How to remove permanent marker from whiteboard?

by **youngwill100** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:24 pm

Some twit put a permanent market in my bag and I covered a whiteboard with words before realising it.
How do I remove the writing from the board? Methylated spirits? Some other solvent? Help please, University not impressed!

by **Goodoldkenny** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:44 pm

In Australia we use a spray product that you use to remove stains from clothes before washing called 'Preen'.
I have been told that white spirits (dry cleaning fluid)works too.
Metho sort of works but can leave a mess.

Preen is best.
Kenny

by **violet** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:45 pm

rubbing alcohol (90%), some hand sanitisers, nail polish/varnish remover (a bit whiffy though)

by **NedK** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:49 pm

It can be pretty tough, you often see boards at schools where the writing has been scrubbed until it has faded and is less obtrusive but still not completely gone. And that's with a janitor whose paid to do it and has cleaning supplies.

Try rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, 90%). Don't give up on the first pass though, scrub it down, dry it with a rag, and then keep repeating until it starts to fade out. It may take a while. I'm not sure if a regular sponge soaked in the alcohol or an abrasive type pad would be better - I don't know if something abrasive would leave scratches or not. But I've heard rubbing alcohol will work.

by **Playboy** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:52 pm

Petrol.

by **Hemingway** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:53 pm

My 1st grade students actually taught me a simple way. Take a normal marker. Write over the word written in permanent marker. Now you you should be able to erase it. It does leave a very small trace behind, and not ideal for when you have already written loads, but it's a start.

by **vladimir** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:56 pm

"youngwill100" Help please, University not impressed!

yeah, I can imagine the negative impact, as opposed to such trivialities as 'doctored' results. Give them $1.

by **youngwill100** » Tue May 22, 2012 6:59 pm

Hemingway wrote:My 1st grade students actually taught me a simple way. Take a normal marker. Write over the word written in permanent marker. Now you you should be able to erase it. It does leave a very small trace behind, and not ideal for when you have already written loads, but it's a start.

Wow!! Is that a hot tip or what!
I'm still in the classroom (invigilating an exam) and the whiteboard marker trick works fairly well. I'll follow it up with some of the other suggestions. Or leave it to Admin to sort out!

by **vladimir** » Tue May 22, 2012 7:10 pm

Like PB said, petrol works.

by **Chuangt2u** » Tue May 22, 2012 8:06 pm

Petrol works, but it can denature the surface of the board and it'll stink for weeks.
Best is to write over it with a regular board marker then erase immediately.
Toothpaste is a mild abrasive and used with a little water will remove any remaining ink. Get a solid white toothpaste not a clear gel - the white stuff seems to work a little better - it's also good for those crappy, blue board markers that locals don't erase at the end of the last class on Friday and that become "permanent" after a weekend on a cheap whiteboard.

You can feel the difference between the two types of marker when you're writing - find an old board and try them out together. Remember the difference in feel as it'll probably happen again in future - maybe you won't fill the whole board next time....

by **mookuy** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:06 pm

How to Erase Old Marks off a Dry Erase Board - wikiHow

How to Remove Permanent Marker from a White Board : 6 steps -- wikihow.com

How to remove permanent marker from whiteboard - YouTube - Skip forward to 1:30. "Use a dry eraser."

Hemingway's fantastic tip: How to erase permanent ink from a whiteboard - YouTube

by **horace** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:48 pm

Just buy a new whiteboard, they're not expensive and will save at least an hour or two of sweat and aching muscles.

by **cambod** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:53 pm

I've had that happen in my class too.

No idea what it was, but we tried many random liquids the usually-helpless staff gave us, and something that had no odor made it come off like water paint, almost magically. It might have come from the art room. Went to get it again for the same reason months later and it was gone. Anyone have a clue what odorless liquid could have worked so well?

by **Steve Zodiac** » Wed May 23, 2012 7:50 am

I don't know if you can buy the proper chemicals in Cambodia, but the whiteboard "conditioner" does a much better job than whiteboard "cleaner", just don't use it during a class unless you want a room full of intoxicated pupils.

by **vladimir** » Wed May 23, 2012 7:59 am

Is it cheaper than Mekong? :pissed: