The art of unprinting?

July 18, 2010 3:45 PM

Is there any way to remove a professional print from clothing? I bought some plain clothes wholesale and didn't realise they came with a logo! Any ideas? Chemistry, home remedies?
posted by KLF to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

No, not really. You can remove spots of ink with a spot cleaning gun (most dry cleaners have one) but you can't really remove an entire print.
posted by bradbane at 3:53 PM on July 18, 2010

Response by poster: Well it's a smallish print. It's not the whole shirt or anything. Just on the bottom of the shirt.
posted by KLF at 4:26 PM on July 18, 2010

You could try diy screenprinting over it in the same or darker color. It would almost certainly still be visible close up, but if all you want is to not look like you're wearing a logo, it might be good enough for your purposes.
posted by bettafish at 4:38 PM on July 18, 2010

Removing cured screen print ink is difficult - very difficult, but not impossible:

http://www.albatross-usa.com/htmlversion/spotremovers/Expert303_html.htm

I'm assuming it's not so much fun and YMMV. You could attempt a more home remedy, using something like oil-based outside house paint remover, or turpentine, but I doubt those would be any more effective than vinegar, in this respect.

Think of screen print ink more akin to plastic - it shares some chemical properties with PVC pipe. It's meant to last a very long time.
posted by alex_skazat at 4:52 PM on July 18, 2010

Sorry,

http://www.albatross-usa.com/htmlversion/spotremovers/Expert303_html.htm
posted by alex_skazat at 4:52 PM on July 18, 2010

I'm guessing American Apparel.
You can no longer buy their shirts wholesale, not without a logo at least. I recommend you return them if possible, trying to remove a screenprinted image is not fun at all and won't end up like you imagined it.
posted by Germs of Love at 5:01 PM on July 18, 2010

Response by poster: Rats! I hope in the future there is some way. :)
posted by KLF at 1:06 AM on August 4, 2010