Have you or your kids ever finished a project only to find your wooden table covered in pen marks? Dealing with situations like this is stress-free once you learn how to remove pen from wood. Fountain pens, gel pens, and permanent ink markers leave unsightly blemishes on wood.
Wood requires careful cleaning as it’s a natural fiber, and harsh techniques damage the wood grain. Luckily, there are numerous DIY tricks for removing pen from wood. Depending on what’s available, various methods and instruments exist for erasing unwanted pen doodles or ink bleeding on wood. Discover hacks to remove ink off wood using household items by reading our helpful cleaning advice.
Pens are convenient for crafts and routine tasks, but they can be frustrating if they accidentally mar priceless wooden furniture like office tables, dining chairs, or dressers. Gain confidence and draw or write fearlessly by finding out how to get pen off wood.
Easy Hacks for How to Get Pen off Wood
Whether you’re a parent or an artist, it pays to understand easy ways to remove felt tipped pen from wood walls. Pens are valuable tools and a big part of day-to-day life, from arts and crafts to office work.
When pen gets on your word furniture, walls, or floor, it makes them look messy. Explore brilliant ideas for removing pen from wood with baking soda, rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, dry-erase markers, toothpaste, liquid dish soap, or a Magic Eraser.
How to Remove Pen From Wood With Baking Soda
Baking soda removes stains from fabric, grout, glass, and wood. Combine it into a paste with warm water for a mess-free application and uncomplicated ink removal on your wooden furniture. Use cream toothpaste instead of water to make a twice as powerful paste to clean heavy ink blemishes from your wood.
Combine the water and baking soda powder in a small bowl and stir until thick paste forms. Smother the ink stain with a thick coat of baking soda paste. Start scrubbing Sharpie pen off a wooden table, and leave it to sit for 15 minutes before wiping it with a moist towel.
Removing Pen From Wood – Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol has various cleaning applications, yet we typically associate it with the treatment of wounds. Many people use alcohol as a homemade wood cleaner without vinegar. It works quickly to remove fountain pens from wood; you probably already have it in your first aid box. If you don’t have any rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer or hairspray are alternatives with high alcohol content.
Treat only the ink mark and not the surrounding wood with rubbing alcohol using a paper towel or a dry cloth. After you coat the stain, rub the alcohol in and use a damp cloth to remove it. Since alcohol severs the bonding agents, the pigment in pen ink wipes away.
Apply extra alcohol to the wood and wipe it again if the discoloration persists. Continue until all traces of the stain are gone. Alcohol is drying to leather, so if you use this hack to eliminate ink from a leather surface, follow up with a conditioner.
Acetone for Getting Pen off Wood
Unexpectedly, nail paint remover is incredibly effective at removing more than just nail art. Acetone, found in nail polish remover, is a tried-and-true DIY method for removing ink stains from wood. This strong solvent is convenient for getting pen drawings off your wood.
Dip a cotton swab and rub over the mark to remove the ink. Due to its potent fumes, it is wise to use nail polish remover outside or in a well-ventilated place. Most drugstores and cosmetic boutiques carry affordable acetone.
Dry Erase Markers Lift Permanent Ink
Remove permanent marker ink from wood and other surfaces with a marker intended for dry-erase boards. This tactic works best on flat and smooth wood, such as painted wood, because the dry-erase ink spreads across the entire surface. Test it on unfinished wood first.
Color the permanent marker stain with a dry-erase marker until the permanent ink entirely absorbs the ink from the dry-erase pen. Before removing the blemish with a paper towel or cloth, let the inks settle.
The ink for dry-erase boards is soluble and washable. The erasable ink penetrates the Sharpie stain and releases it by dissolving the links in the permanent pigment, so both pen markings come off smoothly.
Toothpaste Erases Ink Stains
Fountain pen marks can be a catastrophe for your favorite wooden furniture or hardwood floors. Luckily, most people already have everything necessary within their homes to remove ink from wood.
You only need some toothpaste and a soft cloth to eliminate the pen drawings and restore your wood with minimal effort. Instead of using gel toothpaste, which is ineffective at removing ink, use regular cream toothpaste.
Apply a small amount of cream toothpaste to the ink stain and work it in with a clean towel by smearing it on and massaging it. Scrub the wood grain in a circular motion until the ink is gone, wash the wood clean with a cloth dampened in water, and allow it to air dry. If you don’t have toothpaste, shaving cream is an excellent alternative.
Dish Soap Cleans a Pen Ink Stain
Liquid dish soap is an excellent first step in removing unwanted ink drawings from wood. Dish detergent is a mild soap, and though it’s tough on greasy plates and ink-stained walls, it won’t strip your wood stain or paint. Before trying harsher techniques, consider attempting to wash light ink stains away with soapy water.
Pour half a cup of colorless liquid dish soap and three cups of hot water into a cleaning basin. Dip a cleaning cloth into the soapy water and use it to scrub the ink stain until it’s no longer visible. Leave the wood to dry and inspect the grain. If ink remnants linger, reclean with hot soapy water until the wood is spotless.
A Magic Eraser Removes Pen From Wood Furniture
Magic Erasers, such as the one sold under the brand name Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, are the best way to remove pen from wood. If you have wooden flooring or furniture and permanent ink gets on it, go to a hardware or home improvement store and get a Magic Eraser.
It is vital to carefully study the product’s instructions because specific erasers work more effectively while dry, while others are more effective damp.
These melamine foam blocks have hundreds of tiny air bubbles that work with a mild abrasive action to remove permanent ink from various surfaces. Find detailed instructions on the product label – ensure the eraser is safe to use on wood. Using the Magic Eraser, carefully remove the mark until there is no trace of the ink left behind.
After reading this article, are you comfortable knowing how to get pen off wood? Wood furniture and floors add character and style to a building yet appear tacky and unkempt when covered in ink doodles.
Use appropriate cleaning techniques to eliminate the fountain pen, gel pen, or permanent marker from wood without destroying the natural wood grain.
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