How to Remove Paint Marker?
Yes, You Can Do It, Find Here How
Paint markers are a great way to express your creativity. This painting tool can be used for drawing patterns and all sorts of decor on various surfaces, often on clothes and textiles. However, like any artistic tool, paint markers should be used with care!
If you set a blot and don’t notice it, chances are that later you will waste a lot of time and effort (as well as money and your nerves) on getting rid of that colorful mark!
This is why today we are going to tell you more about how to remove paint marker traces from different surfaces that they can typically end up on. You will find out how to remove paint marker traces from fabric, skin, leather, walls and floors.
Also, we will explain how to clean those colored marks from your car if they somehow ended on it.
Finally, you are going to find out what cleaning products are the best for getting rid of those artistic mishaps effectively and quickly.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Different Surfaces?
If you are an artistic person or if you have kids, you know very well how difficult it is to clean up after you spill some paint or after your kiddo decides to experiment and test your walls’ durability by drawing on them!
And with some types of artistic tools, it can be quite complicated to get rid of their traces on different surfaces.
With the paint markers, this is exactly the issue. See, if you accidentally write with a paint marker on a surface that tends to absorb its ink well, you might find it rather challenging to get rid of that mark later!
Paint marker spots are one of the toughest stains you will ever encounter. Without detailed knowledge on how to remove paint markers from different types of surfaces and how their ink works, you might be spending forever removing just one speck of stain.
Fortunately, dealing with this type of stains is basically not very hard. To cope with them, you will just need a few simple house objects and a bit of patience.
Usually those are the protective gloves, a soft towel, a sponge or an old toothbrush, and some paint thinner or nail polish. However, you need to keep in mind that every surface in your home comes with different needs.
This is why you can’t apply the same cleaning product on wood, tiles, leather, and fabric, for example.
If you do so, it is very likely that you can damage the surface easily by treating it with the wrong product!
This is why the common rule of thumb for cleaning paint marker traces off sounds like this: before you start removing every stain on the wall, gather these things first so you will focus solely on eliminating marks.
- Paper towel
- Washcloth
In addition, make sure that you have each specific home remedy at hand.
- Vegetable oil for countertops and kitchen cabinets
- Aerosol hairspray for clothing
- Baking soda for chair cushions
- Lemon with essential oil for walls
- Vinegar for leather
- Makeup wipes or alcohol for your skin
- Nail polish solution or remover for carpets
- Alcohol-based marker for whiteboards
- Hand sanitizer for plastics
However, if the stain you are going to deal with is a bit stubborn and it won’t disappear just because you want it to, you can make use of the following helpful remedies:
- Denatured alcohol
- Paint thinner
Also, for those of you who have a bit of spare cash in your pocket to spend, we can suggest checking out the product that removes paint marker stains on almost all surfaces: the EZ Strip All Purpose Remover.
The general cleaning scheme looks like this:
- You wipe the paint marker ink with a cloth dampened with the cleaning liquid (alcohol, nail polish remover, paint thinner, etc.)
- Brush the remaining ink trace if needed
- Remove the cleaning product residue
And now, let us explain in detail how paint marker spots should be dealt with depending on what type of surface they ended up on.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Plastic?
Removing the paint marker writings on your Tupperware and other surfaces has never been easier than with a hand sanitizer.
A tiny squirt of this liquid will effectively remove any paint marker stains.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Leather?
To free your leather items from paint marker marks, apply distilled vinegar and let it sit on the affected area for a few minutes to allow a more effective penetration.
Distilled vinegar will cope with the problem effectively without harming such a delicate material as leather.
There might be a slight vinegar scent left on the surface after the cleaning of course, but if you air the room properly, it will disappear pretty fast.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Clothes?
Parents know very well that cleaning clothes from any painting tools traces has never been easy!
However, it does not mean that it is impossible. To get rid of the paint marker marks on your clothes, all you need to do is to dab a bit of hairspray with alcohol in your cloth.
It helps loosen the stain bonds and break them down aggressively compared to a typical laundry detergent. However, in order to make the remedy work as it should, you have to keep the solution in the stained cloth for a few minutes!
Otherwise, there will be no effect or the effect will be very poor.
In case you need to get rid of the paint marker stains on your sofa and chair pillows, you can solve it by sprinkling a generous amount of regular baking soda on the affected area.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Your Floor Carpet?
Even though cleaning a carpet seems like a tedious chore, removing a paint marker stain is surprisingly easy with the help of a nail polish solution. Simply dampen a clean cloth with this liquid and blot the affected area.
