# Cleaning Sharpie off a white wall? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029 "2006-06-01T16:08:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![happywaffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ee59a6/32.png) [@happywaffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happywaffle)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/1 "2006-06-01T16:08:46Z")
G’day all– I’m moving out of my apartment soon, and I have the challenge of painting over Sharpie marks on my bedroom wall. (I got into the habit of writing down funny quotes on my wall. Looks pretty neat actually.) Anyway I’m wondering if the Sharpie is gonna shine right through the white paint, or if there’s something besides three coats of white to get the quotes vanished permanently. (Should I give the marks themselves a couple coats of white, then do the whole wall with one final coat? Would that result in an uneven appearance? Should I sand or anything drastic?) ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/2 "2006-06-01T16:14:30Z")
There’s a product called Kilz that you apply like paint. It’ll cover whatever’s on your wall, then you paint over it. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/3 "2006-06-01T16:29:42Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > There’s a product called Kilz… He might want to scrub the writing down with alcohol (methanol or isopropanol should work) to remove _most_ of the sharpie dye before applying Kilz. Marker pigments bleed like nobody’s business. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/4 "2006-06-01T23:47:08Z")
I speak from experience after painting a bedroom that had a variety of marker colors on the walls, Kilz will cover them without bleeding. It will take 2 coats. The only thing Kilz would not cover was lipstick. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/5 "2006-06-02T01:27:13Z")
Acetone (nail polish) will do a job on Sharpie-type marks. On a painted wall, I don’t know. Probably best just to paint over it like others have said. (I don’t think Kilz is really necessary, IIRC it’s just primer with antifungal chemicals in it). ---
**Author:** ![widdleytinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a4c791/32.png) [@widdleytinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdleytinks)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/6 "2006-06-02T02:20:26Z")
If it’s not too big of an area, simply write over the Sharpie with a dry erase marker. ---
**Author:** ![Danalan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@Danalan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danalan)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/7 "2006-06-02T02:35:37Z")
Gumout carburetor cleaner takes Sharpie right off. It’ll take off the rest of the paint too, if you like. Take off the Sharpie first, then prime and paint. YMMV, and yes, I realize that there may be more environmentally sound solutions. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleaning-sharpie-off-a-white-wall/359029/8 "2006-06-02T02:43:02Z")
Nother satisfied Kilz customer.