I would go to the craft store and buy bottles of acrylic paint to match the awning colors and paint over the drips, all the while fuming about it. Covering them won't make them disappear, but it may make them less visible, especially on the dark stripes. Then I would chalk it up to sh!t happening.

I agree with Gray, and btw, you have got to be LIVID. I think touching them up with paint is your best bet. Once you do that, it will only be noticeable to you.

It reminds me of the time we set up the Christmas tree on our new wood floors. Because the tree so heavy, the stand put a 6" scratch on the floor. I touch it up with wood floor markers and I can't tell it's even there unless I look closely at the floor.

Now that is something I never considered, gray. Since we have that extra fabric I will try the craft paint. And the fuming :-)

I use a stain remover called versatle for all sorts of odd stains. The bridal shop where I bought my daughters wedding dress uses it on their dresses, so far it has worked on everything, but I have not tried it on anything black. I googled to find it.

I googled versatile and what came up is a type of oxyclean stain remover with that name. Is that what you are referring to, lebwhite? I actually have some of that and will try it, even though this paint is not really a stain, per se. It has infiltrated into the fabric itself.... We couldn't even scratch off any with a toothpick.

What really makes me livid is that a $2 piece of plastic could have prevented this.

Hollysprings, I wish I could joke about it... Not "there" yet.

It's just unbelievable they didn't cover it with tarp. I know it's nice to support locally in a small town, but I might reconsider if I were you in the future. What did they say about it?

They sure were sorry. ...they offered to come and douse it with Goof Off, which I knew from our experiments would end up making it worse. These aren't bad people but one of them thought he was so good he didn't need to protect anything in the painting area. That's an obvious over-estimation of his ability.

They messed up. They should compensate you either with a professional cleaning or a new awning! I would be sick with disappointment.

So far, nothing will clean off the paint. They cannot afford to replace the awning.

did you try rubbing alcohol?

You certainly could easily get a judgement against them in court (simple to do, no cost to you) for the cost of a new awning if no cleaning process removes the spots. If they have nothing you wouldn't get your money, but it would make them think twice about doing this to some other customer. I think you are a much nicer person than I would be in the same circumstances. (:

Yes, but have not tried peroxide, thanks for jogging my memory for that!

I assume you've checked, but don't they don't have insurance? I, too, support local workers but make sure they are bonded and/or insured at least. I don't want some worker falling off a ladder and suing ME! If you can't fix it, and they don't have insurance, then maybe they'd agree to make payments to you for a new one? Even $100 a mo is affordable for most and you'd have your $ in ...oh...3 years :(

Never ever have people working at your home without asking to see their insurance coverage first. Not only Workman's Comp which is an absolute must, but also a general liability policy which would cover for negligence, damage, etc. that they caused.

Ugh, sorry you're having such problems. Have you tried a stain remover called Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner? My MIL recommended it to me, and it did remove some tough stains from some of my laundry. You can find it at Walmart, Dollar General or The Dollar Tree.

The bottle I have looks like this:
http://www.stain-removal-101.com/las-totally-awesome-all-purpose-cleaner-review.html

When I was Googling for a link to send you, I saw that the same company makes a laundry pre-treatment, also, but I have been using the All-Purpose formula on my laundry w/ good results. Generally I can just spray it on the stain and throw it in the wash, but for the tough spots, I spray it on the stain, let it soak in, then blot w/ a white rag, and repeat as needed.

Glad you have a sample piece to practice on. Hopefully you'll find an effective solution soon. Let us know what works!

That just sucks. Why on earth they didn't cover it with paper? Grrr....and some of these trades people wonder why homeowners will watch them like a hawk.

Have you tried paint thinner, mineral spirits, acetone or even a solvent like they use at the dry cleaners?

The longer the paint cures (specially outside in the heat) the harder it will be to remove. I got some paint on my fabric cellular blinds and was able to remove some of the stain with alcohol. My stains were only a few hours old and inside. I was doing some touch ups, but yes, I will remove the blinds the next time I paint!

ks, may I call you ks?, I have no advice better than what you have already received and I am so sorry for your situation. Mostly, I want to thank you for staying local with your business, even if this particular time it didn't work out so perfectly. My bread & butter is also paid for by a small business so I try to keep it local also.

I pity the next worker you have at the house because you will be monitoring him/her intensely, as any of us would after an episode like this.

Good luck, I hope painting over the mistakes will work out.

