Request: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Archived on 05/30/2009
How do I get green Sharpie pen off a new cherry wood desk?
Susie from Sammamish, WA
Feedback:
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I was babysitting and a boy got permanent marker everywhere on the wooden table. I used a combination of OFF bug spray and a Magic Eraser, the stain was gone in minutes. (10/28/2006)
By Alyssa
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Came to this site via Google search because my 4-year old daughter took blue Sharpie to our hardwood floors and furniture. I was not happy. I used OFF (Action/ orange can) and damp sponge. It took the Sharpie off immediately. I sprayed and wiped and not a trace of blue remained. Thanks for the great tip. (10/29/2006)
By Guest
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Don't do it, Off has acetone in it and it will strip your finish along with it. It ruined my brand new $1000 table. (10/30/2006)
By sweetsusanc
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Kid's Off just worked wonderfully on my dining room table, my son had colored a very beautiful red heart with permanent red marker and left a nice heart outline in the middle of the table. And it did not harm the finish at all. (10/31/2006)
By Jean from NC
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball works great, it removed a pink Sharpie mark off of my white wood desk. (11/05/2006)
By Sam
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked beautifully. Black Sharpie soaked through my daughter's book report onto our oak table. It came off in seconds with very minimal rubbing. No harm to the finish, either. Thanks so much for the tip. (11/16/2006)
By Chris
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
For those of you who would like to try something that is rather tame compared to OFF and WD 40, try bicarbonate soda. It's a natural abrasive, but very kind to surfaces. My girlfriend used it to remove a permanent marker off an Oak table top. Gone in a few seconds. Paleontologists use it to remove rock matrix from Dinosaur bones by blasting at the bone with an air compressor that shoots out the bicarb. (12/31/2006)
By Greg
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
The baking soda worked on the blue stain, the alcohol worked on the red stain. It took a combination of the alcohol and the baking soda (soaking together on the floor for about 30 seconds) to out the black Sharpie stain from my polyurethane finished dining room floor. (01/01/2007)
By Angry Mommy
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
My brother was drawing with permanent marker and it leaked through the paper. I took a regular eraser and rubbed it out like pencil marks. Then I put pledge on top. (03/03/2007)
By Anita C.
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Try mineral spirits, you can get it at Lowe's or Home Depot. It works like a charm. (03/27/2007)
By Robyn
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Alcohol swabs worked like a charm on the wooden table. (04/09/2007)
By Swathi
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I used a combination of baking soda and alcohol. The baking soda provides friction. This method requires elbow grease, but will remove Sharpie from a wood desk.
(06/10/2007)
By Ben
RE: hairspray worked great!
Whoever said use hairspray when they were out of alcohol is brilliant. I would never have thought of that but, it worked super. Thanks. (06/26/2007)
By J.M.
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
My 5 year old will survive, the Magic Eraser worked and did not mess up the finish of the table. It then went on to clean the handles of my fridge and oven, that I have been try to get white again for years. Before trying to get the stain out of the table, I did try it in a spot just in case of the finish. (07/05/2007)
By Rob
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Nail polish remover, works like a charm on wood floors. Just spray a little Pledge after to get the shine back. (08/08/2007)
By Sharie
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Thank you so much for the information. My 2 1/2 old daughter got a hold of a blue Sharpie. She wrote all over the computer screen, buttons, computer, mouse, and the wooden desk. I'm so glad my boyfriend had the Magic Eraser. It worked great on getting it off. I would have gotten in trouble, because it is her grandpa's new computer and desk. Thanks a lot, whoever posted it. (08/21/2007)
By mommyof2
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Use Lysol to get dye, permanent marker, and other stains out of wood. Now, make sure your furniture is actually real wood or it will spread. It has to have a finish on it. (09/26/2007)
By Paige D.
