Best way to remove Sharpie Marks from Proto Box

[seber]

If the ink is not too old, then alcohol should work. But over time it gets tougher. Then go to acetone. No need to use anything else.

 

[dnschmidt]

They are acetone based and not alcohol based. The safe way to remove sharpie on something that's shinny is rubbing compound like 3D One or Menzerna 400. Using acetone will work great but dull the finish unless it's powder coated and not just painted.

 

[dscheidt]

They are acetone based and not alcohol based. The safe way to remove sharpie on something that's shinny is rubbing compound like 3D One or Menzerna 400. Using acetone will work great but dull the finish unless it's powder coated and not just painted.

the sharpie msds I have handy (the result of asking a supplier to send me an MSDS for everything we'd bought from them) lists diacetone alcohol and ethanol. ml experience is that 99% isopropanol will take it off without damage to the finish of whatever it's on, if the sharpie didnt damage the finish already.

 

[Beerhippie]

Based on some of the recommendations here, it apparently requires a media blaster and oxy-acetelyne torch to remove Sharpie marks from paint.

I consider Sharpies to be temporary markers. They last longer and are easier to see than dry-erase, but are super easy to remove with a rag soaked in alcohol. I use 98% ETOH, because that's what we have around a brewery (disinfectant), but 90% iso works just fine.

Now for a hard one, how about twenty-year-old masking tape from a painted surface? Seems anything that removes that dried-up adhesive removes paint just as well.

BTW: When buying used, I'll often get the price knocked way down when they've used Sharpie to mark the price on a painted surface. Just explain that it's almost impossible to remove without destroying the paint and 99% of the time, they just knock the price way down.

So please don't tell these folks that it's actually easy to remove

 

[rust in the eye]

They are acetone based and not alcohol based. The safe way to remove sharpie on something that's shinny is rubbing compound like 3D One or Menzerna 400. Using acetone will work great but dull the finish unless it's powder coated and not just painted.

The ink is not acetone based but is indeed, as stated a bunch of times here already, alchohol based. This is certain.
Acetone, lacquer thinner, carburetor cleaner and brakleen are all very agressive solvents I'd save as a last resort expecting to damage the paint.
If the ink has been on a long time it seeps into the paint, especially if it was already oxidized when written on. Cleaner waxes have worked well for me in the past.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I was gifted a plastic boomerang as a gift when I was about 12. It had a sticker on it I wanted to remove.
I poured a bit of lacquer thinner on it, which immediately caused the plastic to start dissolving. (Think runny sticky orange goo.)
I ran it under water to try to stop it, but the lacquer thinner ate through the plastic deep enough that it distorted the shape of the boomerang and ruined it. Lesson learned.

You can remove most anything from anything with WD40 (as much as I hate the product) or that "Goo-Off" stuff, or Meguiars Cleaner Wax.

No reason to go crazy with acetone, solvents, or blowtorches. Ruins the finish. The Meguiars Cleaner Wax has removed all kinds of gick from various tool boxes I have here (as well as countless other items.)

And especially on anything made of plastic - you don't know what kind of plastic it is (unless you're a chemist) - no way to know how it's going to react until after the fact.

 

[Beerhippie]

The ink is not acetone based but is indeed, as stated a bunch of times here already, alchohol based. This is certain.
Acetone, lacquer thinner, carburetor cleaner and brakleen are all very agressive solvents I'd save as a last resort expecting to damage the paint.
If the ink has been on a long time it seeps into the paint, especially if it was already oxidized when written on. Cleaner waxes have worked well for me in the past.

Wetting a cloth or paper towel with the alcohol of your choice (save the top-shelf stuff for medicinal uses) and letting it sit to soak on the marker will remove even deeply penetrated permanent marker ink. It may cause the old paint to fog just a bit, but a wipe-down with mineral spirits (recommended for any oxidized paint) followed by a good auto wax will bring it right back.

 

[n8n]

If the ink is not too old, then alcohol should work. But over time it gets tougher. Then go to acetone. No need to use anything else.

acetone will soften some paint however. I can tell you for sure it will soften the paint on a Kitchenaid mixer :/

 

[Skiff Builder]

Denatured Alcohol , which I believe is 90% pure Ethanol, has always worked for me without damage to painted surfaces.

 

[bwringer]

Here’s a good order of operations from least destructive to most:

Dawn dish soap and water
Rubbing alcohol
acetone
brakekleen chlorinated kind
brake fluid
acetelyne torch

guarateed to eventually get the ink off. Ink can’t stick if the toolbox is liquid

The sequence approach is handy.

Windex belongs in there, probably after the dish soap and water.

For many surfaces, I'd also put WD-40 down there around the rubbing alcohol. It will leave a light oil residue you might need to remove, so may or may not be appropriate in some situations.

Also, I'd add 99% isopropyl alcohol just after rubbing alcohol, which is 70% isopropyl.

FWIW, brake cleaners contain a large percentage of acetone, and on anything painted, acetone is likely to cause damage. It's generally OK for short durations on powder coat.

 

[bronuc]

What is the best way to remove black sharpie writing from a
red Proto socket box?

Thank You

Methanol has always worked better than acetone or isopropanol for me in terms of removing sharpie cleanly. Never had access to pure ethanol so no experience.