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Hairspray residue can build up on walls and cabinets in bathrooms.

Before painting, you must remove this residue, as paint and primer will not stick to it.  Sanding the surface will work in some cases but most of the time you will have to do the following steps to remove the hairspray.

1. Soak a rag or sponge in rubbing alcohol.
2. Lightly rub the hairspray to see if it will loosen and come off.
3. If it does not loosen, dampen the area with rubbing alcohol and use a scouring pad to remove the hairspray.

Caution:  Rubbing alcohol can damage your paint or polyurethane.  Do the above steps only if you will be painting the surface once you are done cleaning it.