I looked at www.versatle.com and it is called a super concentrated cleaner and degreaser and is a clear liquid. They are in Mississippi according to the website. I do not know if it will remove paint but it works on blood, pet urine and baseball dirt! I have tested it on these things!

I'm sorry kswl. I'd be sick. Have you called the paint company? Not the store where you bought it, but the company itself? They usually have people on hand to answer these questions. I'm sure you're not the first person to have this problem. I googled a bit and if you go to Krud Kutter's website it says it can remove dried latex paint and it cuts grease, oil and tar. If it can remove tar that's saying something. I also found this information on another site:

Acrylic Paint

To know how acrylic paint can be removed from your clothes, first gather some materials - nail polish remover, hairspray, window cleaner, and old cloths.
First of all, take a cloth to blot the paint. Make sure you don't rub or spread the paint.
On another cloth, spray 3-4 squirts of window cleaner and wait for 10 seconds.
Then spray 4-5 squirts of hairspray and then wet the cloth with nail polish remover. Hold for 10-15 seconds.
Make sure that all the 3 cleaners are applied on the same spot on the cleaning cloth.
Use the wet cloth now to scrub the acrylic paint away. Scrub as hard as you can, without damaging the clothing item.
You need to change the cleaning cloth once it picks up the acrylic paint off. Wet it with the same amount of cleaning agents every time.
In the end, all there's left to do is wash the cloth in warm water so that the cleaning agents are removed.
Now, wasn't that an easy method for removing stains from clothes?

Latex Paint

To know how latex paint can be removed from your clothes, first gather some materials - a clean, old cloth, spray bottle, and rubbing alcohol.
Fill the spray bottle with rubbing alcohol and place the stained cloth on your workstation.
Spray directly on the stained area and take the old cloth in hands.
With the cloth, you will begin to rub over the cloth in order to remove the paint.
Little by little, spray rubbing alcohol and keep rubbing the paint off.
Once the cloth gets paint on it, use a cleaner part each time.
After you're finished, wash the cloth as you normally would. If the paint remains, repeat the process.

Fabric Paint

To know how fabric paint can be removed from your clothes, first gather some materials - rubbing alcohol, dull knife, hairspray, liquid hand sanitizer, and old cloths.
In a bowl, we will mix 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol and liquid hand sanitizer each.
Dip a clean cloth in this mixture for 10 seconds and rub (hard) directly on the stained area.
Then, take the dull knife and try to scrape off the paint. Make sure you don't rip the cloth.
Next use the hairspray over the paint and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
In the end, all there's left to do is wash the cloth in washing machine and let it dry.
If the paint is still there, use the hairspray again and wash the cloth one more time.

Lisa, so sorry this happened, how awful.

The painter doesn't have liability insurance?

Firstly, who makes the awning? If it's say,
Sumbrella, call them and ask for advise on
paint removal.

Also call the company that originally installed
the awning and ask their advise.

You said that the awning was 3500.00, but that included
all the hardware and installation of the hardware, right?

Get an estimate from the awning company to just
replace the awning. Make sure to negotiate the best
deal for replacement. If they think you're going
through an insurance company, they'll most likely
give you a higher estimate.

Hopefully, you didn't pay the painters...if you did
you need to demand a refund. Use the painters fee
towards the new awning...hopefully it will cover
most of it, if not all of it. This is the least
the painters could do for you...It will certainly be a
learning experience for them.

Keep the old awning material to make matching cushions
for your chairs. :)...

Good luck, hope this works out for you, without
any grief.
Joann

I would contact the people who made the awning or Sunbrella to see if they have recommendations. It can't be the first time this has happened.

Which Goof Off did you use? The nasty stuff (original formula) in the can gets out things the stuff in the bottles (more environmentally friendly, lower odor, water based -- don't do it) doesn't. Try holding if ion the fabric and even repeating the application.

Have you tried GooGone? I have used it to get paint off my hands and brushes. Dawn removes the oily residue.

I'm sure there is a solution out there, but worst case, I would also get some white/off-white paint and do a little cosmetic cover-up to make it less noticeable.

