I know A LOT about cleaning up paint spills.
And I’m realizing that these skills I have gained (PURELY by trial and error) are not necessarily intuitive or widely-known, so I am taking it upon myself to educate the general public.
Pictures and descriptions come from an eventful Tuesday recently. I had been transporting a LOT of items in my car, including painting supplies for summer camp banners/backdrops.
Yes… this happened. A half a gallon of purple paint spilled in the back of my trunk.
Step 1: Skim what you can off the top.
How deep of a spill was it? if there was a lot, collect the paint without attempting to “wash” it right away.
Step 2: Determine washing protocol. What surface did the paint spill on?
This breaks down into two basic categories: porous and smooth.
Porous = asphalt, concrete, carpet, fabric
Smooth = skin, plastic, metal
If it has spilled on something porous, WATER IS YOUR BEST FRIEND.
You have to flush it, over and over again. You are allowed to scrub it out, yes, but if you scrub it without water, you are only ensuring a permanent and deep stain.
I have created a water brigade several times, filling cups or water bottles at a nearby bathroom and then transporting them to the scene of the spill. Students are a great help in this instance, they have so much energy in those little legs.
The Tuesday event also included the best improvisation I’ve done without a proper hose or faucet– there was a water fountain with a swivel-able head. I turned it away from the basin and spouted it over a stained woven mat that had been resting in the paint.
If the surface is smooth, you can use water to wash it immediately, that is perfectly acceptable, but you might also have the ability to peel it off later. Less of an emergency — peeling is not a possibility for the porous surface.
See how the paint is thicker at the edges? I took too long to get water on those spots.
Step 3: Persistance.
Paint is not easy to be rid of. You will be tired.
Sometimes you need to lie down and eat a snack. After two hours of cleaning my car, I simply had to lie down on the sidewalk, crazy purple hands and massive stains everywhere, and eat Ritz sandwich crackers.
Step 4: Self-Forgiveness.
I left a destructive trail of purple behind me. I feel like people at the park must be seeing my car (purple bumper not yet cleaned) and shaking their heads at me. My students the week after came up to me with an exclamation of, “Look! Purple grass!” And I feel like I’ve claimed a parking spot (in the way a dog claims a fire hydrant).
It’s just a spill.
I didn’t die. No one got hurt.
I did ruin a pair of shorts. Oh, well.
I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to clean my car. But hey… it’s a fun color.
Audrey A McGee 
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