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How do I get white paint out of a wool braided rug? It is hand made and thus needs to be handled gently, no machine cleaning. It isn't thick, but because it is braided it is down in the space between the braids.
Last winter I purchased two room size hand made braided rugs at an estate sale. We brought them to our cabin and left them there until last weekend when we opened the cabin for the summer. Well we didn't see some white paint stains on one of the carpets when we bought it. We were so excited to find them that we didn't look under the furniture like we should have. The one side has the paint the other is a bit worn.
Does anyone know how I can get the paint out by hand?
Treatment would depend on whether the paint is oil based or water based, which you probably don't know since it isn't your paint.
For water based paint, acetone (the stuff that's in nail polish remover) works well on most surfaces. You can get it in the paint dept at Lowes, Walmart, lumber and paint stores, etc. Just wet a rag with it and scrub. The paint should dissolve after a while. You may want to test an area of the rug first to be sure it won't destroy the rug. I doubt it will, but it does dissolve some plastics--like a computer monitor frame I tried to remove some sticker glue from. It's great for sticky tape residue too. Paint thinner works too but not as well as the Acetone, in my experience. (I used to work in construction)
If it's oil based paint, you'll need some lacquer thinner more than likely. You'll need some thick rubber gloves (not latex surgical gloves which will dissolve in the lacquer thinner) when you use it. It can burn your skin. I spilled some on my jeans one day at work, and my legs were burning a few minutes later. I had to rush home and shower. Again you'll want to test on an inconspicuous area of the rug to be sure it doesn't damage it.
