a handy tip for painting

[Cooler]

The problem:

I am painting new wainscoting and I wanted to prime it with a shellac based primer so as not to raise the grain.  

Mostly if I get some paint on my hands or arms I can wash it off easily. With the primer it takes a great deal of scrubbing.  I usually don't mind, and wear it as a badge until it finally wears off.

However the other day I got some of the primer on my eyelid.  The skin is too tender to scrub and alcohol would be too risky to use near the eyes.

The solution: 

I Applied vaseline to the eyelid and left it on for about 3 hours; about 90% of the primer wiped off.  

I re-applied the vaseline to the eyelid and left it on for about 2 hours and the rest wiped off.


Note:  

I was out of vaseline and neomycin anti-bacterial ointment pinched hit for the vaseline.  It has the same petrolatum base with some antibacterial agents mixed in.  But vaseline will work exactly the same way.


While this is not a big problem, it is nice to have a handy solution when the problem arises.

[Bill Wilson]

Good to know. Never would have thought of using it to loosen dried paint. I have seen where guys will apply it pre-emptively to their faces, if they are working in a dusty, sooty environment. It makes removing the dirt much easier. I think it was probably an episode of Dirty Jobs.

[Stwood_]

Good to know. Thanks for posting

[Mking143]

When I painted, if we knew it was going to be a messy job such as painting a rock basement foundation, we would clean our hands with GoJo thoroughly before starting. The paint would either not stick or would wash off easily.

[Cooler]

When I painted, if we knew it was going to be a messy job such as painting a rock basement foundation, we would clean our hands with GoJo thoroughly before starting. The paint would either not stick or would wash off easily.

Yes, paint washes off pretty easily.  Not so easily for paint with primer.  But primer is really hard to wash off.  It is supposed to stick well, and it sticks well.  

I would just shower to remove water borne house paint.  But I will pre-treat with vaseline on primer.

[FS7]

Yes, paint washes off pretty easily.  Not so easily for paint with primer.  But primer is really hard to wash off.  It is supposed to stick well, and it sticks well.  

I would just shower to remove water borne house paint.  But I will pre-treat with vaseline on primer.

I usually just "exfoliate" after painting, and unless I'm painting outside I don't wear much clothing.

By "exfoliate" I mean I scrub down with a Scotch-Brite pad. I don't think that would work for an eyelid, though. Glad to have this tip in my pocket.

[crokett™]

I would say safety glasses would prevent paint from getting on your eyelids, since if you can get it on your eyelids you can get it in your eye....

[Cooler]

I would say safety glasses would prevent paint from getting on your eyelids, since if you can get it on your eyelids you can get it in your eye....

It would.  But who wears safety glasses to paint?  I might in the future though.

By extension I guess I should wear safety glasses to cook too.

This did not used to be a problem; I wore bifocals.  But since the cataract surgeries I don't need glasses except for sunglasses.

A brimmed hat probably would have saved the day too.