something gritty to help remove the paint. Baking soda or Course Salt! Just pour some in your hands and start scrubbing. I don’t use water yet! I let the oil and baking soda work its magic.
  3. Ok – after scrubbing for a little, I wash with hand soap and water. You will find that it’s not instantaneous (you do have to scrub) but that paint will definitely come off!
  4. Repeat this process until all your spray paint is removed!

I especially love the fact that you aren’t putting anything dangerous on your skin! No chemical-laden paint removers. I’m really trying very hard to keep the chemicals to a minimum. (Which, speaking of no chemicals, you should totally check out my oven rack cleaning method.)

Sorry to scare you with my terrible, gangly-looking hands – Ugh.

But here’s the after…see?

  • showing a clean hand after all spray paint was removed
  • showing a clean hand after all spray paint was removed

All clean!

Please give this method a try. I think you will be really pleased. And now you can try allllllll my spray painting projects, right? 🙂

xo Karen