If the mark is massive or stubborn, you can try and apply the solution right to it and let it sit for a few minutes. Then wash it away.
How to Remove Paint Marker From Walls?
Even though it might seem to you that cleaning your walls from the paint marker “masterpieces” is difficult, in fact, it is not quite so.
Paint marker stains on the wall are pretty easy to remove, you just need to make use of lemon or a lemon essential oil.
The lemon’s pH level or acidity, together with oil, works as a strong duet to remove marker stains on painted walls.
It softly coaxes the mark without damaging the walls’ paint. In addition, you will also get the fresh citrus scent as a bonus!
Laminated Surfaces
It takes quite a lot of dedication and patience to remove paint marker stains from laminated surfaces, such as countertops, without causing damage to the delicate finish or causing a cloudy deposit in the end.
To ensure you end up with a harmless finish with no cloudy residue, just check out your kitchen pantry and get some vegetable oil to dampen the towel. It will cope with the paint marker stains easily.
After you treat the stained area with one of the mentioned solutions, the next step is to remove the ink actually. This can be done in two different ways:
- Blotting the mark with a paper towel
- Scrubbing it off with a toothbrush
We would say, blot the stain if it is not much stubborn and can easily be removed. However, never wipe it away! If you do so, you will smear the ink making it get deeper into the surface rather than remove it.
But if the stain cannot be blotted away, grab an old toothbrush and work on the stain with the help of some baking soda for better abrasion. By the way, for stubborn or old stains, feel free to use stronger cleaning remedies, for example, denatured alcohol.
Finally, the last step is to remove the cleaning product residue.
So, as you can see, dealing with the traces left by the paint marker is pretty easy. Of course, the sooner you notice the stain the simpler it will be to remove it. Old marks that have dried long ago usually take way more time and effort to get rid of them.
And of course, if you have to deal with the old paint marker traces on fabrics, frequent cleaning may damage the material.
But if you are cautious and attentive, and if you do your best to spot the paint marker traces relatively quickly, you can be sure that all the remedies and cleaning methods we have listed here will help you to cope with the issue easily.
How to Clean Paint Marker Marks From Your Skin Safely?
Getting stains on our skin is not something unusual, especially when we are doing creative stuff using paint or paint markers.
So if you ended up with some ink marks on your skin, for this one, you can use makeup remover wipes to eliminate the paint marker traces on your skin.
Rubbing alcohol is also effective, but we would not recommend it for those of you, people, who have sensitive skin simply because this product may cause irritation!
Best Products to Use When Cleaning Paint Marker Stains Off
If you don’t work with creative and artistic tools like paints, crayons, and paint markers often enough, you might be wondering what cleaning products it is better to make use of in order to clean the stains left by those on different surfaces.
Well, the cleaning solutions may vary indeed. It depends on what type of surface you need to remove the paint marker stains from. For example, you can’t use the same liquid on leather, glass, metal and, let’s say, your own skin!
However, being aware of at least the most common options is always handy. So grab the “first aid” list of cleaning remedies that can help you get rid of the paint marker flaws.
- Baking soda
- Nail polish remover
- Denatured alcohol
- Paint thinner
- Vegetable oil
- Vinegar
- Alcohol
- Lemon
- Hairspray
- Makeup wipes
Like that, you will know what options you can choose from in case you need to clean yourself or your stuff from paint marker traces.
How to Clean Paint Marker With All-In-One Product?
If you don’t feel like wasting time on cleaning that includes several steps, you can deal with the paint marker stains with the help of an all-in-one cleaning solution. For example, EZ Strip All Purpose Remover.
Apply the product to the stain and let it sit for a while. Afterward, you can wipe it off with a towel and warm water.
We recommend you wipe it with circular motions and do it not very vigorously in order not to get the ink deeper into the surface.
Also, it could be a good idea to change the cloth while wiping. It will help you to avoid returning the marker’s ink back to the surface.
How to Get Paint Marker Stains From a Car?
If you somehow got paint marker stains on your vehicle, you need to act quickly to get rid of them while they are still fresh.
If you miss the chance, you will have to spend way more time and effort on that later!
Fortunately, reanimating your car is pretty simple:
- Wet a melamine foam pad and wring out the extra water.
- Scrub the paint pen stain with the Magic Eraser or Easy Erasing Pad.
- Apply rubbing alcohol to a soft cotton cloth and rub the paint pen stain with a circular motion.
