# Removing paint from baseboards w/out ruining them



## slickshift (Aug 25, 2005)

If the trim was painted, scrape off as much as possible with a putty knife, then sand smooth

If the trim was stained and poly'd, and is going to be painted, then the procedure is te same

If the trim was stained and poly'd, and will remain so, then you could try the putty knife, and maybe some Goof Off! or Oops!
But confidence is not high for that working well

If the trim was stained, and will remain that way, replace the trim


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

Was the paint you dripped onto your baseboards a latex or oil based paint?

Was the coating that was already on the baseboards a latex or oil based coating?

I regularily use xylene to remove latex paints from oil based painted surfaces. There is no reason why it wouldn't also remove latex paints from a varnished or polyurethaned surface.

If the xylene dulls the gloss of a varnished surface, you could fix that by simply applying some "Wipe on Polyurethane" (the kind furniture makers use for their final coats) to a soft tissue and wiping that over the dulled area.


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