Painting Over a Stain
by Katy on July 9, 2023 · 32 comments
I think of myself as the Supreme Mistress of Stain Removal™, but there’s always that one Lady Macbeth magnitude stain that resists my labors. Such was this mark on my porch rug. (It’s the curb scavenged rug I painted in 2015.) The stain is a knocked over can of walnut tinted teak oil while refinishing a thrifted wooden credenza and it turned out that the tarp I’d so carefully spread out had a hole in it.
Damned spot!
No real harm, no one was hurt. I fruitlessly scrubbed at it with Dawn detergent and Oxyclean and then turned the power washer on it; and then finally yesterday I painted a big fat dumb leaf over it.
First step was to draw and cut out a general monstera leaf template.
I then drew around it with a Sharpie.
I still had the green wall paint in the basement from the original project, (which was leftover from painting our entryway.) I stirred it up and tried not to be too precious about the project. 
I played with the pattern a bit to make sure it wasn’t too symmetrical and even added a small stem. Is it perfect? Nope! But is it cuter than a big blotchy stain? Absolutely it is!
I think it’s a sweet addition to our front porch, and for the low price of $0.00 it’s a certified bargain!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
That is a brilliant fix! Adding a couple more leaves scattered around would be next level but maybe more work than you want to do. This reminds me of the way I put together thrifted Christmas items for craft sales. If an item is an ugly color, paint it. If it has a spot, glue a snowflake over it. If a little tree has had a hard life, trim it into shape. Put a price tag on it and watch it go out the door.
I embroider or applique things (mostly leaves, actually) over small stains and tears on our clothing. And accidentally turned some yellowed underwear pink.
Back in the 1970s, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I was a college student with more embroidery floss than money, I used to embroider over rips in my jeans. I’d occasionally even embroider the patches if I actually had to patch. And I applaud Katy’s painted leaf.
I’ve embroidered over holes before, but it’s been awhile.
Ok, that is nothing short of freaking genius. I had my doubts when I saw the outline of the leaf, but it looks great!! Cute porch setup.
You are so clever…it looks great!
Thank you!
Impressive save I never would have thought of in a million years.
Your porch looks wicked cool (Massachusetts accent added here). I think Goldie Fawn approves, judging from her expression .
Goldie Fawn hold back on her approval, she’s kind of judgmental.
The silent, judgmental type fits Goldie Fawn perhaps, looking down from her place on the wall…
Brilliant idea!
That is such an awesome fix. You’d have to know the stain was there to notice it now.
Amazing! It is also so cute!!!
I’m always impressed with creative solutions. The rug now looks better than ever.
Thank you, I’m pretty pleased with the result.
That Monstera leaf looks great, but I think you need to do the same thing on the other end, diagonally, reversed. It will add symmetry to your design.
I kind of like the single leaf, there’s already a lot of pattern on the porch.
What a great solution. Your eye sore became a thing of beauty. It’s quite an inspiration.
Loooong ago, with 2 weeks of what would be my “ one and done” pregnancy to go, someone’s carelessly ashed pipe burnt little holes down the front of my one and only maternity dress! My darling mother carefully embroidered little daisies around each hole! The same shade of pink, you would have sworn it was the original fabric! I was at the “feeling like an elephant” stage, in that dress I felt like a PRETTY elephant! I miss her so much!
Ugh, I remember those weeks!
Which is why every time I hear a woman say she “just loved being pregnant”, I bite my tongue and mentally say you liar.
I was lucky that my pregnancies were very easy, but the ends are always so uncomfortable. Especially since I went two weeks past my due date with my oldest.
Back to the groovy sixties when we put patches over holes in jeans, cut off tattered jeans to make shorts, put a printed vent in straight leg jeans to make them flare and used other methods to salvage things. Painting the leaf over the stain is creative. I have used patches on the underside of garments, used black sharpie ink to fix scratches on my black Dansko clogs, white liquid paper to cover marks on my Crock pot base. Non-consumers rise to the occasion to fix the unfixable with Katy leading the way.
All rise.
My neighbor has been tasking me with replacing zippers and repairing rips in his beloved “retro” clothes. Given that I use thrifted materials, I figure it is a fair trade for his home repair advice and taking my kids for a walk with his dog. I did try to gently hint that one pair of shorts is about to turn into more patches than shorts.
If you have not tried sodium percarbonate, you MUST! It is oxiclean without any additives and it is miracle stuff. https://www.chemistrystore.com/sodium_percarbonate2.pdf The leaf is lovely and the rug is saved! But please try sodium percarbonate next time.
Katy, that is a super creative and clever way to disguise the stain. Bravo!
Or you can just embrace the stain. My Uncle Bill spilled some orange crush on a gray rug in the late 40s. Grandma put the LaZBoy over the stain. In 1960 when the rug moved to my parents’ house, they put the davenport over the stain. In 1980 the folks got wall to wall carpet and the rug went to a cousin who used it on the walls of his camper.
The leaf looks great! I think that is a great save.
I too had patches and embroidery on my clothes, I was an art major so always had paint and stains on everything.
JC
I think it may look nice with more foliage on the carpet. I say more monstera leaves!!!!
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