What To Do If You End Up With Paint On Your Furniture

Rogue paint splatters are a natural part of painting a room. No matter how many tarps you put on the floor, how carefully you roll the paint onto the walls, or how slowly you glide your paintbrushes, a small drip is going to fall here and there. While most can be quickly wiped away with a damp cloth, sometimes you miss the drip and don't realize it's there until after it's dried. And if that splatter ends up on a piece of furniture, that can be especially frustrating. After all, no one wants blemishes on their pieces — especially if they're expensive. 

But if you end up with dried paint on your furniture, there's a relatively easy fix for it. All you need to do is add heat to the paint drip and scrape it off with a flat bread clip. It takes only two steps, and your piece will return to looking as good as new. Here is how to keep your space mess-free with a blow dryer.

Heat will soften paint, allowing you to remove spills more easily, but you do have to be gentle to safely remove paint from a piece of furniture. Using your fingernail to scrape off minor paint drips is the safest method, because your nail won't dig into the wood or remove any finish. But if you have a bigger splatter you're working with, then your best bet is to use a bread clip and a hair dryer. Put your hair dryer on the lowest setting, and gently warm the paint mark on your furniture. Move the dryer back and forth so as not to concentrate heat on only one spot. Doing so can accidentally scorch the furniture or cause any finish or varnish to melt. This is why you also want to avoid using any high-heat tools, such as heat guns. 

Once the drip mark is warmed, gently scrape off the paint with a plastic bread clip. This is the small clip used to hold bread bags closed in supermarkets. If you don't have a clip handy, you can also use a credit card. Use it to slowly pick away at the paint mark, taking special care not to scratch the furniture or remove any varnish. If the paint is stubborn, turn the dryer back on the mark, alternating between heating it one moment and picking at the paint the next. This should help you remove it fully.