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Please be careful using the Mr. Clean magic eraser. I saw a special the other night where a little child had severe burns to her face, hands and arms from using this product. (11/14/2007)
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I just got a bunch of video boxes from eBay, and some of the titles were still on them, written in permanent black marker. I sprayed them with Awesome cleanser and scrubbed a little bit with a washcloth, and the letters came right off.
A couple of years ago, I found a steal on a round, solid oak pedestal table that had orange crayon marks all over the top. I used Awesome on it as well. Awesome is a yellow liquid that comes in an almost-clear plastic spray bottle with red lettering. And, it is awesome as well as non-toxic. I use it for all kinds of things, sometimes direct from the bottle, and sometimes diluted depending on what I'm cleaning. Hope this helps. (12/12/2007)
By Joyce in Southeast OH
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Sun Magic worked. My 3 year old put Sharpie permanent marker on our Oak desk. It took my wife about 5 minutes to take that off with Sun Magic and a cloth. Sun Magic did not damage the finish on the desk, and that marker stain is gone. (01/07/2008)
By Ken
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Lysol did the trick, after we tried Goo Gone, and Simple Green. Wow, simply amazing. (01/21/2008)
By Louie K.
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I was about to beat my kid, (kidding) but our brand new Cherry wood desk got stained. Black Sharpie. Mr.Clean pads took them all out. (03/05/2008)
By Mark
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I use Dry-Erase markers to remove permanent marker from any shiny surface. Whatever is in the dry-erase marker eats right through the permanent marker and it just wipes away like Dry-Erase. I always try to use a yellow Dry-Erase marker, so I don't add more color to the problem. I've tried it on finished wood, but I wouldn't recommend it on unfinished wood. (05/26/2008)
By Dianna
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
My daughter got permanent marker on our cherry table. My wife worked on it for a couple of hours using rubbing alcohol, and this did get a lot of it off, but not all. Eventually we switched to fingernail polish remover (acetone). This did the trick, but a word of caution, as a chemist I've used acetone for cleaning purposes on various items, sometimes with disastrous results, melting plastic, varnish and paint removal, etc. So test it on a small section with a Q-tip. I also think methanol (wood-grain alcohol) would work well and be less stressful to the wood than acetone, but I'm not sure this is available over-the-counter.
(05/28/2008)
By D.Lessen
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I just helped my boss's son remove permanent marker from the custom built desk in his Dad's office by combining two of the suggested methods: overwriting with Dry Erase marker and removing it all with a pencil eraser. Thanks. (06/11/2008)
By Melissa B.
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I used some Mean Green and a scratchy sponge to remove it off of my Honey Pine Kitchen nook and it did the trick. It left no marks behind and the sponge didn't hurt the finish or anything. (06/24/2008)
By Amy
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Another Acetone Story:
I just accidentally got permanent marker all over an unfinished, very porous wood surface. The pencil eraser trick did not work for me. I dribbled acetone on the table, scrubbed it a little with a toothbrush, and then wiped it up with a paper towel. This worked great on this unfinished surface, but I don't know what it would do to varnish. (07/28/2008)
By Stepha
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Thank you so much for your post. Staedler permanent marker came off with a Staedler eraser off the dining room table; artwork thanks to my son. Thanks for saving my table. (09/01/2008)
By mom freaking out
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Be cautious when using rubbing alcohol to remove marker from wood. My daughter marked with some crayola markers and the erasers didn't work. Desperate to calm a guilt-ridden 3 year old, I used the rubbing alcohol. It worked all right, but now we have streaky discolored cabinetry where the alcohol removed the marker and the wood finish. (10/09/2008)
By Virginia Mom
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Orange Glow hardwood floor cleaner works great too. Today my 2 year old son colored all over our hardwood floors with a black Sharpie marker. The Orange Glow got it out perfectly. (10/27/2008)
By stressed mom
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
The regular eraser worked like a gem to remove laundry marking pen from an Oak table. Thanks, I would have never believed it. (11/10/2008)
By Wendy
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
My two-year-old drew with a blue Sharpie on our Cherry-wood floors. They have a good finish on them, but the Magic Eraser didn't work, soap and water didn't work. The scrubbing pad didn't work. I even tried a pink eraser (I have no idea why).
