Help! White tack has left grey marks on wall…

[SydneyPear]

DD sent me a video of the grey marks left by white tack after she removed a poster from her wall. How can we remove these marks, please? She’s in student halls and I definitely want to avoid a big fine at the end of the year. I thought white tack would be safe!

Bump (hopeful)

I can’t help you, but am looking for an answer too.

DD moved out 4 years ago and they are everywhere - even on the ceiling!
Her room has become the ‘dumping ground’ and isn’t used. She has kept saying she will sort but never has!

If comes up with a solution I am happy to try out tomorrow, as I can’t make things worse!

i was thinking of Zinsser paint - but that will mean whole room needs painting after anyway.

If anyone comes up with a solution I meant to say.

One thing I read was a damp magic eraser - maybe you could try that? And please let me know if it works!! 😄

I’ve got some I never thought to try that.

Careful with the magic erasers, they’re just really fine sandpaper so worth trying on a small area first. Can she not just get a tester pot of white/magnolia emulsion and touch it up?

edit to add the dulux testers have an in built sponge roller so she wouldn’t need to buy a brush if she can get the right colour.

It looks like grease/oil so im going to suggest white vineger + water and a non-scratch scrubber.

Ok so magic eraser didn’t work it got the blobs off mostly, - but that might also be the paint as it is matt. So might work ok on a more shiny paint which they would probably use in halls.

Off to try the white vinegar suggestion now!

The white stuff is much greasier IME than the proper blue stuff so I never buy it.

You do need to be careful even with blutak on freshly painted surfaces though.

Because it's a greasy mark, painting over it won't work, the paint will crack. You could do magic eraser and then paint over this. Or scrub with scrubbing brush and some kind of anti-grease cleaner and then paint over if this takes the paint off.

I'm a student landlord so get this a lot!

I use Zinsser spray stain blocker and then paint over. The grease will come through if you just use normal emulsion without the stain block.

Following this thread with interest though as I'd love to find a way to just clean it off without having to repaint.

I just tried neat white vinegar as don’t have anything to lose. With a (sort of) microfibre cloth - that was better. Can’t see much now, if at all but light is fading, and light in room is rubbish.

It was blutack though and now @BertieBotts has said white is worse.

I think it would hopefully disguise enough though, as vinegar is good for grease.

Damn! I thought white tack would be ok. More fool me.
The white vinegar sounds hopeful, though??

Following.. we have the same issue in a halls room!

I don’t understand why white tac exists, it’s so bad. I bought it once and has to use fine sandpaper and then paint over.

You could try dabbing some diluted shampoo for greasy hair on it. The cheap stuff is the best.

How’s it looking today, Fatfoot?

DH has found some ‘stuff’ on Amazon that apparently can help…I’ll report back in a week or so!

The problem is I have no idea what shade of paint it is and I don’t want to use the wrong shade and make it even worse!

You could try rubbing the stain with stale white bread. My grandmother used to swear by it for removing minor greasy marks.

https://share.google/54r5Z5V9VgJK9T4Mw

Haven't tried it myself but worth a try?
Chewing gum remover is same as Sticky Stuff Remover I think.
Also, the paint colour looks like bog standard Magnolia, you could buy a tester pot and hope for the best.
Good luck!

You could try painting it with a tester pot that looks a good match and then 'buffing' the edges of the wet paint patch so that it blends in better. I did this loads when I lived in military accommodation and had to leave it march-out ready.

Just coming back to say it’s still noticeable unfortunately.

You can’t that’s why they are told not to use it, they will either need to pay the fine or touch it up with paint.

I got it off a wooden, painted wardrobe with sticky stuff remover. White tac is horrible, it had melted into a sort of smeared candle wax effect.