When you start painting, you naturally want to mess as little as possible. You can prevent this by not having too much paint on your brush or roller, but sometimes you can’t do anything about it yourself.
For example when it is very windy outside; the chance that splashes will end up on the glass when painting the frames is certainly present.
You could then choose not to paint outside when it is windy, but that is not always an option.
If you do get paint on windows and glass, these are your solutions.
The paint can also get on your window during interior painting, for example when you are working on the window frames.
You also prefer not to splash paint on stones and tiles, but this is easier to prevent. You can easily put an old sheet or tarpaulin on this, so that no paint ends up on it.
This is often much more difficult with glass. You can read how to remove paint from glass in this article.
In this post we'll cover:
Paint Removal Supplies
If paint has ended up on glass, you don’t need a lot of stuff to remove it. Before you get started, make sure you have everything you need to remove any paint splatters.
You probably already have most of the products, and what you don’t have yet, you can buy at the hardware store, but of course also online.
- White spirit (for alkyd paint)
- Bucket with hot water
- At least two clean cloths
- Glass cleaner
- Putty knife or paint scraper
This white spirit from Bleko is perfect for the subtle removal of paint:
And Glassex is still the fastest glass cleaner I use on jobs:
Remove paint from glass
When you want to remove paint from glass, it is important that you work carefully.
You don’t want the glass to break because you apply too much force, or to get scratches in the window that you can’t get out.
Which paint is it?
First, it is important to know what type of paint you are working with.
- If it is alkyd paint, then it is solvent-based paint. You also need a solvent, such as white spirit, to remove it.
- If it is acrylic paint, then it is water-based paint. This can be removed with just water.
Remove fresh paint splatters from glass
When it comes to a wet paint drop, it is very easy to remove.
All you then have to do is sprinkle a little water or white spirit on a cloth and carefully remove the drop from the glass with this cloth.
You do not have to press hard, just rubbing well is enough. If the drop is gone, rinse the glass with water and then clean it with glass cleaner.
At the end of the job, clean the entire window. This way you can immediately check whether you have not overlooked any unintended paint stains.
Remove dried paint from glass
When it comes to old paint that has been on the glass for a while, you have to act differently. Rubbing with a cloth is not sufficient here, you will not get rid of the hardened paint.
In this case, it is best to wet a cloth with white spirit and wrap it around a putty knife.
Then rub the putty knife over the paint, until you see that the paint is softening.
You can then easily remove the paint. Of course you also clean the glass afterwards with water and glass cleaner.
Did you accidentally get paint on your clothes? You can easily get this out in the following ways!
Remove paint from stone and tiles
Did you get paint on your brick wall, or did you forget to cover the tiles and spill it? Then it is a good idea to remove the paint as soon as possible.
It is important that you do not rub it with a cloth because that will only make the stain bigger.
There is a chance that you will not be able to get the paint off, and that is of course not the intention.
If you’ve tampered with your brick wall or tiles, wait for the paint to dry completely before removing it.
When the paint is dry, grab a paint scraper and then scrape the paint off with the tip of it. Do this gently and make sure you stay within the stain.
It is important that you take the time for this. If you don’t do this, you can make mistakes, which can eventually mean that you have to replace the stones or tiles, or completely repaint.
Did you scrape off all the paint? Then take a clean cloth and place some white spirit on it. This allows you to remove the last remnants if necessary.
Do you want to make your window frames paint-free? Then you can choose to burn off the paint (this is how you proceed)
I'm Joost Nusselder, the founder of Tools Doctor, content marketer, and dad. I love trying out new equipment, and together with my team I've been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with tools & crafting tips.
