Explain using chemical concepts why does some chemicals remove spray paint off of wall better than others?

What is paint? It is a batch of stuff mixed in a solvent. When you paint something, you smear it around to cover a large area and the solvent vaporizes, leaving a film. To remove the paint, you need to add a solvent it can mix into, something similar to what came in the can.


Paints are generally either oil-based or water-based. So oil-based paints are removed by solvents that are non-polar (like turpentine), while water-based paints are removed by solvents that are polar enough to dissolve in water. Explain using chemical concepts why does some chemicals remove spray paint off of wall better than others?
First of all, we have to know what is spray paint. Spray paint always made of organic polymer (thermoplastic type, means no cross linkage).





We always use organic solvent to remove paint because of the concept of ';like dissolve like'; or ';non-polar organic solvent dissolve non-polar organic polymer paint.





The most common organic solvent used to strip off paint is Cyclohexanone.





Thanks, Donald











Sorry Cattbarf,





I think you have a little bit mis-understanding of water-based paint. water-based paint is also made of polymer but which is emulsified in water. After water evaporated, the paint is also an organic polymer film. And now-a-day, some water-based paint can perform stronger solvent resistance than oil-based paint. Especially for 2 packed water-based paint like epoxy paint and polyurethane paint. They are very strong in solvent resistance and may be used for exterior environment for more than 10 years.





I hope the above extra information can clear the question.