Paintball Stain Removal Guide: How To Remove Paint

Removing paintball stains can seem daunting, but with the right techniques, it can be a breeze. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps for removing both fresh and dried paintball stains. 

We’ll also share a few tips on how to avoid getting paint on yourself in the first place. Let’s get started!

Does Paintball Paint Wash Out Of Clothes?

Paintball stains on clothing will wash out if treated properly. However, successful stain removal depends largely on when you treat the stain and what kind of fabric the garment is made from. The key to preventing paintball stains in clothes is to avoid them in the first place; here’s how:

• Avoid getting hit by an opponent’s paint.
• Don’t peek around corners and don’t rush into an area that you haven’t checked for opponents.
• Keep your mask on and make sure it is strapped securely to your face.
• If you’re hit, wipe off the excess paint as soon as possible with a dry towel or rag

How To Remove Fresh Paintball Stains:

1. Blot stain with a dry rag or towel

As soon as you are hit, remove the excess paint by wiping your clothes down with a dry rag or towel. Failing to do so will result in bigger paint stains and even set the stains into the fabric fibers making them much harder to remove.

2. Wash clothes immediately

If you are hit by paint, the best thing to do is to wash off the excess paint as soon as possible…preferably within an hour. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that the clothes will have already set in stains or discoloration onto your clothes.

3. Use laundry detergent with enzymes or bleach

Paintball stains are made up of oil, dye, and plastic (from the ball). Unfortunately, the most effective way to remove these types of stains is by using harsh chemicals. Enzyme cleaners like Xlerate or Zout are your best choice for removing fresh paintball stains. If you don’t have any enzyme presoaks, you can use a standard laundry detergent like Tide as long as it contains bleach.

4. Launder clothes immediately

Don’t wait; wash your paint-stained clothing as soon as possible for best results. If you let the paint set into the clothes, it will be much harder to clean and this may lead to permanent staining or discoloration of your clothes.

How To Remove Dried Paintball Stains:

The following steps will help remove dried paintball stains from any type of material that the marker was used on. Whether it be a prized jersey, an old shirt, or pants without much life left in them… you can use these same steps to try and save them from being wrecked. It won’t always work, but it’s worth a try.

What You Will Need:

• Rag/Towel (I prefer a burlap towel because it is abrasive and cuts the dried paint easier. It also doesn’t leave random fibers stuck in your clothing.)
• WD40 or ANY household oil that’s safe for use on the skin. Cheap ones work too. Just make sure it’s safe for use on the skin.
• Toothbrush or Paintball Marker squeegee/scraper tool (Obviously, the marker tool will work better, but you can get by with a toothbrush.)
• Baking Soda
• Water

Step 1: Spray the area that has paint on it with WD40 or your oil of choice. This will help loosen the paint that’s stuck onto the material you are trying to save.

Step 2: Liberally sprinkle baking soda over the good-up area. The more, the better.

• Keep sprinkling until it won’t take any more in the affected area or you run out of baking soda. You don’t want to waste it, but the more baking soda the better.
• Let it sit for a couple of minutes and continue to sprinkle as much baking soda as you can (or want) until you think you’ve got enough on there.

Step 3: Use your toothbrush or paintball squeegee/tool to scrub the gunk off. If done correctly, this should loosen the paint up even more.

Step 4: Gently wipe away any baking soda that’s leftover with your rag/towel.

*You may want to use a toothbrush or paintball squeegee tool at first to get all of the gunk off initially, but if it doesn’t come off after the baking soda has time to sit and absorb the paint, it’s probably not going to come out. Use caution when scrubbing with a tool or brush because you can damage your clothes or material if you rub too hard. Be patient and follow ALL of these steps for the best results.*

Step 5: Wash the affected area with water and soap.

• If the paint has not come out COMPLETELY after following these steps, you can repeat them until it does or try to take it to a professional.
• Always dry your clothing in the dryer after washing for 15 minutes at full heat to kill any leftover paint that may have been missed.
• Be careful when washing your clothing so as to not agitate it too much or you can make the problem worse.

How To Fix Paintball Damage:

How to fix paintball damage… Now that I’ve told you how to remove those stains, here are some ways of fixing them if they were set in. This is kind of advanced. It requires you to have a good idea of what the problem is and it may not always work depending on how severe the damage is…

Broken Stitch:

If your paintball has gotten into the stitching of your clothing, use a needle or something pointy to carefully pick out all of the stretching/broken fibers until you get to the material underneath. Make sure to pick out any broken paint that may have gotten into the fiber too.

Clean all of it with soap and water and put a small amount of superglue onto the fibers you removed if they are still moving/stretching after cleansing it. This is, in most cases, only effective on natural fibers. If it doesn’t work, then you’re stuck with a paintball-stained material that has a broken stitch.

Paint In The Material:

If the paint has gone too deep into the material of your clothing and is still wet/damp after getting it out, put some Borax on there. Let it sit for an hour or so and wash it out. If that doesn’t work, then you are stuck with a paintball-stained cloth that has paint in the material.

Paint On Leather:

If your clothing is made of leather or something very similar to it, do NOT use Borax! It will ruin your clothes. Instead, dampen the area that was hit with paint and slowly clean it with saddle soap. You can buy that at pet stores.

Paint On Fabric (Hard-to-get-out Paint):

If the area is too large to get out by gently scrubbing or if there is some kind of fabric patch on it, you will need to go in there with a needle and a paintbrush (this is how people get their jeans distressed). Carefully remove all of the small fibers around the area until you get to the material beneath it. If this doesn’t work, then you are stuck with a paintball-stained cloth that has paint in the material.

If your cover was hit while playing paintball, you can use the same techniques to remove the paint from there too. The only difference would be that you have to be more careful around your barrel or your barrel sock so as not to mess up the venting ports on them.

How To Fix Collision Damage:

If you had a collision during a game, check for any ripped material, broken stitches, or any paint that may have gotten into the material. If there is no paint in the material but there are multiple areas of torn fabric, you can sew them back together using a needle and thread.

If there are just one to three small tears, you can use your hot glue gun to fix them by applying some glue on the back of the fabric and pressing it together.

If you can’t fix them and they don’t affect your performance, then ignore them. If they do affect your performance, then maybe you should consider replacing that piece of clothing because paintballing can be hard on clothes and over time, holes will start to show up in various areas like the knees, thighs, and crotch.

How To Fix Paintball-Related Problems:

If you have stains because you did something wrong, know that there’s nothing you can do about it. That is unless the paintball company has an exchange policy where they’ll replace your top if there are big enough stains on it (some companies do). If not, then consider yourself lucky that it wasn’t permanent paint.

How To Fix Stippling:

Stippling is caused by shooting a gun that’s too powerful for the paint you are using. It causes little half-moon indents in your clothing which are very difficult to remove. To remove them, put some WD-40 on there and scrub it off with a brush or something rough like sandpaper. If that doesn’t work, then you are stuck with permanent stippling.

How To Fix Spray Painted Clothing:

If your clothing has been covered in paint by another player or the referee who isn’t used to marking people, cover it with baby powder and carefully rub it off. If that doesn’t work, try something like dry shampoo or WD-40 to get the paint out. If that doesn’t work, then you are stuck with a paintball-stained spray painted material.

Thanks for following our guide on how to remove paintball stains. We hope you found it helpful!

For more tips and tricks, be sure to check out our blog. Have a great day!