Cleaning permanent marker off spinnaker cloth

[wetstuff]

Hi Folks,

I have just aquired a second hand spinnaker. The sail number has been written on with permanent marker - do any of you have any suggestions on how to clean this off and be left with a useable sail?

Cheers,

John

 

[Jonny_H]

Very difficult! I acquired a second hand spinnaker from a uni sailing dinghy that had been graffitied with permanent marker. Tried everything to get it off and failed - the ink seems to absorb into the cloth.

You need to be careful not to remove the waterproofing of the material with whatever you use - Fabsil required to recoat it afterwards (this stops the sail sticking to itself when wet).

If its just a sail number I would be tempted to leave it, or stick a new one over the top using self adhesive numbers? If you really want to get rid of it, you could get a sailmaker to gut a new piece in to replace the area where the sailnumbers are (this is commonly done, all sorts of logos and panels can be cut into spinnakers without affecting the performance of them) - but may not be economically viable for you?

Jonny

 

[mikefleetwood]

You could try nail varnish remover. This does shift permanent marker from hard surfaces. I have to admit I'm not sure how well it would work on fabric. Try a small area first to make sure it doesn't damage the sail. Acetone would work too, but probably more agressive in it's pure form, so be careful!

 

[Jonny_H]

Tried Acetone on my aforementioned sail - just served to remove the waterproofing, black marker still there!! Seems that once it has time to soak into the fabric its very hard to remove ... bleach would prob work, but would ruin the sail in the process!

Jonny

 

[mikefleetwood]

Oh well, it was worth a try.

Surely someone must make a "permanent marker remover"? Have a look at RS, they have a lot of specialist cleaning solvents. (sorry I haven't looked yet)

 

[Thistle]

The name says it all - permanent marker - so getting rid of it will be difficult and may interfere with the cloth and any other treatments it has had. So, if you can't get rid of it, how can you go about hiding it? What about dyeing the whole sail the colour of the marker?

 

[geoid96]

Permanent marker or similar is the most common method of adding numbers to dinghy spinnakers because, unlike sewn or glued numbers, they add nothing to the weight or windage and don't change the shape of the sail.

Other than replacing the panel, the only other option is to fill in the gaps between the numbers with more permanent marker, leaving a black rectangle and add new number (if required) above or below.

 

[wetstuff]

Thanks for all of your suggestions so far.

I am planning to try the old white board marker trick (using a white board marker on permanent marker does act as a solvent), but am not convinced that this will get it all off.

Failing that, blocking out the rest of the number with permanent marker seems like the way forward.
As the sail was off a 50 footer dyeing it is out of the question /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers,

John

 

[Jonny_H]

I would black out a rectangle around the sail number, and then put your number on using white sail numbers - would stand out and look smart.

Alternative - you could try putting the self adhesive sail repair tape over the sail numbers to try and hide them. On a 50 footer's kite this wouldn't affect performance too much. This would work better on say a dark coloured kite, and prob wouldn't work on a white one

Jonny

 

[Thistle]

[ QUOTE ]

As the sail was off a 50 footer dyeing it is out of the question /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Nah! Just need a bigger washing machine ... off to the launderette with you! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[mikefleetwood]

You could try this product from RS - "specialist cleaning wipes" 325-2030 @ £11.94 for a tub of 150 wipes.

[ QUOTE ]
A wipe impregnated with cleaners designed to remove indelible marker, layout ink, flourescent dye, ink jet printing, paint overspray and graffiti from metals, glass and perspex.

[/ QUOTE ]

They don't seem to supply it in liquid form, but a visit to the manufacturer website might help - Google for "Mykal Industries Limited".

I hope this helps.