removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

[Darren Nemeth]

I was making the pouches for my utility belt today out of 3/4 inch thick, 4 inch square plywood and marine grade yellow vinyl.

I put the spray adhesive on the wood and married it with the vinyl and very lightly clamped them with another block of wood.

Unfortunately, some Sharpie writing on the other block of wood printed on to the vinyl!!!!!

The writing has been on the other block for at least a week but the adhesive vapor must have softened it up.

Does anyone know how to remove this from the vinyl? With softscrub and a couple other cleaners I was able to get a little bit off but not much. Undecided

Aside from letting it sit out in the sun on my dashboard for several days in hope to fade the ink is there anything I can do to take off the printing?

I only bought 1/2 yard of this very expensive boat vinyl and have just enough left to cut the pieces for the pouches and cyliners.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Honestly I do not think it is coming off. If you used soft scrub and it did not work..... maybe you can try goo gone or waterless hand cleaner but that may just smudge the heck out of it.

 

[j442w30]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

The only thing that I have ever gotten sharpie off with was lacquer thinner, but this was on some metal, not a porous surface like vinyl. Might want to try some on some scraps to see what it does to the vinyl or if you have some nail polish remover this might work too but I would definitely test it first to see what it does.

Maybe just wet the end of a q-tip and wipe that over the stains and then wipe it off with some paper towels so you can control where it goes better.

 

[204 Escape]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

What about one of those Mr. Clean erasers, or WD-40 ???

 

[bomar76]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

VERY CAREFUL (note the caps) use of MEK or acetone.
Again, note the VERY CAREFUL part.

 

[wncrjb]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

would something like "brake cleaner" on a q-tip work?

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Oops

http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/cleanersremovers/index.html

 

[bruceb58]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Try acetone. MEK is probably too strong of a solvent. Use a quick wipe and don't let it sit too long.

Try it on a scrap first.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Now that I have slept and thought about this.....sharpie ink on the utility belt pouch..... isn't there some sort of Bat spray for that..... have you checked the other pouches?

 

[NJTOW]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Not sure about a Sharpie, but WD-40 worked on pen ink. took a few wipes but never know it was there.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

What about one of those Mr. Clean erasers???

This is the only thing I know that will work without damaging the material.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

You might also try denatured alcohol (shellac thinner at the hardware store). However, a sharpie will dye vinyl pretty and penetrate the material thorougly, so I doubt that it's going to come out. Sorry.

 

[bhammer]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

MEK - Methel Ethel Keytone will melt the vinyl so as bomar76 said, VERY is the optimul word... You may try those magic erasers sold at the grocery store. I think they are made my Mr. Clean. My wife used them to remove sharpie from some window sills and a kids bedroom door. Boy, was the daughter upset that Mommy erased her beautiful picture.

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

What about Goof-Off (Home Depot) or Spray-9 (West Marine)?
Always test whatever you try on an an area that doesn't show first to make sure it doesn't damage the material. But I'm sure you already knew that!

 

[texanaustinite]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Not sure if it will clean Sharpie ink, but I use GumOut (carberator cleaner) to clean my boat's vinyl. It will remove oil, grease and that brown discoloration that gets on the vinyl from your own skin oils. I've cleaned some parts a few times with no discoloration and no strong odors. Afterwards I use a marine vinyl cleaner.

 

[etransfer]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

What about one of those Mr. Clean erasers, or WD-40 ???

Ding Ding Ding !

We detail boats and you're spot on with the Mr. Clean erasers !

They are also called magic eraser (Mr. Clean bought them a few years ago) and you can buy a box for $4.00 at any grocery store or rite aid etc..

We also use them in cars and they work like magic getting pen marks and
almost anything kids use to mark up seats and doors etc. !

 

[SnappingTurtle]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

It may sound strange, but if none of these other methods work, try some Hair Spray, the old cheap kind.

In the days before price tags, my Grand Dad marked all prices with sharpies. If the price went up he kept a can of Hair Spray in the store, a quick spray and swipe and the old price was gone.

It works great for sharpies on hard smooth surfaces, but I am not sure if it will help on vinyl. Once it penetrates the surface, I am afraid it is there to stay.

 

[qaztwo]

Re: removing sharpie marker from marine vinyl??

Pure ethanol takes it right off.