Removing permanent marker "paint"

[Chuck Most]

I recently unearthed a half-finished AMT '62 Fairlane kit. Everything is there except the tires, and there are some broken parts, but I think it should be salvagable.

Here's the problem- the body (and windows) were "painted" with a permanent marker. I've tried all the old standbys (Purple Power, brake fluid, oven cleaner, ect.) and nothing is doing the trick. I know sanding will remove it, but I'm afraid of losing the trim and script detail.

If I can't remove it, would using a sealer work? I know for a fact that permanent ink will bleed into the paint, which would be a HUGE problem if I chose to paint the model a light color!

[Ken Kitchen]

I've had limited success using Windex. However with something that is old I doubt it would work. The next best option would be to use a polishing kit. I'd start with about a 8000 grit and see how that works.

[MikeMc]

seal it with a coat of future....

You can use Bin or any other sealer but future is a quick easy shot

[samdiego]

Alcohol, I prefer Methanol but even Isopropyl should do the trick. I use just a little on my fingertip which means that no abrasives are involved as long as I've washed my hands recently. Technically, you should wear rubber gloves for the Methanol, I don't because I'm immortal

Edited April 22, 2009 by samdiego

[roadhawg]

When one of my two kids "painted" the younger one with permanant markers, I googled it and found that baby wipes and alcohol are the best things to remove it, although that dry eraser sounds feasable. Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[BigGary]

Tommy, you're pretty smart for a "Certified General Flunkie".

Gary

[george 53]

Gary, You think he was just HANDED that tittle? Heck NO! He had to work HARD for it, and he wears it PROUDLY! (which he should!)

[Guest promodmerc]

Two words.

Denatured Alcohol

[FujimiLover]

I think the stuff called "Goof-Off" work's as well as WD-40? I think I've heard of WD-40 removing permanent ink.

[roadhawg]

Gary, You think he was just HANDED that tittle? Heck NO! He had to work HARD for it, and he wears it PROUDLY! (which he should!)

Trust me, this just didn't happen overnight. It takes YEARS of screw-ups to reach "certified" status! Just ask my ex-wives!

[Chuck Most]

Thanks guys... I guess I'll have to try them all on a different section of the model and see what works best.

Hope I can get something to work- this kit is twenty years older than I am and I think it's tired of waiting to be built up!

[Chuck Most]

Once again guys- thanks for the help!

I managed to get most of the ink off the body, the rest I dealt with using a sealer.

Alcohol and Windex seemed to work equally well- both methods took quite a bit of time, but did the trick. I have no idea how many years this stuff had been on the plastic- I tried the tricks on a "fresher" permanent marker stain and they seemed to work faster.

I did not get the chance to try out the WD-40 or Goof-Off, but rest assured they've been filed away for future use, and I'll be trying those the next time something like this comes up.

Polishing actually seemed the most effective way to remove the stuff. The dry-erase method also worked quite well- somewhere in between the alcohol/Windex and polishing techniques.

I can vouch for any or all of the tips you guys pointed out- again, me and my 47-year-old blobs of plastic thank you.

And, of course, I'll let you know when the thing's finished. I'm building it as sort of a mild custom- all the trim will be intact, but there will be some custom wheels, lowered stance, ect.