When I was in college I had a simple wooden picnic table my Dad made me that I painted and re-painted a million times due to an irresistible desire to constantly doodle new patterns on the surface of it. I doodled in all of my textbooks and constantly needed pads of paper near a phone to write as I talked. Over the years this compulsive doodling faded but my kids seem to have the same tendencies. At least the boys.
E has a desk in his room he picked up off the side of the road that is COVERED in words and drawings. He also has lines from plays he’s done written on the walls of his bathroom.
And now? Wes writes on EVERYTHING. And while we’re trying to break him of that habit, we have been putting off dealing with the damage in his wake until now.
I finally googled “Removing Sharpie from Wood” and found people had success with rubbing alcohol and with toothpaste. Now, we are fortunate because both of the pieces of furniture Wes wrote on were beat up in their own way, so I didn’t have to fret too much about any damage to the surfaces. However, both pieces of furniture are hand-me-downs from grandfathers and needed to have Wesley’s art removed from them.
I ended up not having easy success with either toothpaste or rubbing alcohol but I had significant success with BOTH. Here are the results.
Now, I’ve tried every trick in the book for drywall and still can’t get a stick figure off the wall of his bedroom. If you have any tips besides hairspray/alcohol/toothpaste/magic eraser for removing Sharpie from walls – I’m all ears.
Hide all the Sharpies? Paint? I am not helpful, but I will admit that I may have been a budding magic marker artist myself in my day…this too shall pass!
I’ve had success with eye makeup remover. I always have Mary Kay on hand, so that is what I use, but you could try a brand you see in the store. It can’t make it worse!
Have you tried nail polish remover? Not the gentle kind, but the stuff with acetone in it? It might take the paint off the wall though.
Believe it or not, I got sharpie off of a child craft wooden table with … hand sanitizer. Not sure if it would work on drywall, but it might be worth a shot.
No tips for ya other than..chalkboard paint. it even comes in white now, I believe!!