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Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=17284		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Rvsgtr [ Tue May 20, 2008 4:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
I have the opportunity to get a pretty good guitar for a pretty good deal. It has a few autographs on it, however, that are'nt really gonna help the value at all and for the sake of always having to answer questions about it I would like to get them off of there so I could just have it as an extra to play since I always ending selling everything I've built.

Will wet sanding and touchup do it? Keep in mind I have plenty of finish experience so the retouch doesn't bother me just how to get the darned things off there.

thanks guys for any help.

SR
Author:  SteveCourtright [ Tue May 20, 2008 4:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Try a little alcohol first. That may be all you need.
Author:  wbergman [ Tue May 20, 2008 4:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Are you sure the autographs are not valuable?
Author:  Don Williams [ Tue May 20, 2008 5:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
What kind of autographs? Anyone famous? If so, you might could eBay it and a fan may buy it for more than you paid, providing there's some kind of backup documentation to authenticate the signatures.

If you really insist, Acetone will remove Sharpie ink.
Author:  David Collins [ Tue May 20, 2008 5:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Paint thinner (as in mineral spirits, not lacquer thinner) will take it off without damaging the finish if the alcohol doesn't cut it completely. Depending on how long they've been on there though, you still may end up with shadows from UV exposure.
Author:  Rvsgtr [ Tue May 20, 2008 6:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
It belongs to a friend I met while playing with Barry Scott and Second Wind. It has Barry's autograph, mine (unfortunately...I know I know I'm a nobody but he wanted me to sign the thing way back when) and one other. I can't remember for sure and forgot to ask but it may be Tony Rice. If so I won't mess with them.

I'll try the alcohol. They've been there for a couple of years but the guitar stays in the case so hopefully not too much shadowing.

thanks for all the help.
Author:  Guest [ Tue May 20, 2008 9:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Here's a weird one...dry erase marker rubbed over Sharpie stains will remove them...

My son leaked Sharpie on his mom's laquered desk (don't know exactly what finish, but shiny...); she was furious; I did a Google search, and then took said dry erase marker to it. Miracle...it worked, and the kid was out of the doghouse...and he owes me one!
Author:  Blain [ Tue May 20, 2008 10:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Yep, I've heard the dry erase marker one too.
Author:  JimWomack [ Wed May 21, 2008 8:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Guest wrote:
Here's a weird one...dry erase marker rubbed over Sharpie stains will remove them...

It's because the dry-erase markers use an alcohol-based dilution for the pigment. Years ago my son, who was 3 or 4 at the time, "signed" my old Yairi. I cleaned it up with regular rubbing alcohol... no damage to the finish. Worked less well on a granite countertop he marked up. Seems granite is somewhat porous... go figure.
Author:  Doctor Jeff [ Wed May 21, 2008 9:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
Good luck! I would certainly keep Tony Rice's name on any guitar I bought...

My old neighbor back in North Georgia, Ivan Brown, plays guitar and upright bass. He has gigged with pretty much everyone who passes through that area and has them sign his bass. His bass has more Sharpie ink on it than finish at this point!

Among others, he has played with Brian Setzer and Norman Blake, who now lives in Sulphur Springs not far from where Ivan and I grew up.
Author:  David Collins [ Wed May 21, 2008 11:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
At Northwoods Seminar about 12 years ago I'll never forget Frank Ford demonstrating how to remove marker from lacquer finishes. He asked Bryan for some paint thinner, though of course at that time the only thinner we used in the shop was lacquer thinner. In the chaos of running the seminar, Bryan ran to the paint cabinet and grabbed a can of lacquer thinner for him. A wipe on the finish, a look of shock, quick smell of the rag, "oh my god, this is lacquer thinner!".

After a bit of finish repair, we were sure to clearly differentiate between paint thinner and lacquer thinner from then on. :roll:
Author:  Kirt Myers [ Wed May 21, 2008 1:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Cleaning "Sharpie" autograph off lacquer finish
David Collins wrote:
After a bit of finish repair, we were sure to clearly differentiate between paint thinner and lacquer thinner from then on. :roll:


Yikes!.... but did the mark come out? :D
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