Removing Paint from Polymer Clay – Tipping Tuesday .009

Things happen, sometimes a brushstroke goes wrong, or you don’t like the way the face turned out. That’s not a problem, as long as the acrylic paint is still fresh, it can be removed. Apply a little water using clean brush and then rub with cotton swab until the paint comes off. Use clean cotton swab if it gets dirty quickly, the point is to rub off the paint, not rub it into the surface. The fresher the acrylic paint, the easier it is removing paint from polymer clay!

Keep in mind, if the paint is day old, it might rub into the surface of the polymer clay. If that happens, use opaque color to tone the entire area or try sanding it down and then polishing. Use 1000 grit sand paper and cloth for polishing. Sometimes, I use Dremel with cloth polishing bit to speed up the process.

Here’s an example of fairy‘s face repaint. I removed day old acrylic paint from polymer clay and painted her a new mouth.

Removing Old Acrylic Paint from Polymer Clay

For old acrylic paint, it might be easier to simply sand the paint film off. As acrylic paint dries, it solidifies and creates a layer of paint film that won’t react to water unless it has been soaked for hours. If you want to repaint your whole creation, you can soak it in the water until parts of the paint peel off. and sand the rest off. However, it might be tough to get the paint out of creases of the polymer clay. Additionally, acrylic paint can be layered as long as it hasn’t been varnished. If a little thicker texture is not an issue, you can paint over old acrylic paint, too!

What about Watercolor Paint?

If you’re using watercolors, it might be tougher to remove as polymer clay is porous. The pigments penetrate the surface with the water and sinks in deeper. If that happens, you can try opaque colors or acrylic to even out the surface. To match a color, try placing a brush with the color next to your creation to see if the color fits. This way you’ll see the color difference before you paint the surface.

In conclusion, most paint can be removed from polymer clay either via water and cotton swab, or with a little bit of sanding and polishing. Good luck and go create!