- 1). Ventilate the workspace if the painted wall is indoors. Placing an electric fan in the room will help with circulation in addition to open windows and doors. These precautions will help you avoid inhaling harmful chemical and paint fumes.
- 2). Scrape as much of the paint as possible using a putty knife or paint scraper. Lifting any loose sections of the paint will minimize the amount of chemicals needed to remove the remainder.
- 3). Put on a respirator or dust mask and apply a chemical paint remover to the wall using a roller or brush. There are several different varieties of this solution that are now nontoxic and environmentally safe. Paint removers are available in applications that can remove one or two layers of paint, and others that dissolve multiple coats of paint a time.
- 4). Allow the solvent to dissolve the paint according to the length of time printed on the product label. Once the paint has softened, proceed to scrape it from the wall using the putty knife or paint scraper. Continue until the surface is clean of the paint sludge.
- 5). Scrub the last traces of the dark paint with a scouring pad or fine steel wool pad. Reapply the paint remover if a second application is necessary; otherwise, the abrasive material will remove the remainder of the color.
- 6). Wipe the wall with a sponge soaked in water to prepare a clean foundation for a new finish. You can also neutralize the chemical remover by dampening the sponge with denatured alcohol.
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