The only thing that worked was WD-40. I let it sit for 30 seconds, then rubbed like the devil with paper toweling. (01/10/2009)
By NOTL
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
This will sound crazy but toothpaste will remove permanent marker from wood. I tried the pink eraser, 409, acetone, rubbing alcohol, you name it, none of them worked, but the toothpaste really did the trick. And it smelled good. I just applied some of my own toothpaste to the marked area and rubbed like wildfire and the marker came off. Try it. (01/25/2009)
By Peri
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
My 18 month old son thought he would be an artist while I was in the other room, I came into my dining room, and right in the middle of the hardwood, lightly finished dining room floor, was dark blue Sharpie art work. My 3 year old daughter tried to help clean it, so she put Windex (did not help the situation) on top of it, then I found this site.
I tried the Windex (had no choice), tried Kaboom, worked a little but could see the marks. I tried toothpaste, Magic Eraser, and nothing seemed to work. Then I found some orange smelling hand sanitizer,and thought, what do I have to lose? I couldn't believe it but hand sanitizer worked wonders. You can't see any marks on the floor (thank god, cause we're renters) so if all else fails, try hand sanitizer. (01/26/2009)
By Jayme
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
The eraser trick does seem to work, however, if you look closely it isn't actually removing the marker it is removing the top surface layer the marker is on and hence, the marker along with it. Rubbing too hard will cause discoloration in the wood surface. (02/01/2009)
By Benji
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Request: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Archived on 10/25/2006
How do you get permanent marker out of wood furniture?
Sally from St. Louis, MO
Answers:
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
The Off really works great. I actually used Deep Woods Off since we live in MN and it came off after 5 minutes of scrubbing. Use a generous amount to take off the marker faster. I had permanent marker on a naturally finished oak coffee table. (10/14/2006)
By jim
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
OFF gets it off! We just moved back into our house after having the hardwood floors redone and 2 of our sons drew on the floor with sharpie. I ran around the neighborhood looking for OFF. It lifted most of the stain right away and got almost all of it off. There are a few faint marks left, but it will be covered with carpet. (10/16/2006)
By Theresa
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I couldn't believe it but OFF really took it off! I used a marker to write a sign and the ink soaked through the paper on our oak desk top. I thought the writing would be there forever. Thank goodness I looked this up on the web! (10/21/2006)
By D. Brady
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Thank you so much for whoever posted the info. about removing permanent marker with the magic eraser. My daughter got hold of a permanent marker and drew a picture that bled through to our coffee table. I just so happened to have a magic eraser under my sink and it worked!! Thanks again. (10/22/2006)
By Felicia
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Request: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Archived on 10/01/2006
How do I get permanent marker off wood?
Michael from Auckland, NZ
Answers:
Off Bug Spray
I had blue sharpie marker on the white textured surface of my fridge. The magic eraser faded it, the rubbing alcohol faded it more, and using a white gum eraser didn't do much. Thought for sure it was there to stay.
I am amazed! The Off Bug spray took it right "OFF!" I sprayed it and let it soak for a few seconds before simply wiping it off with the magic eraser. Thanks for the brilliant idea. (09/07/2006)
By Flo Mama
Off
I can't believe it but Off took black Sharphie marker off our newly refinished hardwood floors. Rubbing alchol didn't work at all but Off worked easily and quickly. I wouldn't leave it on too long - looked like it was going to eat the finish. (09/11/2006)
By Kelly
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Glad I found this site, my wife and I had just bought a white night stand and "I" laid a home made CD face down on it and the words that were wrote in sharpie marker on the CD rubbed off onto the wood. I took the magic erase and nothing else, it rubbed off fairly easily with no signs of stains or anything!! (09/14/2006)
By Preston Bell
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
70% Isopropyl Alcohol works THE BEST. I can not believe it, but it amazingly worked on a painted wooden window where markings were done with black ink permanent marker (09/15/2006)
By Telesync
RE: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
I really didn't expect the off to work. I live in a house that has twin 3 1/2 year olds and a 1 1/2 year old. They seem to get into everything! When I found my good wood furniture colored all over I was very upset but I found this site which suggested trying off! There is not a single mark left on my stuff. Thanks so much! (09/25/2006)
By L B
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Request: Removing Permanent Marker from Wood Furniture
Archived on 08/31/2006
How do you clean permanent marker off of wood coffee and end tables without ruining the finish?
