# Removing ink from leather?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 21, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758 "2001-10-21T23:21:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Yersinia\_Pestis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yersinia\_Pestis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia_Pestis)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758/1 "2001-10-21T23:21:40Z")

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So I’m trying on leather pants today and I noticed they have a little ink mark on the hip. It looks like ballpoint pen ink to me. The salesclerk said they’d take 20% off the price.

Is there any way for me to get the ink off myself without taking the dye out of the leather? I’d have to get them shortened, so the 20% off is quite appealing, but it also means I don’t really want to spend any more money on taking them to a cleaner.

I googled around looking at stain removal tips for a while, but they all seem to be about fabric (which is probably significant…)

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**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\
**Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758/2 "2001-10-21T23:32:21Z")

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Try some saddle soap. If the leather was dyed well, it shouldn’t hurt it, but try using a little inside the waistband first to make sure.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758/3 "2001-10-22T14:27:10Z")

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did you try [howtocleananything.com](http://howtocleananything.com) ?

I might try denatured alcohol from a hardware store but do a test patch first. frankly, if you are at that store, why not ask them what to use? i bet they have something.

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removing-ink-from-leather/88758/4 "2001-10-22T20:52:34Z")

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> [@](#):
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> I’d have to get them shortened, so the 20% off is quite appealing

I don’t think that’s what they meant…