soaked-in permanent marker?

[suhoni56]

The stain on the left came off, but the one between the buttons is stubborn. I believe this might be soaked-in permanent marker. I've been sanding quite a while to no avail. I suppose I must just keep at it?

[suhoni56]

I'm wondering if it has soaked in so deeply that I might have to dremel it out and patch it?

[JimH]

I googled "How to remove permanent marker from plastic" and got a Wiki article that says to soak the plastic in rubbing alcohol.  You could turn it upside down in a tray of the stuff and see if it works.

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Permanent-Marker-from-Plastics

Jim

[suhoni56]

Thanks. I tried hair spray among other things.

[Kenton K]

If its soft plastic, do not use alcohol. The plastic will melt. You can use naptha, degreaser.

KK

[suhoni56]

I was thinking I had read not to use alcohol, but then I thought I might have read denatured alcohol instead. Not being sure exactly of the difference, I was planning on reading more before I tried it, but I tend to trust you guys. Thanks for the heads up.

I have spent a lot of time reading the threads about repairing plastics, and I must say I am very impressed with the intelligence and knowledge that is here. I am a newbie at phones and restoration, but please be patient with me. I am trainable.

I already know many tricks for removing permanent marker; I was a classroom teacher.

This marker is not on the surface. It goes VERY deep into the plastic. More than just a simple "how to remove permanent marker", I was hoping one of you might have run into the exact same problem, so if you have, I sure would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks!

[Bill]

If you soaked it in peroxide, would the peroxide follow the marker ink into the plastic and bleach it out? Speaking of bleaching, would plain old bleach work? Does bleach hurt plastic? Maybe try a bit on the inside before going big time.

Bill

[TelePlay]

If you soaked it in peroxide, would the peroxide follow the marker ink into the plastic and bleach it out? Speaking of bleaching, would plain old bleach work? Does bleach hurt plastic? Maybe try a bit on the inside before going big time.

Well, on first blush, I would saying using bleach or peroxide would give you a situation where you have two things going on. Both are aggressive and while they may remove the mark, they may also change the color of the plastic around the mark leaving a larger problem. The alcohols and other similar items are solvents and would, in theory, lift the mark, the ink, out rather than chemically changing it. I think bleach and/or peroxide would do more to change the color of the plastic around the mark than to remove the mark itself. Something that does not alter the color of the plastic but "lifts" the mark out of the plastic would be best. What that is, or would be, I have no idea, but I'd stay away from peroxide and bleach for this issue.

[unbeldi]

It is hard from looking at pictures to evaluate this but I would say the plastic has some discoloration going on already.

The amount of damage from the marker really depends on how old it is. Until maybe 15 years ago color markers used to contain xylene or toluene as solvents, today most contain solutions in alcohols.  While cellulose acetate plastics (Tenite) are hardly effected by toluene and xylene, long exposure to alcohols may soften the material.

Contrary to what is said here, ethyl alcohol (the stimulating kind in drinks) or methyl alcohol (in denatured alcohol, causes blindness) do not dissolve these plastics, it takes a fairly long exposure to soften it though.

So, I would attempt to reverse the damage initially with wet sanding using a 1000-grit sandpaper or micro-polish pad. If that is successful, use finer grits to regain high polish, or use Novus 2.

Aqua blue and pink colors are indeed quite susceptible to damage from bleaches, whether clorox or peroxides.  On the other hand, soaking the housing for an hour or so in a 30-50% dilution of clorox bleach isn't going to damage it and might well improve its color.

Before doing any bleaching though, I recommend to thoroughly scrub the outside surfaces with Fantastic kitchen cleaner and not touch the surfaces with bare fingers afterward. Bleaching depends on intimate contact of the bleach with the plastic surface and any amount of oil from finger prints or otherwise inhibits the process and may cause uneven bleaching.

[WEBellSystemChristian]

I have run into a problem like this before, but I never did remove the ink. It was (and still is) on one of my 1958 500s, it was a darker pink 'speckling' that went all the way through the plastic. I tried removing it with 180 grit sandpaper, but it did nothing. I can even see the specking through the other side of the plastic.

[Jim Stettler]

A good way to remove permenant marker from many sufaces is to write over it with a dry erase marker. I haven't tried it on a phone but it may be worth trying.
Jim

[LarryInMichigan]

I would try a chlorine bleach solution.  Many years ago, when I installed an Italian marble tile floor in my foyer, I made the foolish mistake of marking numbers on the bottom of each tile with a felt tip marker so that I would know which to put where.  A few hours after cementing the tiles, I was horrified to see that the small markings on the bottoms of the tiles had bled through the marble and appeared as big, ugly, backwards numbers on the top.  I put a small drop of bleach solution over each mark, and an hour or so later, the ink had disappeared.

Larry

[Sargeguy]

I would try the denatured alcohol first before I tried the bleach

[Slal]

Don't want to intrude or hijack OP, but any ideas for black marker on base?

Photo can be found here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13070.0

Denatured alcohol seems to rub off part of the black paint too, so haven't done anything with it.

thx

--Bruce

[WEBellSystemChristian]

Don't want to intrude or hijack OP, but any ideas for black marker on base?

Photo can be found here:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=13070.0

Denatured alcohol seems to rub off part of the black paint too, so haven't done anything with it.

thx

--Bruce

To be honest, I would leave it as-is. Marks on phone bases don't bother me very much, just how it looks on the outside.