That doesn’t cost some insane amount. I put graffiti in quotes because we are not talking specifically spray paint. We’re mainly talking about permanent black marker.
I am a teacher and I sometimes have some kid use a permanent marker to draw on their desk. I purchased Goo Gone Graffiti remover a few years ago and it does fairly well, but it can’t seem to remove the most permanent sharpie type marker stains completely.
I think my custodians have a stronger spray bottle that they use, but I would like to purchase my own so I can just remove it when the students are gone at the end of the day.
Goo Gone is too soft. I want the “real stuff”.
What is the best thing to remove permanent marker from a solid surface? I don’t want something like pure acetone. I need a spray bottle that will really get the job done.
Here are two products, neither of which I have tested specifically on sharpie marks, but they might be worth a try. One is called Krud Kutter, which is a cleaner which comes concentrated and so you can try it in a more concentrated condition; I would wear gloves if you do. The other is called De-Solv-it, which seems to me to be Goo Gone on steroids, although it proclaims that it is safe and has no strong chemicals.
Then there are things like lighter fluid (e.g. Ronsonol) and naphtha if you can find it. Definitely wear gloves, and clean off the residue right away with soap and water.
I’ve seen videos of people going over permanent marker with more dry erase marker, and then wiping it all away. Or is that incorrect, and that’s just for old dried up dry erase that won’t wipe away anymore?
Interestingly enough Naptha (lighter fluid) dries with almost zero residue. There won’t be anything to clean off once it dries. Almost completely benign. One reason it is used to prep surfaces for paint, and safely conserving fine antique finishes and surfaces. Great stuff!
It ‘should’ work for removing permanent marker - with the caveat that sometimes permanent or magic marker really is permanent, when applied to certain plastics, tupperware, etc.
I’ve had success with finger nail polish remover. It can and will remove finishes. But a light touch and you can prevent that.
It works pretty good on old Formica.
I just tested a black Sharpie (R) Permanent Marker on a metal filing cabinet. I waited a minute for it to dry, then rubbed at the mark with a paper towel wetted with 2-propanol. Came right off.
NB Doesn’t mean I would pour a bottle of it over an antique Victorian writing desk.
@Mahaloth, you want to do the district a solid and fix up the mess without involving their labor or materials. But if the solvent you pick jacks up the surface of the desk, they may not look so charitably at your initiative.
Bureaucracies are the homeland of “no good deed goes unpunished”.
We have a glass-top range at home, and regularly use a special cleaner for it. I sometimes use that same cleaner to get stubborn tea and curry stains off of the Formica countertop too, and it works great. I don’t know what chemicals are in it, but I’m pretty sure it also includes a mild abrasive. This means don’t scrub too hard or for to long, and it also means you will need to follow up with some Windex and a paper towel to wipe it all up afterwards.