Who says that chemical is the optimal choice when it comes to removing paint? There are more useful materials that can help you solve the question: “How to remove paint from wood without chemicals?”
Have you ever had a headache because of the stubborn paint stains scattered all over the room, on the floor and your beloved wooden furniture? In the process of repairing a house or repainting objects, it is very likely that paint stains will accidentally stick to various wooden objects such as chairs, tables, or floors.
Artistic? Innovative? Beautiful as in the music MV you watch? No, guys! These paint stains can make your room become such a mess!
Maybe you want to eliminate those troublesome paint stains immediately but fear the effects of chemicals? Don’t worry, take it easy with some tips on how to remove paint from wood without chemicals below and everything will be under control!
Understand Your Troublesome Friends
Stubborn paint stains – these troublesome friends may drive you crazy. But in order to perfectly strip them from wooden objects, you need to understand them very well. So who are they and what is the difference between them? Let’s check it out
What are They?
In general, paints on the market today can be divided into two types: oil-based paint and water-based paint. They are completely different in terms of composition, features, and applications.
The most basic difference between these two friends is, as the name suggests, the use of solvents. Water-based paints use water to make paints for diluents when painting, while oil paints use an organic solvent, oil or benzene for the same job.
Which Friend is Less Stubborn?
Oil-based paint has good dust-proof ability, and can be used for both indoor and outdoor projects, such as furniture and fences.
Meanwhile, water-based paint is commonly used in many works today. Not only does it make the building surface’s beautiful, but water-based paint also has more advantages as it is safe for humans and the environment.
However, in terms of the ability to be easily removed from objects like wood, water-based paint predominates.
So, if the paint stains on your wooden objects stem from water-based paint, you are quite lucky
How To Remove Paint From Wood Without Chemicals?
It’s not hard to come across thousands of chemicals to remove stubborn paints in the market today. You may be bombarded with overhyped advertising like: “ Eliminate all the most stubborn paints” or “ the safest cleaning chemicals today”.
Watch out! We all know that chemicals are not good for our health. So, are there any other ways to remove paint from wood without chemicals? The answer is yes!
Vinegar is a Very Good Cleaning Material
Vinegar is no longer unfamiliar with us. It’s widely used for cooking purpose and now you will find out another brilliant function of this additive: Remove paint. Hard to believe but it’s true! Let’s take a look.
What you need to do is simply creating a mixture of vinegar and water in a ratio of 1/4 vinegar and 3/4 water. Dab this solution on the wood. Next, use a soft cloth moistened with fresh tea or green tea to clean several times, your wooden objects will light up in a jiffy.
The diluted vinegar solution effectively cleans long-term stains. You may be surprised when seeing the result it brings. But remember to just soak the vinegar in a towel, do not pour it directly on the surface of the wood because the vinegar will corrode your precious (and expensive) wood floor.
Now, have you known where the effective assistant to remove paint stays? Yes, in the kitchen!
Cooking Oil can Help
Another good material to remove paint is hiding in your kitchen, too. It’s the cooking oil. Now instead of using it to fry chicken or chips for your family, you can use it to get rid of the unexpected paint on your wood.
Using cooking oil is also one of the effective ways to clean wooden kitchen cabinets that is extremely easy to do at home. On wood also often appear stains caused by accident. Let’s see the process we need.
Add a few drops of cooking oil to the white beeswax, then steam it until it melts into the oil. Rub this mixture vigorously into the stain, the effect is worth looking forward to. Believe us! You will head over heels satisfy with what it brings!
Hot Water- Why Not?
Hot water is considered to be the cheapest way yet effective to clean wooden objects stained by paint. The high temperature will melt the paint and make it easier for you to remove it. Keep it in mind that it will work more effectively if you have just spilled the paint a couple hours earlier, or a day at best.
Moreover, hot water is also less likely to damage the surface of wooden objects. Great! Apply this method now.
Sandpaper- Useful but be Careful with It
Perhaps the sandpaper is very familiar to households because of its surface polishing function. Using sandpaper is also an effective way to remove paint from the wooden floor. The sandpaper will help you remove paint stains without much effort.
However, sandpaper can only be used on the flat surface and you must be careful as it can damage your lovely wooden object. Be gentle!
Use Gasoline
Using gasoline will help keep the wood safe and used by many families. This is also a great way to remove stubborn paint stains.
Let get down to stripping the paint from your wood! Very simple! just use a towel to absorb a little gasoline and then dab on the paint stains on the wood. Wipe it off several times and the paint will somehow disappear without the wood being affected.
The paint will dissolve in the gasoline, so the paint stains will be cleaned easily. The disadvantage of this method is that the smell of gasoline is very strong, but you can eliminate it by many other household goods. For examples, Soap can help eradicate the smell of remaining gasoline.
Try and see the result!
Tips For You
Read the Instruction Carefully
The instruction from the paint product you use can help you a lot. As mentioned above, knowing what kind of paint is will help you understand profoundly about how to strip it.
So if you, unfortunately, make your favorite wooden objects stained by paint, remember to read the instruction immediately. It can help you more than you think
Deodorize the Paint Odor with Fresh Milk
It is annoying that unwanted paint stains can cause an unpleasant smell to your wooden objects, especially cabinets such as wardrobes or kitchen cabinets. But do not be depressed! Fresh milk can help you more or less.
So how to make this miracle become a reality?
First, prepare an adequate amount of fresh milk, then heat the milk on medium heat until boiling.
The next step is to bring the boiled cow milk and pour it into a dish or bowl into the newly painted object. When you close the closet door, after about 5 hours, the smell will disappear.
Good Preparation
To save time cleaning the paint stain, do not let it completely harden and almost become one with your floor. Be well prepared before working on any project to rule out the possibility of paint falling on wooden floors or other wooden objects.
Walls and doors should be painted before laying bricks. With this process, the floor is less likely to be stained by unexpected paint. Additionally, before painting, you should use a silver plate to cover the floor so the paint will not stick to the floor.
Without the assistance of chemicals, removing wet paints is easier than dry paint stains. Therefore, you should clean the paint stain while it has just been spilled.
In Conclusion
Above are some tips on how to remove paint from wood without chemicals. Chemicals may work effectively but they are completely not good for your health.
We strongly believe that you have a lot of choices when it comes to stripping unexpected paint from wood after reading this article. Apply them and see the result, you will be taken aback by the amazing effect that non-chemical methods bring to you.
Thank you for your attention!
Peter Levick
ArchitectI am a licensed architect who is passionate about all things home improvement industries, I have been doing DIY painting projects and have developed lots of experience around home improvement over the 10 years.
