Painting is one of the best ways to express yourself and generate a little bit of income as well if desired. However, painting can become frustrating because of mistakes or spills. Sometimes adding too much paint can cause a splatter, or even a smudge. While the task of removing paint isn’t impossible, artists know that it can become a difficult task.
Before we begin removing paint off a canvas collect the following items; a clean brush or cloth soaked in water, a soft knife to scrape with, rubbing alcohol, and a water-based primer (optional). You can find most, if not all of these items in the average household.
1. To begin the paint removal process use the water-soaked cloth or brush to dampen the painted area. Take note that there are several different kinds of paint. Watercolors are the easiest paints to remove since they are water-based paints. However, if you are using acrylic paint, you might become a little frustrated in this step. Acrylic paint takes double the time to dry, unlike oil-based paint which is also fairly easy to remove. Once the area is dampened and moist leave it to dry depending on the paint used.
2. In this step you want to make sure the paint is in the crusty stage. Use the soft knife to remove the scrape and dissolve the paint away. This is one of the hardest stages. Do not use the knife too hard, or you can damage the canvas and ruin it. Use the knife softly and gently with some forward and backward strokes.
3. The third step involves the rubbing alcohol. The rubbing alcohol does the dirty work by dissolving the paint swiftly and easily. Rubbing alcohol is generally used with oil-based and acrylic paintings. Get a piece of cotton, or cloth and dampen it with the rubbing alcohol and apply it to the area where the paint is being removed from the canvas. Move it back and forth swiftly making sure the canvas is being kept free from cotton swabs, and cloth fragments. Make sure to apply the alcohol gently in order to keep the canvas from being damaged.
Last but not least, apply the primer in the area where you removed the paint in order for it to blend. You should now have yourself an area that is ready to be freshly painted, and tampered with. Be well advised that when using acrylic paint there are different solvents that can remove paint. Some of these solvents include: ammonia, turpentine, rubbing alcohol, and white spirits.
Painting can be very difficult for a beginner but if you remember this simple 3-step process to removing paint off your canvas, you won’t regret you used it. You should also take into account the paint you are using before even beginning the paint removal process as it could damage your painting or canvas further.