Short and to the point. My four year old daughter just gave my six year old daughter’s plastic Bratz Doll a make-up makeover with a Sharpie marker. So, what’s the best bet for getting it off without destroying the doll?
Thanks in advance - DESK
Acetone (nail polish remover) removes Sharpie marks, but I have no idea what it will do to the dolls surface. You might try a Q-tip moistened with the acetone, and use a very light touch.
Good luck!
If the surface isn’t terribly porous, you can use 91% isopropyl alcohol (available at Walgreens, etc) to remove it and it would be less likely to damage the doll than acetone would.
For sure don’t use acetone. While some plastics can stand up to it, many can’t.
The alcohol solution is likely ok.
Try rubbing the surface of the doll in an out of the way place with the alcohol to see if discoloration occurs. If so, don’t use it on the sharpie.
Come back and report about the alcohol.
Many Sharpie® pens are made with an quick drying, non-toxic alcohol based ink formula. If your pen uses this, vodka should remove the ink. Methanol (wood alcohol) or isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) will likely work too.
Sweet! I will try Vodka (and/or isopropyl) the next time a certain uninvited spawn wanders into my yard. Reducing the stink factor might even cut down on the ugly words afterwords.
Sharpies are evil. Wonderfully useful for sane grown ups, but evil all the same.
Sometimes a desirable feature for some uses in a product, permanence in this case, makes it undesirable for any misapplication.
There are alcohols much stronger than your average vodka or drug store rubbing alcohol. If your state allows a product like Everclear or other reasonably pure alcohol, that would work better. It is basically the same thing as lab 90% ETOH that labs everywhere use to remove dyes and things. If not, 100 proof vodka can be bought at any full liquor store for less than $2 for a nip bottle. Blue label Smirnoff is one example.
Try a Mr. Clean Magic eraser or the Target store brand.
It took sharpie off my plastic top folding table.
or make yourself feel better by saying to yourself:
“well at least she didn’t do
this to her kid sisters face”
Sibling rivalry strikes ealy sometimes!
I absolutely love that photo. Makes me laugh every time I see it!
The magic eraser (Brawny brand) worked great. There’s still some left though. I’ll try the alcohol on what’s left, when I pick some up later today.
Thanks, DESK (and the eldest DESKette.)
I worked for Sanford, the manufacturer of Sharpie pens in the late 70s, assembling Sharpies and filling bottles of ink for ink pads. It is (or was) all the same formula from the same barrels. There were dispensers of cleaner all around the plant. As you can imagine, the ink got everywhere. The cleaning fluid was a strong chlorine solution (bleach). I don’t know what else may have been in it, but the chlorine was obvious. Any slight splash of it on clothing made an almost instant white spot. Of course, the ink usually ruined your clothing before the bleach ever got to it.
So my vote is bleach.
A lot of times I see “Industrial Strength” labeled sharpie and I was never able to get that out of anything. How does that work?
Believe it or not, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I’ve used it on old video game cartridges that have had people’s names written on the labels, and for those whose labels are varnish or plastic coated, it works like a charm.
Alternatively, any Napthalene cleaner, such as Goo Gone, or possibly a citrus-based cleaner will do, too, but they’re rather harsh and both will strip ink and paint in a heartbeat.