How to clean pastels

How to clean pastels with rice:
Step 1

Preparation: Put a small amount of uncooked rice in a shallow dish or container (e.g., a jam jar).

Step 2

Cleaning: Gently place the dirty pastels in the rice and roll them around. The rice absorbs loose pigment and dust.

Step 3

Repeating: Remove the pastels and check for cleanliness. Repeat with fresh rice if needed.

Additional

After the rice bath: In most cases, the coarse dust and any loose dirt should already be removed after the rice treatment.

Post-treatment (optional): For stubborn stains, a lightly dampened kitchen towel can help wipe the pastels after the rice bath.

Why rice helps:

  • Absorption: Rice soaks up loose pigments and dust that have settled on the pastel.
  • Gentle abrasive: The slightly granular texture of rice acts like a very fine sandpaper, removing the surface layer.

Important:

  • This method mainly removes surface dirt or helps restore “cleanliness” to dirty pastels. Deep contamination cannot be fully removed.
  • The rice can be reused to clean the pastels. Rinse the rice and allow it to dry on a flat surface.
     

By the way:
Specifics for product handling and product safety are available on our website under Service & Contact/Download/safety data sheets. For special questions please don´t hesitate to contact our lab-team: 

laborteam(at)schmincke.de 
T: +49 0211 / 2509-476