- Wash the area with some water and assess the stain
Now that you know how to deal with the paint marker stains on different surfaces, even something as uncommon as your car’s, we are sure that you will easily cope with this issue even if the mark is pretty old and dried already.
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Get paint samplesFrequently Asked Questions
⭐Is a sharpie marker and a paint marker the same thing?
No, they are not the same. Paint markers have liquid ink inside while sharpie markers contain non-liquid marker rod inside that's soaked with ink.
⭐Can a sharpie marker be cleaned off the skin?
Of course it can! But make sure that you clean it off as soon as possible. If it gets dry, removing it might take more time.
⭐Can I draw with the paint marker on clothes?
Yes, you can do that. But the marker should be the one specially designed for the fabric application.
Hi! Could you please explain how to remove paint marker from chalkboard? I was making an outdoor menu board for our restaurant, but now we need another one and I don’t know how to clean the chalkboard to erase the old text!
Well, I guess you can try soapy water first to wash the marker off. Just wipe off the marker with plain dish soap and water, using a paper towel. That should remove most of the ink. If it doesn’t work, try glass cleaner. If you are still not happy with the result, I’d recommend you try a magic eraser.
Hey everyone! Do you guys know how to remove paint marker from metal surfaces?
Hello there! Well, I heard that Oxi-Clean works well for this purpose. Spray the surface with Oxi-Clean and allow to rest for 2 minutes. Then dampen a pad of paper towels to rub the stained surface. Let air dry and enjoy the clean surface!
Hello. Could you please explain how to remove old paint marker from wood? The stain is not big, it’s just a few small marks left after I was drawing. I guess the paper was too thin and marker ink got through it and stained the wooden table.
Hello! Use rubbing alcohol for this kind of stain. Saturate a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and blot the marks on your table. Remember to rinse with water after you finish cleaning! If needed, you can repeat the whole process.
Could you please explain how to remove paint marker from clothes if the stain is pretty old? The item is a cotton t-shirt. Thanks!
Well, I guess you need rubbing alcohol. It’s one of the most effective ways to get dried permanent marker stains out of clothes I know. You need to place the stained area of your t-shirt on a paper towel, dip a clean cloth/sponge in rubbing alcohol and gently apply it to the stain. Dab around the stain first, then directly on it. This should remove the stain. If needed, repeat the whole process.
Does anyone know how much timeit takes removing paint marker from plastic? My nephew drew doodles on my sport bottle while he was visiting, but I have my gym training tomorrow! Will I remove that “art” by tomorrow?
Hi! I guess you will manage! As far as I can understand, the doodles are fresh enough (I mean, it’s not that he drew them last month!). So it should be fairly easy to wash them off. If the material of your bottle allows, try stronger cleaning agents to remove the marker faster.
How would you get permanent paint marker off a gym floor that is polyurethane covered wood? I was thinking magic erase, or acetone. The stain is a foot large and one day old.
How do you remove paint pen from plastic? I was painting on a plastic table and now it’s all covered in paint splatters.
For stubborn or old paint spills on plastic, I’d recommend you use isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). You can buy it pretty much anywhere, and it’s rather cheap. Rubbing alcohol will help you remove paint without melting the plastic, unlike harsh paint thinners!
I need your help folks! Tell me please what removes permanent paint markers?
I typically use either acetone or rubbing alcohol depending on what I have at hand right now. But if the marker is water-based, you could try washing it off with soapy water. If the mark is old, then it might be useful to treat it with acetone.
I bought a box of paintmarkers for my younger sister as a B-Day present but now I wonder whether they can come off…She likes painting and drawing anywhere! Do paint markers come off? Does anyone know?
Typically they don’t come off. Once the paint dries after application, it becomes permanent and durable. You can only remove it with something strong like rubbing alcohol, but you won’t just wash it off!
How do you remove dry paint marker? I’ve recently noticed a few marks on a kitchen wall (perhaps my nephew got very creative during their last visit!).
I guess you can try acetone. Apply a small amount of it to a cotton ball or pad and lightly dab the painted surface to dissolve the paint marking. Also, you can use isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol. Both are equally effective in removing small amounts of dry oil and latex paint.
Is it possible to wash the paint marker off tiles? And what product can be used on tiles? Thanks a lot in advance!
I used acetone or nail polish remover (don’t remember exactly). But in my case, the stain was small and quite fresh.
Hi! My kid has painted with a paint marker on faux leather. Do you think I can clean that off with vinegar?
Hello. I guess you can. A friend of mine told me once that she cleaned her faux leather sofa with vinegar to remove the paint marks and it worked well.