Getting black marker marks off the label?

[Chris L]

Has anyone any experience in getting those black marker marks off a record label? I have no idea why some people went on mad scrawling sprees on their record labels but I have a few and it would to be able to clean them up even a bit.

Any suggestions?

Thanks Chris

[Solidsoul]

5 hours ago, Chris L said:

Has anyone any experience in getting those black marker marks off a record label? I have no idea why some people went on mad scrawling sprees on their record labels but I have a few and it would to be able to clean them up even a bit.

Any suggestions?

Thanks Chris

You could try graffiti remover. It works sometimes, but it can take the colour out of the label or just make a messy smudge! I have had some success with shiney labels like American RCA's

It could be worse, if you had to try and clean one of the rarest records on the Northern scene that has been written on and defaced!

Edited January 21 by Solidsoul

[Happy Feet]

I discovered a method that does remove black marker pen , have used it on a few records and the results are quite impressive . Especially on a shiny label , takes a few attempts on a matt label .

You need to buy from your local stationery shop ( I use Rymans ) a set of White Board Marker Pens , chose the colour as near as possible as the label , and then using the Marker Pen carefully write over the writing on the label , then carefully wipe off using a soft tissue ,it seems to reactivate the ink of the offending writing, crosses etc & it  just wipes off , I don't allow the ink to dry , wiping off before the Marker drys out seems to work best , patience is key .

I would as I did when I first experimented , start on a cheaper record and use a damp tissue or dry and don't use any great force .

It's this type of marker pen , which is designed to wipe off .

Edited January 21 by Happy Feet

[Larsc]

On 21/01/2025 at 21:41, Happy Feet said:

takes a few attempts on a matt label

I tried this on a cheap stax (styrene) 45 and it took the colour off the label. Any special tricks to avoid this?

Probably works better on vinyl I would guess.

Edited February 9 by Larsc

[Happy Feet]

1 minute ago, Larsc said:

I tried this on a cheap stax (styrene) 45 and it took the colour off the label. Any special tricks to avoid this?

Probably works better on vinyl I would guess.

Not good , did the marker pen come off ? Shiny label or matt ? How long was the dry marker pen left on , I don't allow it to dry , remove whilst still wet .

The last one I did was a UK Action copy of Bobby Williams,  reduced in price substantially due to black marker pen , looks like a completely different copy now ,and no label damage or loss of colour .

[Larsc]

On 09/02/2025 at 13:52, Happy Feet said:

Not good , did the marker pen come off ?

Some, but not all.

On 09/02/2025 at 13:52, Happy Feet said:

Shiny label or matt ?

Matt.

On 09/02/2025 at 13:52, Happy Feet said:

remove whilst still wet

Removed while wet.

[Happy Feet]

I can only guess that the felt pen/ black marker that I removed was possibly not a permer marker , and perhaps the length of time the black ink was on the label ?

I'm not a scientist but do like to experiment,  but would never touch a white label say a demo copy for instance .

I can only apologise  but it did work for me , unfortunately I haven't a before & after of the Bobby Williams on Action , that I purchased fron Joe Dunlop , but I forward them to Joe , whose response was it looked like a different record , but it was the same , I will dig it out and post .

Edited Friday at 10:59 by Happy Feet