How to Remove Gold Paint Pen from a Glossy Photo

[canjond]

Question for the board...

I have an 8*10 glossy photograph that was signed in Gold paint marker. The photo is quite rare, so when one came up for sale, I jumped on it. Problem is, it was personalized... And not to me! Taking a risk, I decided to try to remove th personalization with acetone. It worked wonderfully, taking t all off without any damage to the photo. However, the original personalization left a bit "shadow effect" in places. In other words, some of the original personalization can be seen when tipping the photograph into the light - not as an imprint from depressing the marker, but as a bit of residue left over.

Has anyone had luck removing this before? If so, how? Looking straight on to the photo, you would never see the residue - but if its able to be removed, I'd like too.

[thecatspajamas]

Are you sure it's residue, and not that the glossy surface of the photo is etched from the paint pen?

[canjond]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

Are you sure it's residue, and not that the glossy surface of the photo is etched from the paint pen?

Lance-

Most def residue. Very light, but def residue.

- Jon

[thecatspajamas]

I haven't tried it yet, but the method & product mentioned here is said to be able to remove paint from the surface of photos without damaging them, and I imagine would therefore work for paint "residue" as well:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showpos...3&postcount=17

[canjond]

Thx! I'll pick some up and let you know how it works.

[Sean1125]

Did you use lab grade anhydrous acetone or acetone from home depot?

even 1-3% water in the acetone means there is water and it could damage the photo and leave unnecessary blotches. Anhydrous is "lab" grade at ".5%" it's technically zero but it's so small they have to label it as having "some"

[canjond]

Originally Posted by canjond

Thx! I'll pick some up and let you know how it works.

Stopped up an purchased the product, the cloths and gloves today from Adorama. Unfortunately the product worked about the same as acetone. So, didn't harm the photo at all, but didn't remove the residue. I brought the photo with me to Adorama, and they agreed it was some sort of residue (i.e., marker staining, so to speak). I'll update the board if I figure out something that works.

[Paulanthony]

Originally Posted by thecatspajamas

I haven't tried it yet, but the method & product mentioned here is said to be able to remove paint from the surface of photos without damaging them, and I imagine would therefore work for paint "residue" as well:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showpos...3&postcount=17

I also have several 8x10 glossy photographs that are personally signed in Gold and Black Sharpie. I opened up the links you provided and read all the information. I decided To purchase Pec-12. Total cost was $18.95. The product was easy to use and the results can only be described as FANTASTIC. All the pictures maintained the High Gloss and do not show any visible signs of ink removal. I would suggest using an eye dropper when applying the product. I was able to control the flow of the liquid without fear of damaging the original signature. Thanks for the information.