Has anyone been able to remove a fake Sharpie auto from an old card?

[Bigdaddy]

Try panty hose.

I had a 1978 Pedro Borbon that i had sent into a private signing and the wrong card got sent back - one that had wax on the front. Anyway, I tried removing the wax with some panty hose and ended up taking off some of the sharpie signature.

Not sure if it will work in your case as I assume with Pedro, part of the sharpie was on top of the wax and not directly on the card.

Tom

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Try panty hose.

I had a 1978 Pedro Borbon that i had sent into a private signing and the wrong card got sent back - one that had wax on the front. Anyway, I tried removing the wax with some panty hose and ended up taking off some of the sharpie signature.

Not sure if it will work in your case as I assume with Pedro, part of the sharpie was on top of the wax and not directly on the card.

Tom

The wax was the only reason that worked.

[dgo71]

As others have said there's no hope for those vintage cards. If you want to see for yourself, test it out by grabbing a common 80s Topps card, scribble on it in Sharpie and then try to remove the ink.

With older cards that have no glossy surface, the ink actually bonds with the fibers of the card (think of it like getting a stain on clothes that won't come out) and makes it impossible to remove without damaging the card's surface. With glossy cards of today, the ink never actually bonds with the material of the card. The gloss acts as a barrier between the ink and the card itself, so the ink rests on the top so to speak, which makes it very easy to remove with a dab of rubbing alcohol, an eraser or sometimes even just your finger.

[steve B]

I've heard that going over it with a dry erase marker then wiping it off with a paper towel works on some surfaces.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by steve B

I've heard that going over it with a dry erase marker then wiping it off with a paper towel works on some surfaces.

I've never tried or seen it tried on a card but someone showed me this trick on an 8x10 and it worked like magic.

[JollyElm]

I experimented on a blue sharpie-signed 1975 Gary Matthews card that I got TTM last century. The dry erase marker definitely and immediately 'erased' the autograph, but in the end the yellow from that marker has basically taken the place of the original problem ink...so I'm back to where I started. I then soaked the Matthews to see if the new yellow ink could be disappeared, but no dice. Bummer.

If somehow the dry erase marker was see-through colorless, this would work, but alas.

In the end, though, I think there could be something here. The way the dry erase marker activated that very old sharpie signature was really impressive. Not a drop of the ink remained. Perhaps there's a different type of marker that's more water-based and could be quickly wiped away (as long as the card has some of its original gloss)?

Anyone have further ideas?

[steve B]

https://choosemarker.com/how-do-dry-erase-markers-work/


It seems dry erase markers are alcohol based, so it may be possible to erase them with alcohol.

That might also mean that alcohol can erase permanent Markers


It's worth trying.