Laurie from Havre de Grace, MD
Answers:
Tip: Removing Permanent Market from Wood Furniture
Do you have permament marker on your wood furniture? Well don't worry. Go to the store get Mr. Clean magic easer. Apply it and wipe the marker away, it doesn't hurt your wood.
By Desiree Woodward (10/17/2005)
Alcohol
Thanks so much for the help I tried pledge it didn't work, then I tried some wood cleaner that didn't work, then I tried alcohol it removed the stain right away! (11/13/2005)
By Celeste
Rubbing Alcohol
I was so mad at my son for using a sharpie on our new office furniture (also really mad at myself for letting him in the office unsupervised!) saw the postings and rubbing alcohol worked like a charm! no need to go out and buy the magic eraser!! (02/28/2006)
By vienna
Clean Magic Eraser AND Rubbing Alcohol
Wow!! Great site, my five year old found a sharpie and used it early this morning on laminate flooring, a computer desk, linoleum tile, a small wooden desk, the freezer, the fridge... I'm half expecting to find others.
I went to the drug store and sure enough both Mr Clean Magic Eraser AND Rubbing Alcohol (I used 95% Ethanol NOT 70% Isopropyl) were in stock. I found that the Ethanol worked well on the wood, but it left a trace in the linoleum. For some reason, it left a trace on the microwave, but took all the marker off the freezer and small wooden desk. I will post back with results of the Magic Eraser... but this has been interesting if nothing else.
Thank you VERY much to all for taking the time to post your experiences. (03/10/2006)
By Jim Jütte
Eraser
My daughter was using permanent marker to make pictures YIKES. It leaked through onto our brand new wood coffee table. I read on a site to use a regular old fashioned eraser. I didn't believe it, but what did I have to lose? It worked like a charm! You need a little elbow grease, but my coffee table looks new again! (03/10/2006)
By Tracy B.
Eraser
Wow what a life saver! My daughter just got permanent marker on our wood table, black, blue and red. Googled this site and found the answer. A regular eraser worked like magic. Thank you -- and my daughter thanks you since it will not be coming out of her allowance after all. (03/27/2006)
By Cali Nurse
Praise the Lord for the Magic Eraser!
