Nail polish remover is wonderful for removing – you guessed it – nail polish, but what about paint?
You might be stuck in a DIY situation where you struggle to remove some paint from a project, whether from previous painting or accidental spillage or spraying.
Luckily for you, yes, nail polish remover does remove paint!
Nail polish remover is a solvent compound designed to remove tough materials in nail polish, including synthetic resins, plasticizers, and nitrocellulose. The key ingredient in nail polish remover is acetone, found in paint remover solutions, as it helps break down molecular bonds.
Nail polish removers that contain acetone are only suitable for removing latex-based paints, oil paints, and uncured paints. People will know the struggle of removing the toughest nail polishes, so the acetone-based remover is also ideal for removing tough paint stains.
You can use nail polish remover to remove paint on various surfaces, including sealed stones, painted walls, ceilings, tires, laminated furniture, window panes, finished wood, carpets, leather material, and plastic material. This is because these surfaces are mostly non-porous and cured efficiently to withstand the chemicals found in nail polish remover without disrupting the color and texture of the original surface.
However, nail polish remover isn’t suitable for removing paint on uncured surfaces like fresh wood, unsealed stones, multi-colored surfaces, gas pipes, and any surface that comes into contact with a naked flame. Scrubbing these surfaces with nail polish remover will affect the texture and color of the original surface, which can bleach or stain the surface rather than remove the paint.
If you plan to remove paint with nail polish remover, wear protective clothing, including a mask and gloves, as the chemicals can cause irritation and breathing problems.
👉 Related Reading: How to Remove Paint from Carpet
Will Nail Polish Remover Remove Paint from Concrete?
Nail polish remover is great for removing paint from concrete! Concrete is a hardy material designed to resist impact from harsh chemicals, heavy objects, all weather conditions, and almost everything else. So a little nail polish remover won’t affect the quality of the surface at all.
The only issue that might arise is that nail polish remover won’t be enough to remove an entire paint surface on the concrete. Concrete is a porous surface, meaning the paint removal time might take longer than on non-porous surfaces if the paint has been on the surface for a long time.
A nail polish remover is ideal if you have been painting an outside wall and some paint has accidentally dripped onto the concrete floor. Almost everyone has a bottle of the stuff in their houses, and all you need to do is pour the liquid on the paint and scrub away. You might need to leave the nail polish remover on for tough paint stains for longer.
Suppose you’re worried about affecting the quality of the concrete with the nail polish remover. In that case, you can always test a small area of the paint-covered surface to see whether the liquid is strong enough to remove the paint without altering the color of the concrete.
👉 Related Reading: What Household Items Can Remove Paint?
Will Nail Polish Remover Remove Paint from Plastic?
Nail polish remover is ideal for removing paint from plastic. Whether you have had an accidental spillage, your DIY project has gone slightly wrong, or you want to revamp a plastic surface, a nail polish remover will remove the paint easily.
Plastic surfaces are non-porous in the same way fingernails are non-porous. If nail polish remover can remove nail polish from fingernails with no problem, it’s sure to be able to remove paint from similar plastic surfaces. Likewise, nail polish remover can remove nail polish from artificial nails made of plastic.
As with harsh chemicals, it’s important to check if nail polish remover affects the surface’s quality before scrubbing away. While plastic is a good surface for nail polish remover, you should always test the surface with a small amount of liquid. If it removes the paint from the small chosen area without affecting the surface, then scrub away!
Depending on the strength of the stain, you should apply the nail polish remover with a cloth or paper towel to the surface. Dab it on the paint, leave it for 5-10 minutes, and then scrub away. If the paint starts to fade, repeat the process until it has completely gone.
Will Nail Polish Remover Remove Paint from Wood?
Nail polish remover might be able to remove paint from wood; it just depends on how fresh the wooden surface is.
Finished wood is a suitable surface for nail polish remover to remove paint. This is because the wood had been prepped and cured before the layer of paint touched the surface, which means it has a layer of protection from harsh chemicals. This means that whether the paint was from accidental spillage or if you want to change the color of the paint, you can remove it from finished wood with nail polish remover.
However, nail polish remover is not suitable for removing paint from fresh wooden surfaces. Remember that nail polish remover is designed to remove nail polish from nails, which means it can only remove paint from surfaces that have been cured and sealed.
The nail polish remover won’t remove any paint when applied to a fresh wooden surface. Instead, it will stain the surface of the wood into a brighter and bleached color, which can also erode the area it touched. If you scrub the surface with nail polish remover, this can cause the texture to become rough and flaky due to corrosion.
To remove paint from wood with nail polish remover, you must sacrifice a small surface area to see whether the liquid will be reactive. Finished wooden surfaces will not be affected by the chemicals, but fresh wooden surfaces will not respond well to it, and therefore the nail polish remover won’t remove the paint.
👉 Related Reading: How Do You Remove Paint from Floorboards?
Final Thoughts
I talked about using nail polish remover to remove paint from various surfaces. I went into detail about using it on concrete, plastic, and wood. Always do a patch test to be sure. Let me know if you would like to know about any more surfaces.
