I’ve spent my fair share of afternoons fighting dried paint. You grab the cheapest bottle of methylated spirits, thinking it’ll do the trick. Seems reasonable—alcohol cuts through all sorts of messes. But dealing with acrylic paint is a different beast. Acrylics bond to surfaces using synthetic polymers. Once acrylic dries, it clings tight to canvas, clothing, plastic, and wooden surfaces. Ask any painter who's wrestled with old brushes or splattered tables: dried acrylic doesn't just wipe off.
Acrylic paint stands tough because it mixes pigment with an acrylic polymer emulsion. Water dissolves it—right up until it dries. After that, those polymers harden, locking the color in place. Methylated spirits contain mostly ethanol with a dash of methanol making them good at cutting through greasy or oily residues. For wet acrylic, spirits might lift a stain off a tabletop or out of a brush. But if the paint has dried, don’t get your hopes up for a miracle. The dried film resists most household solvents, methylated spirits included.
People love fast solutions, and the advice to use methylated spirits keeps popping up on online forums and YouTube tutorials. Based on my own late-night cleanups, alcohol softens acrylic a bit if you get to it fast. Still, on a dried surface, the result often disappoints. Spirits may blur the paint's edge or lighten a stain, but you won’t see acrylic dissolve and disappear. Fact-checking with trusted resources like art supply makers backs this up. Golden Artist Colors, for example, recommends isopropyl alcohol over ethanol for stubborn acrylic. Even then, it needs time to soak and lots of elbow grease.
Methylated spirits give off strong fumes. They sting the nose and dry out skin. Used indoors without proper air flow, people risk headaches or dizziness. Kids and pets don’t need to touch or inhale it, either. Stretching for gloves and working outside limits those risks. Many popular guides skip over these warnings, but safety info from poison control centers and Material Safety Data Sheets highlights the danger. Respect the chemical, or regret it.
If scraping with a blunt knife and warm water fails, paint thinner, acetone, or isopropyl alcohol cut deeper. These pack a bigger punch, breaking down acrylic polymers on contact. The tradeoff: these chemicals are harsher, so you need to watch for toxic vapors and possible damage to your surface. For clothes, try enzyme detergent right away, with a warm wash while the paint stays damp. On non-porous objects like windows or tiles, a razor blade or scraper does the heavy lifting.
Tarp the floor. Wear old shirts. Clean brushes as soon as you finish. Simple habits cut down on cleanup, and you might keep your favorite surfaces and outfits paint-free. Hobbyists and pros alike post tricks for quick cleanups, but acting fast wins every time. Acrylic paint wants to stick and stay. That’s the reality for weekend dabblers and gallery artists. If an accident happens, reach for solutions supported by product makers and medical experts. Don’t rely just on the old bottle of methylated spirits under the sink.
