Get rid of spots without damaging your shingles
Whether you hired a contractor or did the job yourself, noticing paint overspray on your roof’s shingles after painting your home or siding can be a little disheartening. Luckily, learning how to get paint off your shingles is inexpensive. Follow this guide to do this project safely and without damaging your shingles or sustaining injuries.
Before grabbing your ladder, it’s best not to go on your roof for repairs. Getting up on a roof is challenging and potentially dangerous, so this one is best left to a roofing professional.
Note: This guide is for roofs with asphalt shingles. However, there are some notes along the way for metal and wood roofs.
If you hired a local painting professional, you might be in luck—especially if they signed a contract. Give them a call to let them know you’ve spotted paint stains on your roof, and ask them to come fix the issue.
Read the terms of your agreement carefully before calling, as you may need to reference them if they balk at your request. Remember: Respectful discourse is always better than accusations.
If you have other concerns that are more serious than paint spots, it may be a good idea to get a roof inspection instead.
If the paint has already dried, your next best troubleshooting step to remove paint from shingles or soffit and fascia materials is to lightly scrape the paint. The key word here is “lightly.” Asphalt shingles contain tiny rocks that will get ruined if you scrape too hard or use an abrasive tool. The precision of a razor blade is preferable to a paint-scraping tool, harsh brush, or putty knife.
This option is best for infrequent spots or splatters on your roof. Larger stains on your roof may need more drastic interventions.
A Note on Safety: When climbing on your roof, be sure to have a spotter. Never work alone, and use a roof safety harness. Working on the roof always poses the risk of serious injury from a fall. Hiring a roof cleaning pro in your area to complete this task is the best way to go if you aren’t completely sure you can do it safely.
If light scraping doesn’t get the job done, making the paint wet again is your next best bet. Depending on the spot sizes, you may need to slightly alter your strategy.
Apply small blots of latex paint remover with a cloth. Dampen the painted areas and wait. Use the same razor to remove the painted areas. A small, stiff brush could also do the trick—but remember, scraping isn’t the goal. Light, concentrated strokes to remove the paint spots are all you should do.
Dampen a large section of your cloth with latex paint remover. Cover the overspray spots with the rag and press it firmly a few times into the area. Remove the rag, then add a few drops of rubbing alcohol to moisten the section.
Cover the section in plastic wrap, then tape it down for 20 to 30 minutes to prevent moisture from escaping.
After 20 or 30 minutes, remove the tape and plastic wrap, then use a fresh cloth to remove the wet paint. Again, be gentle so as not to damage your roofing.
Replacing shingles costs between $80 and $550 per square. Painting a metal roof, on the other hand, costs $2,400 on average.
Depending on the amount of paint you need to remove, you may need to repeat this process a few times. If you choose rubbing alcohol or latex paint remover and it doesn’t seem to work, it might be worth trying the alternative on your roof.
If your roof is dramatically sloped, challenging to access, or you don’t have someone to spot you from the ground, we highly recommend hiring a professional to do this job.
If you’re painting your home or monitoring a job as it’s being completed, squash the issue ASAP if you notice paint is getting onto the roof. Keeping it clean is one of the keys to extending your roof’s life.
Removing latex paint before it dries is much easier and lowers the risk of damaging your shingles (more on that below). Simply spray the spot with a hose for one to two minutes to clear away the drying paint. In general, this is a good way to remove ugly stains from your roof without using chemicals.
Vinegar will not damage your roof shingles. Using vinegar to wash your roof is an effective and popular cleaning method for asphalt shingles. You can buy white vinegar with varying concentrations of acetic acid. Typically, 5% is all you need for a good roof cleaning, but if you’ve got stubborn stains or moss you can go as high as 25%.
You can damage your shingles if you use the wrong type of paint on them. You should always use acrylic latex paint specifically formulated for shingles. Other types of paint may trap moisture, which can cause bigger problems like rot and mildew. Considering that roof replacement costs $9,100 on average, it’s definitely best to avoid making this mistake.
Besides using the right paint, remember that painting your shingles will require increased maintenance.
