Instant Paint Remover is a solvent-based neutral agent that is highly effective for gun-off type paint removal in post-spotting environments where re-cleaning is wanting to be avoided.
*Take particular care with colour fastness and always check after the application of the steam gun by testing on an unexposed seam first.
Fresh Paint, Fast Action
Paint removal is a race. Wet paint comes out; cured paint largely does not, and what does come out often takes dye with it. If you are called to a paint spill, get to it the same day.
Important: A Highly Flammable Solvent
Stelco's Australian SDS classifies this product as hazardous with the signal word Danger. It contains toluene (30–60%), white spirit (30–60%), cyclohexanol and 2-butoxyethanol, and has a flash point of 4 °C. Hazard statements include highly flammable liquid and vapour (H225), harmful if swallowed or inhaled (H302 + H332), may be fatal if swallowed and enters airways (H304), and skin, eye and respiratory irritation.
- Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area (P271). No ignition sources, non-sparking tools, and control static.
- Wear gloves, eye and face protection. Check the SDS for glove material.
- Poisons Schedule S5 Caution.
Note: the SDS ingredient table classifies toluene as a reproductive toxicant (H360), but that statement does not appear in the product's own hazard statements. We have asked Stelco to confirm. Until they do, treat it with the same care as the Adhesive & Lacquer Remover, which does carry H360.
A Textile Spotting Range
Stelco Chemicals International (Rowville, Victoria) supply this range for professional textile and dry-cleaning spotting, and their safety data sheets give that as the recommended use. Carpet and upholstery cleaners use the same chemistry on the spot, but a spotting board and a steam gun are not the same as a carpet in a client's home — rinse and extract thoroughly, and keep solvent out of the backing.
Specifications (from the Australian SDS)
| Supplier | Stelco Chemicals International Pty Ltd, Rowville VIC |
|---|---|
| SDS recommended use | Post-cleaning paint removal from textiles |
| Signal word | Danger |
| Flash point | 4 °C |
| Appearance | Clear, colourless liquid, hydrocarbon odour; immiscible with water |
| Dangerous goods | UN 1993, Class 3 Flammable Liquid, Packing Group II |
| Pack size | 5 L |
| SDS version | 1.5, issued 1 April 2025 |
| CCW SKU | STCINS05 |
Method Matters More Than the Product
Apply to a white towel rather than pouring onto the carpet where you can. Work from the outside of the spot inward so you do not spread it. Tamp or agitate gently rather than scrubbing — scrubbing distorts pile and leaves a permanent mark that is more visible than the original stain.
Rinse and extract afterwards. Spotter residue left in the pile attracts soil, and the spot comes back as a dark patch a fortnight later — which the customer reads as your work failing.
Before You Use It
Read the safety data sheet for this product and follow it. Solvent-based spotters in particular require ventilation and appropriate gloves — check the SDS for the glove material, because it is not always the same across products.
Always test on an inconspicuous area first. Fibre, dye and backing all react differently, and a spotter that is safe on nylon is not automatically safe on wool or on a solution-dyed synthetic.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "gun-off" mean?
It is a dry-cleaning term: the product is applied and then flushed off with a steam spotting gun. On carpet, the equivalent is flushing and extracting with clean water after the paint has released.
Instant or Oily Type Paint Remover?
Instant is for fast action on fresh paint. Oily Type Paint Remover is slow drying and penetrating, for larger or built-up areas such as ink and lipstick.
Will it work on water-based acrylic paint?
Fresh acrylic often comes out with water and detergent first. Try that before you reach for a solvent.
Information Documents
DG Shipping Surcharge AppliesOther Stelco Spotters
- Stelco Adhesive & Lacquer Remover 5Ltr
- Stelco Blood Remover 5Ltr
- Stelco General Formula 5Ltr
- Stelco Oily Type Paint Remover 5Ltr
- Stelco Safe Silk Spotter 5Ltr NVDS
- Stelco Tan Off 5Ltr
- Stelco Spotting Solutions
Not sure which spotter the stain calls for? Tell us what it is, what the fibre is and what has already been tried, and we will talk it through — the wrong first move on a spot is much harder to recover from than the spot itself.