I just told my daughter that when she goes to Sunday School tomorrow - she better Praise the Lord for the Magic Eraser! I cannot believe it just got green sharpie off my family room coffee table! Thank you everyone! (04/22/2006)
By Kathryn
Magic Eraser
I'm so happy I found this site. My 2 1/2 year old got hold of a blue sharpie pen and scribbled all over the front of my computer cabinet. I thought I was going to have to look at that forever. Using the pink eraser worked great but I had to really rub hard and my arm started to hurt. I then tried a magic eraser which worked fantastic. The marker came out completely and I didn't have to rub as hard. Thanks for the tips. I'm sure I'll be back for some other cleaning advice! (04/25/2006)
By Patty
Deodorant
i found that if you rub deodrant on the wood; then you erase it with a regular eraser it will go away 99.9% of the way and the rest blends in with the wood. THANK YOU LOTS! (05/16/2006)
By Mark landsfeld
Regular Eraser vs. Magic Eraser
A regular eraser was doing the job, but the Magic Eraser cut the time at least in half. Now I won't have to put the kids up for adoption when their father comes home! (05/18/2006)
By Carol
Goo Gone
People! The eraser did remove most of the permanent marker from my hardwood floor (with a lot of elbow grease, because my 2 year old damaged a large area) but the eraser also took the finish off the floor. I stopped, went to the pantry and grabbed the Goo Gone and decided to go for it with this powerful stuff, since nothing else was going to work. Guess what! 10 seconds after spraying it on the site, I wiped it with a dry cloth and it disappeared immediately. Goo Gone literally dissolves permanent pen on contact! And it did NOT remove the finish from my floor. I woudn't let it sit for more than a few seconds though, because it's super strong. I am amazed that it didn't hurt the finish and the ink is 100% gone! (05/24/2006)
By Angela
Magic Eraser
I can't believe the Magic Eraser took the Sharpie artwork of my two year old out in no time - with little effort! Saved my brand new dining room table! It is important to go back and wipe-down, other wise a chalky reside remains when dry. I just went immediately over it with half and half - H20 and vinegar. Looks perfect! Thanks for posting - your advice was a life saver... (06/03/2006)
By PK
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
I saw the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Idea and was about to run to the store first thing tomorrow, but I saw the Goo be gone listing by one guy and tried the stuff I have called Goof off. It took the marker off my laminate floor without the elbow grease. Cool. Thanks for the help. (06/11/2006)
By Janell in Roseville, CA
My Experience
First, I tried Goo Gone, which did not work for me. Then I used an off brand eraser. It worked like a charm getting the marker of, but it did scratch the table a little, which will no longer be noticeable the next time I polish the table (and it is probably only still noticeable to me).
Maybe it is more noticable because it is a light colored solid wood table, and not a darker or laminate wood finish (it is probably the same with solid wood floors as opposed to laminate wood floors). If it happens again I will try the rubbing alcohol first and then the eraser, which takes the marker off because it is mildly abrasive, not some secret chemical.
If I use the eraser again, I will polish the wood first, that way hopefully only the polish will get scratched away with the marker. (06/18/2006)
By Roxanne
Magic Eraser
I am SO happy I found this site. My 4 yr old got a hold of a BLACK permament marker and was putting dots on a piece of paper AND my husband was supposed to be watching her while I was cooking dinner. Needless to say he wasn't on top of the situation and there were little black dots on 2 nice size areas on the table. I went and got the hairspray thinking it would take it out... WRONG!
Well after she kept throwing a fit cause I took the marker away from her and after I chewed my husband out I found this wonderful site. I used a magic eraser without using very much effort at all it ALL came out. I then washed the table down with dishwashing liquid and then used funiture polish and now it looks like my 4 year old never touched it and my husband is out of the doghouse. (06/19/2006)
By Tarena
Pencil Eraser
The regular pink eraser worked beautifully and FAST to remove black permanent marker from a Longaberger basket. I was amazed! Thank you! (07/22/2006)
By Valerie
Excellent Advice
I was writing on a CD with a permanant paint marker and somehow it got all over my hands without me knowing and then I proceeded to touch all over my desk with my hands. Brand new desk as well. Thanks for the advise. I used the deodorant and an average pencil eraser to help remove the oil-based paint marker. Thanks again!! (07/22/2006)
By Single guy with marker
Off Bug Spray
Thank you so much, OFF bug spray did the trick right away... How amazing!(08/05/2006)
By Cristen
Magic Eraser
I read the responses to this and thought, "No way this will work. I use the Magic Eraser for tons of stuff, but there's no way it will take indellible ink off of my mom's antique hutch. But it's worth a try."
Minutes later, the ink is gone. Unbelievable! Thank you so much! You just saved my three year old from boarding school! (08/17/2006)
By Erin
Off
The off worked perfectly on my countertop. (08/20/2006)
By Kevin
Tropical Off
Wow! Tropical Off worked on a black sharpie stain on my wood countertop. My 5 year old owes his video game privileges to you guys! (08/26/2006)
By Zak
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