Can I remove dry spray paint from a cement floor?

You might want to try muratic acid,a wire brush,and a pressure washer.You don't need the pressure washer but it doesn't hurt,but a garden hose with a sprayer on it will also do.
Another thing is a floor sander,but im not sure as how this would leave the floor,so use a high grit sanding pad.
Use chemical gloves and saftey glasses when using the acid.

I feel that you will have to use lacquer thinner to remove the spray paint and be sure to have plenty of ventilation and turn off anu polit lights in the area. This will not damage the floor like the sander or the acid could.

The lacq,thinner may work too,but ive never had good luck with it,but I was using a little better paint than just spray paint.

Thank you both for the excellent suggestions. I'm glad to know it's not a hopeless case.

Mostly for archive purposes because I figure this guy has solved his problem by now, thinners (or muratic acids (?!?)) are mostly for cleaning WET paint or for recently dried paint. You need a stripper, not a thinner.

JASCO is a stripper product that I have used to completely strip everything (spilled wood stain, paint, carpet adhasive, ground in "stuff") in preparation for acid staining the concrete. It is amazing how it can strip concrete bare, even after years of wear. If it is ground in, you might end up with "ghost-like" spots, but spray paint should come off rather well.

There are also spray cans of anti-graffitti strippers available at home centers, as well.

I find this post funny, as I found myself in a similar situation - only I am the irresponsible son painting car parts in the garage and now I want to make it right for my Dad. I'm going to home depot and going to buy a wire brush, paint thinner, some graffiti remover...I will post back which worked best so we can close out this thread with a good answer of what worked.

So which worked best for you?

Hello everyone!

I'm Peter, and I'm new to the forum.

Wow, great tips on removing dry spray paint. I'll try one of the tips soon.

Peter Vekselman
http://www.biggerpockets.com/users/peterv

Wait, are you the guy who keeps removing my orange markings??

Crazy enough we just had the same situation. Off hand, try "The Works" toilet cleaner. That stuff can eat through anything. Oil based paint and spray paint came right off our garage floor today.

I don't have access to a power washer so I need to use liquid remover. Can anyone suggest someone I can purchase at Home Depot or lowes. Need to do this ASAP. Thanking in advance

I meant something not someone.

Methyl Ethyl Ketone, on the shelf next to the paint thinner, etc. as M E K.,and a wire brush. Use old towels/rags to blot/rub while the cleaner is still wet. It evaporates quickly. Wear gloves and,
as usual, read the warnings about inhaling this product.
Work in small area first to judge your results.

I found myself in the exact same situation (except, I was painting snowshoes.) I got black spray paint on the floor of the garage and my dad got pretty mad at me because our house is a rental. I have found that the best way to remove the paint is to use a wire brush and some paint remover. I have also found that it takes time, it won't come off right away.

I just got a little bit of black spray on my Dad's garage floor and immediately googled "how to remove spray paint from concrete" and this forum popped up. I didn't have access to any of the products discussed here so I asked my mom what to do and she said to try the "magic eraser" by Mr. Clean. I laughed and said it wouldn't work but gave it a try anyway. I ate my words cause it took the paint right off of the floor. Like I said, this was a small amount of overspray and even though it was already completely dry, it was still fairly fresh (about 20min old). Not saying it's going to for sure work in every instance but it's worth a shot! gotta give it some good old elbow grease too. Hope this helps!

Yes "The Works" works. We had blue spray paint all over the concrete and in less than 5 minutes my nephew saved the day!
Gone gone gone..
Thank You So Much for the help.

I recently had the situation come up of orange spray paint on concrete on an outside driveway, this sounds crazy but I used
gasolene and a firm scrub brush to remove it. I don't know why it worked but it did I poured a little gas on at a time scrubbed and it came off eventually doing the whole area. I did have a water hose running on stand by.

I didn't have time to go to the hardware store and get the right stuff, so I experimented! Luckily, my first try was a hit: Kaboom Foam-Tastic took it off no problem. Granted, the over-spray was light and it was fairly recent, but it worked! Hosed it off and it's gone :)

Note: I also used a plastic scrub-brush.

I got spray paint on the painted cement floor yesterday that I just found out an hour ago.
I used Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and it told off all the spray paint.
Magic eraser is always my favorite!

I did the same thing to my dads garage. I just fixed it using asitone and an sos pad. Followed by simple green and some paper towels. Worked great. Paint was dry in one spot and wet in the other

Just used magic eraser-generic brand from dollar store. Holy Cow it worked!!!!!

I bought a beautiful old house in a conservation area but some twit painted half the wall many years ago - we would like to restore this to its former glory, lovely Victorian red brick. Is there a solution please.
Many thanks

Alison

Would nail polish remover work?

The "Magic Eraser" works. No mess.

SOS pads and a wire brush. Worked like a charm for me!

Just tried Mr. Clean Magic Eraser! Worked great - now I need to do the rest of the garage floor the same way. Wish that stuff came in a mop form! But that would mean we have to empty out the garage to mop the floor - that won't happen anytime soon.