Grand Daughter's Art Removal

Sorry, no answers here, but a bump is a bump. Also, you may have better luck if this was a forum question. And the word “help” in the title has worked for me in the past. Have you tried “Goof Off”, or Xylene?

-- Wish I were Norm's Nephew

I don’t know if this will work on spar urethane, but when people use permanent marker on dry erase boards, (I travel for my job and see that more than you would think) I get it off by marking over top of the existing marks with a dry erase marker, then quickly wiping off. The solvent takes a second or two to evaporate and returns the permanent marker to the original state when it left the marker. You can mark over a small area at a time then wipe off, but not the whole top it dries too quickly.

-- I always knew gun nuts where afraid of something, just never thought popcorn was on the list.

You might also try denatured alcohol. It removes permanent marker. It shouldn’t affect the poly, but try it in a test spot first. If the marker hasn’t worked itself into the poly, it will wipe right off. Should make it easier to fix any spots where it doesn’t come off the finish. I make a lot of stuff for family and friends with kids, so I’ve been through this before.

-- Tom Finnigan - Measures? We don't need no stinking measures! - Hmm, maybe thats why my project pieces don't fit.

Get a can (not bottle) of original Coke. Pour a little bit on let set for 1 or 2 minutes, wipe off and rinse. I observed someone do this before at a workshop a couple years ago. I do not know what the what finish was. But the it worked just fine.

Good luck

-- Norman - I never never make a mistake, I just change the design.

I use sharpies for labeling glassware in the lab and remove it after washing the glassware. I can tell you that alcohol won’t remove black sharpie but it will remove blue or red. To remove black you need acetone. It’s available in the paint section of any Home Depot or Lowes. Put it on a rag and rub the marks off. If you use a light touch I think you may get away with it without damage to the polyurethane. If it does fog the existing finish I think you’d be able to apply one more finish coat on top of it to clear it up.

-- Bob Anderton - Austin, TX - Nova 3000 lathe, Alaskan Mark III mill, Husqavarna Saw

Speaking of acetone, the wife’s fingernail polish remover is acetone.

-- Dean -- "Don't give up the ship -- fight her 'till she sinks!" Capt James Lawrence USN

Funny follow-up. Just 2 weeks after the conversation above my 3 year old daughter scribbled all over our kitchen table with magic marker, and water wasn’t removing it. I had refinished this table with polyurethane a couple of years ago. This wasn’t sharpie in this case, but acetone on a paper towel took it off fine. Doesn’t seem to have harmed the finish.

-- Bob Anderton - Austin, TX - Nova 3000 lathe, Alaskan Mark III mill, Husqavarna Saw

I had refinished this table with polyurethane a couple of years ago. This wasn t sharpie in this case, but acetone on a paper towel took it off fine. Doesn t seem to have harmed the finish.

- BobAnderton

That’s one of the things about polyurethane—it’s just about bullet proof!

-- Dean -- "Don't give up the ship -- fight her 'till she sinks!" Capt James Lawrence USN