Asked on Apr 19, 2013

Spilled paint on floor tile...still in grout

Bridget Casey
by Bridget Casey
i spilled paint that's used on a Steele door(Latix) I think! Well anyway, I can't get it off the grout area. I have used paint thinner, oops, &about anything else I thought might remove it! Have any ideas??? The color is brick red...so very hard to disguise. What do you think about painting that grout area?Thank you, Bridget
  17 answers
  • If you can match the color of the grout you can paint it. However you may want to remove and replace the offended area. As later on the paint will wear away showing the color. They make a tool called a grout saw. It looks like a toothbrush of sorts with a saw type blade where the bristles would be located. It simply works by rubbing back and forth as it scrapes the grout out. You might even only need to go down just a bit to remove the color if it has not seeped to far into the material Once done you can purchase new grout to fill in. They also make grout pens that will recolor grout, however it is not sure if it will cover over paint.
  • Bridget Casey Bridget Casey on Apr 19, 2013
    Thankyou, the grout saw seems a little scarry! I think I might try to match the color and paint it for now...the paint spill is a large area~BUMMER ;)
  • Lorraine Edwards Lorraine Edwards on Apr 19, 2013
    The best thing I've ever used to remove paint (even dried paint) is a product called Goof-off. It's in all the hardware stores. It works great - don't think it would hurt anything, but the color might have stained the grout. I would take watered down paint to the grout to bring it back to white.
  • Bridget Casey Bridget Casey on Apr 19, 2013
    Yep, tried it & it just lightened the color...Thanks though!!!B
  • Seidman Paperhanging Seidman Paperhanging on Apr 20, 2013
    Alcohol works to remove dry latex paint and is not as toxic as goof off
  • Denise Weick Denise Weick on Apr 20, 2013
    I read rubbing alcohol is used to lift paint. an inexpensive remedy if it works. can't hurt to try. hope it works for you.
  • Lorraine Edwards Lorraine Edwards on Apr 22, 2013
    Bridget--you may want to try it repeatedly with the Goof-off. I was painting a mirror I had bought and wanted to do it in our den because the light is best in there...ever so carefully placed newspapers on the floor in the den to protect the light beige rug. No sooner started and I knocked over the paint can. After I absorbed as much as poss. with paper towels, I began to use the goof off on the rug. I had to patiently repeat the process at least 8 times. It lightened it more every time I did it. Now it is basically gone, thanks to goof off. But as I said, just applying once is not enough. It's a process.
  • Bridget Casey Bridget Casey on Apr 22, 2013
    Ok thanks Lorraine,I will try it a couple of more times...B
  • MahtaMouse MahtaMouse on Apr 07, 2015
    I'd just paint to match... less work and I assume the grout is probably below the level of the brickwork? Just grab a small stiff craft brush and cut the bristles flat to pounce the paint (don't brush!) along with a couple of small bottles of acrylic craft paint from a Michael's store and mix until you get the right color match (try some gray, a little white and maybe a tiny drop of black and mix 'til it matches). Depending on the amount of splatter, you'll probably only need to mix up about a tablespoon of color. I actually did this to my shingles after painting the underside of the gables and getting yellow spots all over them. That was 2yrs ago and it's still hiding those spots despite all our NW rain.
  • Darla Darla on Apr 07, 2015
    Get 91% rubbing alcohol at the drug store. That will work better than paint thinner to soften and remove acrylic paint. It even works to get old dried acrylic paint off clothes.
    • Brigit Brigit on Jun 08, 2015
      @Darla I painted this weekend and got light blue paint on dark brown grout. Your idea was perfect! I only had 50% rubbing alcohol but it was effortless and took less than 2 minutes. Great idea!!
  • Cornelia Schott Cornelia Schott on Apr 07, 2015
    try goo gone. you can buy this in Lowe's or Home Depot. Let the product sit on the area and then brush off. Good luck.
  • Becca Becca on Dec 16, 2015
    I would try LA's Awesome Cleaner (might be LA's Totally Awesome Cleaner), available at Dollar Tree for $1. Try spraying it undiluted onto the grout and letit sit for 1 minute or so. Then using an old toothbrush, scrub away. I was able to use this cleaner to remove wer ink from my off-white carpet,
  • Becca Becca on Dec 16, 2015
    *wet ink. Sorry about that. I've also used it to remove wet and dry paint from the same carpet, again, it gets every speck! Sometimes I have to repeat the process, but it's always right after I do it the first time--not 2 weeks later when some stains are known to "reappear."
  • Francesca Francesca on Dec 16, 2015
    My contractor friend told me to use windex professional. As a messy painter I end up with paint everywhere and have found this to be a great solution. Spray on the spilled paint area and let it sit for a few minutes then use the scrubber part of a kitchen sponge. You can also leave a windex soaked cloth on tile or other hard surfaces to loosen the paint. Finish off with a damp cloth to wipe off residue. Good luck!
  • Margie Margie Margie Margie Margie Margie on Apr 08, 2016
    I have used nail polish remover in the past. It worked well
  • Darla Darla on Apr 09, 2016
    Use rubbing alcohol. It gets acrylic or latex paint off anything, and is not horribly toxic unless you drink it.
  • Crystal Crystal on Apr 21, 2017

    Just spilled dark dark brown paint on patio with white grout between bricks... going to try these suggestions and hope for the best... update as I have news... hopefully good news!