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When my new coffee table arrived, it had these permanent marker lines (they could have been there for months, who knew where or when it was manufactured). I was afraid to try alcohol, so before buying the Mr. Clean sponges, I tried a regular white rubber eraser. You can see the results, just a very, very teeny remnant of the lines remain (all the black is gone), but you can only see them if you're looking at the correct angle. I polished it all up with Liquid Gold and it's beautiful.
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Thanks for the suggestion!
I really want to thank you for this. A houseguest dropped his permanent ink pen on the floor and the next day I noticed that there were two large black stains of ink that had spurted out (and were very dry).
I used the eraser and it worked but was slow. By accident, after taking a break, I washed my hands and came back to it. My hands were still a little wet and wet the eraser slightly. It worked twice as fast wet (a butterscotch-colored gum eraser, old style) and both spots went away completely.
My son recently drew his Nan a lovely picture in permanent marker on her lovely new wooden dressing table. I went to the nearest Coles and bought a Chux Magic Eraser. It was all off in about five minute, good as new. Thanks Chux, they really are magic!
Ask a QuestionHere are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community or ask a new question.
I already tried furniture polish to remove on Sharpie marker on my finished wood table. Will that have put a "coating" over the marker, or will nail polish remover still work and if not, what will?
By Cheryl I.
Goof Off worked when my little sister colored sharpie on it. You could get it from Wal-Mart for less than $3.00.
I was able to get black magic marker off a inside wood log with Goof Off, you can buy it at Lowes.
Antibacterial soap works great and gets Sharpie off without removing the finish!
Don't use nail polish remover it will take finish off.
How do I clean black Sharpie marker off wooden furniture?
By Sherry from Phoenix, AZ
I used hand sanitizer to get the Sharpie art work off of my coffee table. My grand drew me a pic. It worked like a charm. Good luck.
I just used regular toothpaste and a paper towel and removed green Sharpie from my 5 year olds white wooden dresser. Worked like a charm! Thank you for the tip!
I removed permanent marker off my hardwood floor with hair spray. Tried eraser, no luck, dulled it but it didn't remove it completely. Tried Awesome, again only dulled it and then finally I tried hairspray and wiped away with paper towel.
I used regular toothpaste to get a large amount of black permanent marker out of my kitchen table and chairs. It took some srubbing, but it worked like a charm! After, I used vinegar and water with a paper towel to get rid of the stickey-ness. It is as if nothing ever happened!
My gosh I have a polished wooden Japanese antique and my daughter's sharpie was on a baggie placed on the wood. Overnight the ink adhered itself to the wood. I thought it was gone forever, and almost fainted with grief (I really like Japan).
My son has got permanent Sharpie markers all over my new gloss, white table. What can I use to get it off?
I drew a heart on my hand with red permanent marker. Then when I sat down on my chair I (not knowingly) put my hand down on the white chair. I went to go to the bathroom and came back to see it on the chair, I'm so panicky. The chairs are new and my parents will kill me! Please help. And please answer ASAP! I tried Expo over it, but it only made things worse.
By Chrysanthemum J
Use finger nail poish remover! It works on Sharpie and gets it out or off of anything without leaving any stain or residue.
Help! My daughter got black permanent ink on my kitchen table. It is medium oak color. Any ideas?
My 4yr old decorated our wooden stools with black Texta. I tried toothpaste - it didn't work, hand sanitiser - didn't work, hair spray - didn't work (this is great though for Biro on velour), then Gumption.
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My daughter got black permanent ink on my kitchen table. It is medium oak color. Any ideas?
I know toothpaste gets ink out of fabric. Maybe try it with your table.
