How to Remove Screen Printing from Clothing

Screen printing is an efficient way to print out the design on the garments such as t-shirts and hoodies. Sometimes during this process, the design is poorly printed due to its wrong placement, or you misplaced the design and wanted to remove it. You can lose your shirt or hoodie if you are unsuccessful in removing the design. After all the scenarios, you will be thinking about how to remove screen printing.

We’ll provide information in this article on how to remove screen printing from clothing. Many methods depend on the type of clothing and readily available material. You can do it for free if you use home craft materials, but if you want to do it instantly, there are other methods too.

How to Remove Screen Printing from Shirt

Suppose you mistakenly messed up with the design and don’t want to damage your clothes; that’s why you must choose a safe method to remove screen printing. On the other hand, you appreciate safeguarding recycled apparel and cleaning away old logos or ugly plans from the things you buy. Or you brought a t-shirt in a design you like, but the words are offensive to you. Keep in mind if you are using any chemical, then do it with total precautionary measurements. The methods are following:

Nail Polish Remover

how to remove screen print from cotton shirt
Nail Polish Remover

Use nail polish containing acetone to erase worn-out and broken screen print graphics on cotton t-shirts. Due to its high effectiveness, this removal technique is one of the most used for old designs in screen printing. Avoid this procedure if the cloth contains more than 50% polyester, and continue reading the next portion for advice on handling synthetic materials.

You can confidently try any of these techniques if your fabric is primarily cotton or another robust fabric, such as denim. If your design was just printed, you might want first to wash the item in cold water to help the ink come out.

Plastisol Remover

how to remove screen printing from polyester
Plastisol Remover

Because plastisol is powerful, it should always be handled with protection and used in a well-ventilated area. Cover your design with a wet cloth dipped in plastisol to start using this technique.

This method is to be done with proper protection and takes about 30 minutes should pass as it settles. Then use a soft brush to remove any fragments that are flaking gently and a soft cloth to remove any plastisol that is still present. Lastly, Finish the process by running a standard washing machine cycle with your goods.

Spotting Fluid

how to remove screen printing from shirt
Spot Removal Gun

The following method is costly but works perfectly to remove the screen clothing, and this device is like a spray gun. Make sure you have an old cloth or some other waste material underneath the screen-printed surface to absorb the leaking ink before applying pressure and a chemical solvent to compel the ink to dissolve and soak through the backside of the cloth. Load the pistol with the liquid for eradicating spots, point it towards the design flaw, and fire. After finishing, wash the cloth item to remove the chemical solvent.

Sugar Scrub

When removing screen printing from a shirt, you can do it free using the sugar scrub technique. You’ll need one tablespoon of regular sugar for this technique. Use your hand to gently massage the sugar over the screen print design after placing it there. This method can also be applied to old designs, but it works best on brand-new clothes. Check if a cooling water wash will work as a starting point. Apply a tablespoon of regular sugar to any visual design.

Iron and Peel

how to remove screen print from cotton shirt
Iron and Peel

In this method, ink is melted by ironing the shirt under the paper, and then the design is peeled. Use a sizable paper bag, such as the kind sold at supermarkets. Looking at the bag, you’ll see that one side shines slightly more than the other. Place the bag’s glossier side against the screen print pattern you want to get rid of. Set your iron to the lowest steam-free setting, then repeatedly move the iron back and forth over the paper bag.

Coldwater Rinse

When dealing with fresh ink, you can usually get the ink off the shirt by rinsing it in cold water. Only newly transferred designs will be removed using this technique; designs that have been on the t-shirt for several days will not be removed. Therefore, as soon as you spot a mistake in the design while manufacturing the t-shirt, you should either wash it in cold water with a cold rinse cycle or hand-wash the garment in cold running water. Fresh ink must be easily washable away.

People also ask

How to Remove Screen Printing from Polyester?

To remove the design from polyester, Wash it with warm water, then pour some dish soap onto the pattern while it’s still moist. And then scrape with a stiff brush until the design gets off from the polyester.

How to Remove Screen Print from a Cotton Shirt?

If you want a cheap and effective peel of the printing from t-shirts, then you can use nail polish, remove the design and then rub it. Sugar scrub can be another alternative if nail polish remover is unavailable.

How to Remove Screen Print from Glass?

Apply the liquid dish soap-soaked sponge over the glass after soaking it and scrabble the glass with a blunt object. The design will become soft, and use a towel to peel off the printed stickers.

How to Remove Screen Print from Hoodie?

Put a hard stock inside the hoodies and then use the same method for the t-shirt. But in this method, you must apply the nail polish remover for 30 minutes, waiting until it gets completely absorbed by the hoodie fabric, and then rub to clean the design away.

Final Words

There are other methods to remove the screen printing from fabrics, but they are costly. Our team did massive experiments, tried multiple screen printer removers under different conditions, and found the above methods compelling and cost-saving. These methods are so easy that you can perform them at home without using different tools.

If you have the budget, you can use a spray gun and spot removal solution for your business. Don’t apply too much heat and pressure to your soft cotton shirts; otherwise, the fabric can be destroyed. Comment down below which one method you have tried and worked best for you; we are waiting for your feedback!