An ink jet printhead maintenance system, which can be part of an ink jet printer, for removing ink residue from a printhead faceplate. The printhead maintenance system can include a supply of liquid which can be applied to the ink residue on the printhead faceplate using various techniques, such as those described. The liquid can include a monomer and/or an oligomer. The wet clean system described can be more effective in removing ink residue which can result from certain inks, such as ultraviolet curable gel inks, than previous printhead maintenance techniques.