Good Luck! (06/06/2004)
By Lee-Ann
I've heard that rubbing alcohol gets permanent marker off. I'd test it on an inconspicuous spot of the table first. (06/06/2004)
By Rennie
Two products which should be available in stores like Wal-Mart are OOPS and GOO Gone. (06/07/2004)
By Linda
Thanks for the tip. I used toothpaste to remove black marker off my dining room table and it really works! (06/22/2004)
By Deborah
Alcohol did the trick. Two months ago I refinished our dining room table with Minwax Polyurethane. My daughter got Sharpie permanent marker on it right in the middle of the table.
Formula 409 did nothing, toothpaste did nothing, but rubbing alcohol took it off with minimal effort and did not damage the finish. (09/15/2004)
By Paul Barry
Toothpaste just got Sharpie off my kitchen table. Wow! (12/30/2004)
By Jaye
I just tried the toothpaste and the rubbing alcohol after my daughter got black permanent marker all over an expensive desk and my computer screen. The toothpaste works, but takes some effort and did damage the surface. The rubbing alcohol worked amazingly better. It took no effort and didn't scratch the surface. (01/09/2005)
By Angela
Just used toothpaste to remove permanent marker from my Teak dining room table and it worked a treat. (02/06/2005)
By Andy
I used Windex to get it off my monitor screen. I had to rub real hard but it came off. (08/11/2005)
By Rob
If you have permanent marker (like a Sharpie) marks all over something, you can easily remove it if it is a smooth surface, like appliances, glass, tables, etc, by using a dry erase marker. Take your dry erase marker and write over it, let it sit a minute, then use a dry erase marker, or better yet, a Mr. Clean Magic eraser and erase it. The chemicals in the dry erase marker breaks down that in the sharpie, so it can easily be erased. I work for a Public School, and we are all the time having this same issue happen. Hope this helps! (08/20/2005)
By Jenny
Didn't know how to execute the toothpaste advise, but the alcohol worked great with a bit of elbow grease. Thanks! (10/27/2005)
By Big muffin
My 2 yr. old son just "drawed" on our brand new wooden table with a blue Sharpie permanent marker. I tried 409, Dish soap, and baby wipes. Then I found this site. I didn't have baking soda (just moved into our new house) or rubbing alcohol. I tried the toothpaste. It took 6 or 7 times. I put on Aquafresh Whitening Expressions toothpaste and rubbed it in with a soft toothbrush. I let that sit for about 5 minutes each time and then scrubbed with a rough sponge. After about 6 or 7 rounds of this, our table is clean again. There is just the faintest blue left in the deep cracks, but you can only tell if you're looking! Thanks everybody! (06/12/2006)
By Leah
Several years ago, when my daughter was one, she got hold of a permanent marker and wrote all over, in big huge swirls, my brand new sofa. I cried hysterically for twenty minutes, then got on the internet. I used rubbing alcohol and that sofa looked brand new in minutes. Same sofa lasted six years and only recently got the boot, only due to too much dog usage.
Today the same daughter used a permanent marker to write on paper and it went through, ruining our wood table. I tried the rubbing alcohol but it didn't seem to do much good. After reading this about "elbow grease", I tried again. Brand new. I also used the alcohol to get some other stains off the table. It worked on two others. Thanks, all. (07/16/2006)
By Annie
Thank God for rubbing alcohol. It came right off. (02/18/2007)
By Mary
The tip about toothpaste is excellent. Don't worry about needing alcohol. The toothpaste alone took care of our son's handy artwork on our dinning room table. (03/03/2008)
By Turk
We couldn't get it to work with just the toothpaste, but the rubbing alcohol and a little elbow grease took the permanent marker right out of my son's headboard. (06/29/2008)
By Cate
I was cooking my dinner one night after I got home from work and noticed that there was permanent marker ink on my mom's 100 year old dining room table. I immediately got online and found the website which said use toothpaste and rubbing alcohol. It worked GREAT! The marks are out of the table. Thank Goodness! Thank you so much for this great tip! (07/10/2008)
By Hayley
You're great, toothpaste really works! You saved my table, thanks! (12/13/2008)
By chris
How do you clean permanent marker off of wood coffee and end tables without ruining the finish?