I understand the frustration. I have a fabric covered pergola that was new when we had our chimneys repaired and the caps replaced last summer. The guy dropped a crow bar or something on it and put two v-shaped holes in it. I couldn't find a replacement, so I was going to look for some Sunbrella fabric and make a new one but it didn't rip further and we lived with it for the summer. It is getting replaced this year, but I stumbled upon a replacement online that cost me less than the fabric would have. Wish I could offer you hope of the same, but I suspect persistence may be your solution. Hope you get it out.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, but if they don't have insurance and can't afford to pay you themselves I'd find something else you need painted and have them pay you back that way making sure they cover everything that you don't want paint on. If they truly are "good guys" they'll be willing to do so even if it means painting during their off hours.
I've read recently that hot/boiling white vinegar can clean a dried on paint off a nylon paint brush. Not sure how you could do this unless you wore rubber gloves and used sponges, but it's worth a try.
Personally I feel they need to compensate you in some way or they'll wind up doing this to someone else down the road. Small business or not they need to insured.

Bummer, so sorry.

I think the key is "The painters are local people who basically live from job to job and could not offer any redress if they wanted to."

When i chose people to do work who cannot afford to offer redress, I calculate the risk that they damage something in my estimation of how good a deal I am getting, vs using a GC or larger company.

I think part of being a homeowner is selective amnesia, otherwise we would go crazy with all the mistakes and mishaps!

I should add if they can't afford insurance they really still should take the responsibility of paying for the damage they did. I'm a seamstress and though I don't have insurance because it's usually a matter of a few hundred dollars in fabric, I do pay for any mistakes I've done. Granted so far that's only been forgetting to tell a client their pillows required zippers (I paid for the zippers and didn't charge for the extra time) and when I miss cut fabric which I replaced cutting my profits. That's just part of having a business of your own. If you want to stay in business those little losses are well worth saving your good reputation in the long run. Personally I'd make them pay for the replacement even if they had to do it in installments.

Just one more suggestion for a cleaning product - Spot Shot carpet cleaner. I have used it to remove nail polish from carpet and clothing. Not sure how it would work on latex paint since it is different chemically.

Laquer thinner. Use gently and sparingly.
It's not a question of it removing the paint. That, it will do.
Just be easy with it so that it doesn't remove the awning colors also.

Good ideas, all--- we will try all of them this week, thanks sincerely! Some of these would not have occurred to me.

I would talk to somebody at Sunbrella. They might have a solution and if you go trying a bunch of different products on it their solution might not work. My MIL did that years ago with a carpet and the company had a solution for it. Meanwhile, she tried all of these different products on it and they said that that was the worst thing she could have done. She wrecked it! (too many different chemicals on it) Just sayin' You have nothing to lose by asking. Good luck!

I live in Georgia. There is no way she can go after them. It's not possible. They don't have any money and live from job to job and are feeding their families and if you took money from them or got a judgment they could end up in prison if not able to pay and unable to provide for their family. It would not be satisfying. In the end it really just can't be done by us who feel sorry for them and understand these economic times. They usually work for less than a big company. They are not bad people just unfortunate people. There have been times when I have had to adjust my thinking to it being more or less a "donation" not that I can afford it but I can certainly afford it more than they can and have had in the past a better life. When you know the people and have used them before and had no problems with them it's not easy to haul them into court. I am happy that OP is not going that route even though she has been terribly wronged and certainly justified. Sometimes we get our reward in other ways. It's part of life and I am so very sorry this happened and hope that it will come out with some of the remedies presented. If not, I so feel your pain having had similar things happen to me on several occasions. It's no fun being the brunt of carelessness but sometimes the protracted route of going after people just make our stress level even worse and will end up the same anyway with you resolving it yourself. Here's to hoping it will all work out and that the paint will come out or be able to be covered up. I am sick about this for you.

One more thing to try (I sure hope they sent you a large fabric swatch). When I have dried on latex paint on my paint brushes, I leave them soak in TSP. I've heard it's getting harder to find in some areas, but they still have it in our Homep Depot.

I wonder whether a Mr. Clean magic eraser would work. It essentially acts like fine sandpaper. If the paint hasn't absorbed into the fibers of the fabric, maybe this would gently sand the paint away.

I would call both the paint manufacturer and the awning people or if you are positve the fabric is Sunbrella, then call them. One of those just might have an idea for a product. I think it's great that you have a sample size to play with. Lots of luck.

I have removed long dried enamel paint from carpet using hand cleaner and hot water and a lot of elbow grease. It took several times of applying, hot water, blotting, and redo, but I got it out in about 2 hours. Good luck.

The same thing happened to me. I went to Michaels and purchase some paint for fabrics. I mixed two colors to achieve a match. It's not perfect but looks a lot better than before.

Nail polish remover?