Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

My 3 year old son recently found a permanent marker in our kitchen. To my surprise he had colored on our new, real wood table and hid his amazing master pieces under the place mats. I would love to get the marker off of the table with out taking off the varnish. I have tried hairspray and magic erasers with no luck. Please help!

By sskaufdog from Centerton, AR

Answers: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

Read answers for this question below.

By 12/30/2012

I used a Magic Eraser and it worked well.

By 06/17/2011

My daughter used black permanent marker on our wood table we got from the in laws this last Christmas. Figured my husband was going to kill me, but I used Equate finger nail polish remover. The marker sat for about 10 minutes. Rub very gentle to not ruin the wood and comes off like magic.

By 08/22/2010

My daughter got five or six different colors of Sharpie on the oak diningroom table. I tries dry erase, pink eraser, different cleaners, toothpaste, and a pencil eraser. Orange hand cleaner worked like a charm. I let it sit for 20 seconds and wiped it off with a paper towel. The ink had dried for a few days before I had found it.

By 08/02/2010

I just had a black permanent marker explode all over my counter and hard wood floor. Google brought me here, I tried the Mentadent suggestion, and it completely got rid of the ink. Thank you!!

By 06/13/2010

To all: look no further, the easy solution is a bit of nail polish remover. Comes off in a second. Not too much will not harm the polish a bit.

By 03/22/2010

I signed up just to inform you all that the mentadent toothpaste worked on my wood table that my son marked on w/ black Sharpie. It just happened about 1 hour ago. I let it sit for about 30 minutes. I wet an old tooth brush that I use for cleaning just a little bit. and scrubbed. It came off after just a few scrubbings. I'm very excited that my table looks like it did prior to him marking it

By 02/12/2010

My grandson wrote with permanent marker on my wall and I used hand sanitizer and it came right off. Maybe it will work for you.

Permanent marker on dining room table.

Does anyone know a safe way to remove permanent black marker (sharpie) from a wooden dining room table?

Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

I need major help. I wrote with black and green permanent marker on a wooden table with varnish and I need to get it out.

Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

How can I remove permanent marker from a wooden table?

Dmsommer from Cleveland

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

GooGone will work, too. (09/24/2008)

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

Forget all the scrubbing with everyone's personal toothpaste! Use a little rubbing alcohol on a clean cloth and dab over the marker spots. It will dissolve any permanent marker. Keep dabbing until the cloth or towel takes on the marker. Replace the towel as needed until the marker is gone. It should only take a few seconds at most. (09/25/2008)

By NY Mom

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

Was taking a nap, daughters woke me up and said, "Uh mom, Keira was coloring on gramma's comp desk". We came to this site. Used toothpaste and a toothbrush wet, and miraculously it all came off! Thanks! (09/29/2008)

By Keira's Gramma

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

Be very wary of this advice. I tried the toothpaste trick and it ruined the finish on my table top. Sure, it removed the marker stain but made our matte finish shiny and left me in the dog house! (01/04/2009)

By Jon

Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

My son took a permanent marker and drew all over my wood table. Any suggestions on how to remove the ink? Thanks.

By dinglebarry from Chicago

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

I have used the Mr. Clean Eraser sponge on some hard plastics before, but I don't know what it would do to the wood finish on the table. Hope you can get it off of the table! (05/08/2009)

By Robyn Fed

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

I have had great luck with Amodex. It works on permanent markers (and more) on tons of surfaces. The key is not to wet the stain. Water sets the stain and Amodex doesn't work nearly as well. I bought my Amodex from an ebay seller. The last time I checked it was not yet for sale at Office Max. The website says you can buy it at Hobby Lobby and other locations.

P.S. I've used Mr. Clean Magic Eraser on very small spots and I can't see any damage to the wood finish. (05/16/2009)

By dubbiemarie

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

Use the cheapest hairspray you can find, spray on marks and let sit till ink starts to run, then wipe off marks. You may want to test in an out of site area to make sure you do not ruin the finish. You might have to repeat a few times. (05/16/2009)

By treehugger

RE: Permanent Marker on a Wood Table

I just found that my daughter about 2 hours ago had accidentally marked on our hard wood table. I used toothpaste with baking soda and in 2 minutes it was gone. I let the toothpaste set on it for about 10 seconds, then took a dry, clean rag and rubbed it in a circular motion. It did not totally come off the first time, but it did come off little by little, and after the 3rd time it was gone! Hope this helps. I was so excited! :) (07/10/2009)

By MKfrPI