Oil-based paint

In detail

Oil-based and alkyd paints dry in two stages: the solvent evaporates, and then the binder cures by reacting with oxygen into a cross-linked film. That second stage is irreversible, which is why the treatment for a spill depends entirely on how long ago it happened rather than on what it landed on. Wet, it dissolves in white spirit and a great deal comes away. Cured, it is a plastic film that is bonded into the surface texture, and the honest options narrow to mechanical removal or a purpose-made stripper — the strongest of which are built on methylene chloride and belong to a different trade from cleaning. The carpet institute puts oil-based paint and varnish on the solvent branch and gives them the longest sequences in the database: nail polish remover, solvent, detergent, warm water, spot removal kit, ammonia, then a professional. The carpet institute also distinguishes wet from dried latex paint as separate entries, which is the same point made about the water-based family. Whichever the paint, the useful instruction is the same: deal with it now, because the chemistry changes underneath the delay.

What works

• White spirit is effective against Oil-based paint Supported

  Effective on wet paint. A fully cured film is cross-linked and no longer soluble in it.

Why

• Oil-based paint is explained by Solvents and polymers
• Oil-based paint is explained by Oxidation and bleaching