I've got what looks like a black ballpoint pen mark on the driver's side of my ivory console (about an inch long), and I can't get it off.

I already tried:

• Goo Gone,
• Mr. Clean,
• Armorall Interior Cleaner
• Blue Coral Interior Cleaner
• 3M Adhesive Remover
• Hide Stick

I even took it to a local detailing shop and they tried some Prep-Sol, which didn't work either.

I seem to recall years ago using something called Afta with a toothbrush on a light grey interior that had a couple of blue ballpoint pen marks.

Any suggestions?

 

I've heard of using rubbing alcohol and also that hairspray works.

 

Hi Long Islander, have you tried asking this question in the detailing section?

There are a selection of detailers with many years of experience there that may be able to answer your question.

 

Be careful with acetone (which may be in hairspray) as it can dissolve some plastics. Isopropyl alcohol works well on alcohol soluble stuff as does methanol. Rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol cut with water. Ethanol may also work but can be harder to come by unless duty paid.

 

Whatever you try, perhaps test on a spot out of view. I have toluline from a paint store...best remover of all things I have ever used...but it will melt plastic really quickly.

 

That's the whole trick. What can I use that will get rid of the ink without damaging the vinyl/plastic console. I might try hair spray. I mean, if you can use it on your hair, how bad could it be on your console?

 

Your head and hair aren't made of petroleum byproducts :-)

That said, much of this stuff evaps very quickly so if it achieves the solvent action you need then gasses off quickly before damage then great.

The toluline makes plastic mushy pretty quickly if you leave it on for very long but it also evaps very very fast.

 

A detailing shop I sometimes go to suggested isopropyl alcohol, which he said was the active ingredient in hair spray. I tried an alcohol prep pad, and it had no effect. I think there's something about the texture of the console vinyl covering that is making it hard for anything to work on it. Perhaps some isopropyl alcohol on a toothbrush might get in there.

 

I have some Wurth all purpose cleaner I got from my detailing shop. It works on everything and is safe for all automotive surfaces.

 

Here's what I found. Hide Stick seems to be the best thing for this. It doesn't work instantly, but after around 10 applications of it left on the stain for 10-12 hours each time, there's a huge difference. The ink mark is now a very faint light blue mark that you have to look for to even see. It's about 95% gone, with no other damage.

Hide Stick is like a very large clear Chap Stick. You rub it on and wait. Then, you rub it off with a white paper towel that's doused with isopropyl alcohol. You need to take single wipes on an unused section of paper towel, not back and forth. I did this each night when I parked the car in my garage, and each morning when I got to the train station parking lot. The daytime applications resulted in very noticeable improvements by end of day. Each evening, the temperature gauge read over 89 degree, so something about the heat seems to have helped. I'm going to use the Hide Stick some more when I'm at home and I can park the car with the console angled toward the sun and the door open. Hopefully, with a few more applications, the ink mark will be completely gone.

I also heard of a product called Leather Master Ink Away, but I was told it would only work if the ink was on for less then 5 days. It might be a good idea to have some around just in case.

 

If it were my car I'd find out the name of the guy your Jag dealer uses to repair/ renew leather seats and get him to work on it. Good leather guy can work wonders.

 

They told me to drop it off all day so they could take it to their body shop (about 10 miles away). I said no way. I later called the body shop and they said they didn't have any expertise in this area.

Anyway, the epilogue is that I got the ink stain out 100%. For added measure, I put some butter on what remained of the stain (about 5% at that point) and parked it in my driveway so that it got direct sun with the door open (a recommendation I read on the internet). That completely eliminated what remained at that point (after about 5 minutes) once I removed the melted butter with alcohol. I was skeptical of this method, but it really worked. And the butter didn't melt and run nearly as fast as I thought it would.

 

Lighter fluid should desolve the ink without harming the surface.

 

Have a close look at Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Mr. Clean - Country Selector.

I've used it to get scuff marks off of the plastic bits around the seat and door sill. If the directions give you any hope, test in an inconspicuous area first.

For my scuff marks, at first I didn't think it was working. But I persisted for several minutes and they eventually lifted off.

 

Glad you got it out. Never heard of the " butter in the sun " solution but what ever works.

 

Butter. Ahh. What about...
?