Marker Pen

scrappysphinx

Confused retro man
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Hi all, this one is aimed directly at Merlin (being the science/chemical guy he is) but if you can offer any advice please feel free.

I bought my daughters some Lalaloopsy dolls for their birthday and they weren't cheap! In their infinite wisdom they decided to give them tattoo's with marker (felt-tip) pens. I have tried using warm soapy water, baby wipes, nail polish remover, IPA and nothing seems to be shifting it. Short of trying to colour match and repaint is there anything else i can try to remove the ink?

Thanks
 
OK, a couple of questions Mike.

1. Is it permanent marker?
2. What are the dolls made of (rigid plastic, flexible plastic, ceramic, fabric, etc.?
3. What effect did nail varnish remover (mainly ethyl acetate) have on the dolls?
 
Hi Dave,

1 - The pens are just standard colouring pens (same as these).

2 - The dolls body is a rigid plastic, the head, arms, hands, legs and feet are a thick rubbery texture.

3 - The Nail Varnish remover left a very faint colour stain on the tissue i was using but doesn't appear to have made any difference on the doll. Does this mean i'm just not working hard enough at it?
 
White spirit might do it but check with the guru first in case it can damage the plastic.

I've used white spirit to clean marker pen and other marks off Amiga cases and it worked great.
 
No Mike, you've done OK so far. It means that the ink in the pens is a multi-component mixture and may need a multi-component treatment.

An example is ballpoint pen ink. This contains a glycol as part of the ink base and to remove it properly, you need Isopropanol or Methylated Spirits mixed with some Glycerine or Glycol Anti-freeze. The alcohol does the heavy lifting and the Glycerine or Glycol pulls out the remaining heavier stuff that doesn't dissolve fully in alcohol. Car de-icer fluid is ideal for taking out ballpoint pen ink marks.

Do the pens smell of 'vinegar'. i.e. acetic acid?
 
Ok, the wife has had a sniff and she says it doesn't appear to actually have any smell at all. I can't smell it myself as i currently have a stuffy nose :LOL:

Now testing on an inconspicuos area of the doll she's just drawn a small dot and it wiped straight off with just some dry tissue but can still be seen very faintly so i assume this pen has been on there for a little while and they just haven't told me (they're kept in their rooms as they take them to bed with them).

Lastly, she's drawn on her hand and she says its very difficult to remove from there too (faintly visible again).
 
OK, so we aren't looking at dyes that need acid solutions. Can you make up a small solution of common table salt and dry dabbing that on the mark? I want to see if it the ink is water based and if chloride ions have any effect on the dyes.

Luckily I work in the colour industry now, so I can draw on the experience of the colour chemists at work if needs be.
 
OK, so I can probably rule out some of the acid dyestuffs. Don't despair, let me talk to the chemists at work in the morning.
 
I use a product called "Big Wipes". You can buy them from builders Merchants, go for the one with the red top.

I use them to get marks off the leather suite, remove paint, glue, mastic from my hands.
 
I am hoping that these are Solvent Dyes and that a solvent such as D'Limonene (Orange Terpenes) will remove the remainder. I want to check with the colour chemists at work before I suggest anything further to try.
 
Try WD40, its worked wonders on dvd cases ion the past with both permanent marker and glue etc on them.
 
From a brief chat with the chemists here, they suggest the following.

1. Alcohol hand sanitising gel
2. Car de-icer fluid / anti-freeze

The dyes used in felt tip pens are almost all soluble in alcohols and/or glycols, so de-icer is the favourite with anti-freeze a close second.

De-Icer contains alcohol and glycol, anti-freeze is just a glycol mixture.

They suggest the alcohol hand gel as it would remain on the surface for a few minutes longer as a 'blob' of gel as opposed to a wipe over with liquid alcohol. The dye may have penetrated the plastic surface slightly and you need something that will 'leach' it out.

As Fitzsteve says, White Spirits may also work, as the aromatic content makes it good as a solvent. The downside is that it stinks and takes a fair old time for the heavier fractions to evaporate off.
 
Cellulose paint thinners is a fairly vicious solvent. Might be harmful to the plastic too but it's so volatile that a quick wipe with thinners on a rag might take off the ink and evaporate before eating any plastic. I don't think you can get it posted but Halfords or something might sell small tins or car body shops or paint dealers will have it.

'Course, you could always leave it on as a lesson for your daughters about tattoos.:roll:
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll grab a few of the suggested items this weekend and see what happens.
 
At least de-icer and anti-freeze are plentiful at the moment! :LOL:
 
One word. Toothpaste. Leave it on for 5 mins or so then rub hard with something absorbant like a tissue.

If that doesn't work it should at least lift it a bit as it's a mild abrasive, scratching it off with a finger nail may work. It works wonders on CDs and other plastics.
 
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