How to get Glossy spray paint mist off carpet?

February 23, 2017 7:46 PM

Sprayed a metal handrail on my steps with glossy spray paint. Looks good, but a fine mist of black paint is covering my light tan carpet. Can anybody recommend a cleaner? I have a steam cleaner. The area is about 10 x 10 plus steps. Ugh
posted by Coffee Bean to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

All the spray paint I use in oil based, so I wouldn't expect a steam cleaner to do anything at all. I use mineral spirits or acetone (nail polish remover is typically acetone) to clean up after spray painting, but that's likely to damage the carpet. Perhaps test an inconspicuous spot?

Good luck with this (and I'm afraid you're going to need a lot of luck to salvage the carpet).
posted by she's not there at 9:46 PM on February 23, 2017

Yeah, I don't think any cleaning solutions would work. When we had issues with the nap of some new carpet at work, the company sent out a guy who literally had goat shears and he used them to cut/shave away a little of the top of the nap. Maybe you could do something similar? If not goat shears, maybe one of those fabric shavers for sweaters? I think your solution is going to end up being mechanical rather than chemical.
posted by Weeping_angel at 10:25 PM on February 23, 2017 [3 favorites]

I'd try a spot test with a citrus oil based paint stripping gel before resorting to anything like a shaver. If it doesn't seem to damage the carpet, it should soften the oversprayed paint to the point where your steam cleaner will deal with it.
posted by flabdablet at 11:02 PM on February 23, 2017

I'd try hyakol (99% Isopropyl Alcohol) before resorting to cutting/trimming.

Basically nail polish, but stronger. Pretty sure my office gets it from a local beauty supply place.
posted by itesser at 12:42 AM on February 24, 2017

If you do resort to mechanical methods, I would sand the carpet by hand with low-grit sandpaper first.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:55 AM on February 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I use Goop for stuff like this. It got black ink out of a silk chenille upholstered chair once, gets grease and oil stains out of my clothes, works really well on spot stains on carpets, and it's the best stuff at getting paint and varnish off my hands.

Goop is sold in a tub for around $3 at hardware stores and walmart and home depot in the cleaning section. This stuff has been around forever.

Anyway, rub the Goop into the rug and brush it with a scrub brush or a rag, or in a large area like the one your working on maybe try a mop, but I'm thinking scrubbing with a soft scrub brush might be the best bet. Then use soapy water and rags to soak up the goop. It'll be trial and error, and I've never had this stuff actually damage any of the materials I've used it on, but you'll probably want to do a small test area to see what method works best regardless. You might want to use your steamer to get it up, i've never tried that, I usually stick to wet rags
posted by newpotato at 5:20 AM on February 24, 2017 [2 favorites]

I also think it could be difficult to find something that will remove the paint and not damage the carpet. Is the carpet cut pile or loop? If it's cut, I would try brushing it to raise and loosen the paint, and then shave it with a bic type razor.
posted by defreckled at 7:19 AM on February 24, 2017 [1 favorite]

I've never used them, but there are a couple of lines of specialty cleaners that Jolie Kerr recommends. One is Lift Off and the other is Stain Devils.
posted by radioamy at 8:39 AM on February 24, 2017

If the carpet fibre is aligned so each little piece of it has a visible end, you can probably comb it with a cat slicker brush and it will pull off some of the solid paint. If the carpet fibres are arraned in loops, this won't work.

All the solvent and liquid paint removers and cleaners being suggested might melt the fibres of a synthetic carpet, or fade and remove dye from a wool carpet. And liquids will likely leave water marks behind. Carefully test the product in an inconspiculous area and wait a couple days before trying any of them out.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 6:16 PM on February 24, 2017