# How does one remove interior wall paint from varnished crown moulding?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 10, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525 "2009-07-10T02:51:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525/1 "2009-07-10T02:51:21Z")

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I was way too tired to be painting, I admit that up front. I am painting a room sage green and I may have misguided the paint brush a time or two and hit the moulding, which is sugar maple so its on the soft side. How do I get it off without having to revarnish sections of moulding? The paint is 48hrs dry. Steel wool?

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525/2 "2009-07-10T03:02:26Z")

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> [@Phlosphr](#):
>
> Steel wool?

Young acrylic paint responds well to plastic [scrubby sponges](http://media.photobucket.com/image/plastic%20scrubber/Ahmed66/ScrubbingPads-PlasticMeshScrubbers.jpg). I’ve used a guitar pick to handle the tough bits.

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525/3 "2009-07-10T03:04:40Z")

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Ohh a guitar pic is a great idea. Going to try the sponge too.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-one-remove-interior-wall-paint-from-varnished-crown-moulding/502525/4 "2009-07-10T15:24:33Z")

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If picking at it doesn’t work well, you can also try a product called Goof-Off\*. It’s great for removing fresh paint that landed on old paint, but if the varnish is less than a couple months old, it might take up some varnish as well.

\*You’ll find it in the paint section in a small yellow can. Be aware that it is stinky and inflammable.