How To Get Spray Paint Off Skin & Hands (9 Best Methods)

The first step when trying to get spray paint from skin is to try to wash it off. Wet spray paint begins to come off quickly with dish soap and hot water.

If you are dealing with oil-based paint spray, dish soap that cuts through grease is ideal. A sponge, toothbrush, or loofa should help remove any stubborn patches.  

Place a few drops of soap and water on the affected area and rub the affected areas. Once done, rinse with warm water and repeat if necessary. 

Another household staple, nail paint remover or homemade paint remover vinegar can clean a lot of stubborn stains of dried spray paint but is not the most skin-friendly.

Drip a cotton ball or pad into the nail polish remover or paint remover and dab at the paint. Once the paint has been lifted, rinse it off with soap and water.

Repeat if necessary and apply moisturizer or lotion once done to prevent dry or cracked skin. This should remove most paint types from your hands, but do care for your skin after using it by keeping it clean and moisturized. 

Mineral oil, often used in makeup remover, is a colorless and odorless substance made from petroleum; baby oil is perfumed mineral oil.

To remove paint with it, simply rub some into your skin and let it sit for up to five minutes.

Once done, scrub the affected area with a towel or your finger, rubbing in circles to remove stubborn spots. When you are ready, try rinsing with soap and water and repeat if necessary.  

Olive oil, or any other natural cooking oil or cooking spray, can be very effective at removing paint or oil based paint.

To get spray paint from your skin with soybean oil or cooking oil or cooking spray, try rubbing it lightly into the skin before rinsing the area with warm soapy water. You may need to repeat this with heavily caked-on paint.  

Oil is highly effective when working with oil-based paint due to a golden rule in science – like removes like. Water-based paint particles can be similarly removed with water, for example. 

This may sound a little odd, but mayonnaise contains oil, making it a great substitute if you do not have the above oils.

Here is how to remove spray paints off your hands with mayonnaise; rub the mayonnaise into the spray painted areas and leave it for two minutes. 

Once it is ready, rinse the area with soap and water to remove spray paint. Next time you find yourself in a paint-related pinch, mayonnaise may be able to help you out. 

Sometimes you need a little boost when it comes to dealing with stubborn paint covered skin; exfoliating your skin gently could help you.

Coffee grounds are a natural abrasive material that, when combined with soap in the first entry, can help lightly remove spray paint from your skin. 

Adding dish soap to the area and rubbing into your skin in gentle motions before rinsing is an easy way to cut through spray paint patches on your skin. Then clean spray paint from your skin with paint wipes and apply cold cream on your skin.

Another way to remove spray paint from your skin is to use rubbing alcohol.

In a similar way to the nail polish remover, dip a cotton ball or pad into rubbing alcohol and dab at the paint before rinsing the affected area with soap and water.

You may need to repeat this method, but be wary as rubbing alcohol can dry out the skin. Once you have dried the damp skin with a towel, apply lotion or moisturizer, if necessary. 

If you do not have standard oils or coffee grounds in your home, two more classic pantry staples could aid you – coconut oil and baking soda. Create a one-to-one mix of the baking soda and coconut oil and rub it into the area. 

Once you feel the paint has been lifted, rinse the area with soap and water. Coconut oil can be expensive, especially when confronted with a large, sprayed area of skin, but you can use other natural oils such as olive or vegetable oil instead to remove spray paint.  

Vegetable oil will be very helpful to remove paint stains without affecting the skin.

Paint thinner is another non-skin-friendly substance that could dry you out; because of this, we recommend only using this as a last resort. In a well-ventilated room, rub the paint thinner over the affected area before rinsing well with plenty of soap and water.

You should not have to repeat those steps but do if necessary. Once done, apply plenty of soothing lotion or moisturizer to the area to ease any potential discomfort. 

Rust-Oleum is a highly popular US-based paint brand used by DIY fans across the country. Rust-Oleum provides affordable good quality paint of all kinds in all forms, including spray paint.

This spray paint, depending on the formula, can be hard to get off, but our steps above should help. If not, pumice soap in either bar or liquid form could help. Pumice soap can be found in most stores but, if you have trouble, try auto parts shops. 

Here is a quick guide on how to get Rust-Oleum spray paint from your skin and hands: 

If the area with spray painting is on the face or eyes, we recommend trying the non-chemical methods instead of harsh chemicals in the previous section and being very careful.

Overall, the best way to get spray paint from skin depends on how much paint there is and the type of spray paint used.

Be careful while doing spray painting projects and remember that "like dissolves like" – water will fight water, and oil can lift oil.