The "paint," which comes in many colors, is non-toxic, biodegradable and water soluble (so it will wash off skin and clothing). Basically, a paintball is like a small had a shirt that i left orange paint on, for a week or so. After i washed it, there were pink splotches left on it. they eventually washed out. dye used in paintballs is the same grade as food dyes. Food dyes do wash completely out of clothing, but the trick is to launder them promptly. If the dye sits The paint inside of paintballs is specially formulated to wash off of most any surface with minimal effort. Paintball that break on buildings, trees, cars, ...