So how do I get Sharpie off a vinylish table cloth?

[Mij]

4yr old didn't understand what a permanent marker is, and has just drawn a noughts and crosses grid on the tablecloth.

Any ideas? Internet suggests alcohol (haven't got any rubbing alcohol in the house),toothpaste, a variety of cleaning products mostly unavailable in the UK.

Anyone? Gutted cos it's unusually pricey for us and the shop I got it from didn't have that colourway when I went in last.

Acetyl alcohol - from the chemists. Vodka. Babywipes sometimes work if they are cheapy ones.

It will not get any worse if you leave it - we left ours two weeks before buying the acetyl alcohol and getting it off. Just takes a bit more scrubbing.

Have you tried toothpaste then? It got sharpie off my wooden table. Took alot of scrubbing with it.

Nail varnish remover may help

I try WD40 on non porous surfaces for getting rid of all kinds of things. DD2 drew a big jolly smiley face in Sharpie on our kitchen cupboard, and it came off with WD40.

Thanks everyone. Problem is it isn't vinyl exactly, more plastic coated fabric so has a tiny weave. Tried my microfibre eraser block, which reduced but didn't remove. Tried toothpaste - made no difference at all.

I am off to see if I still even own any nail varnish remover (although all the products in this house are hippy ones, including the baby wipes, so will probably be bugger all use), but we certainly have WD40. You can see where my priorities lie...

Wait and get some alcohol tomorrow. You will only knacker it if you use the wrong thing.

I'm hearing you WMMC, where's the best place? Chemist?

Yep. Well that's your cheapest place. Should cost you no more than £2.

Have you any vodka or gin in the house? That might work.

Horton, no I don't think so, we're generally not spirits folk, and when I did drink them it was generally whisky. Don't get on with the clear ones.

I worked in a bookshop and when we accidently got biro on the cover we used polish (mr sheen) rubbed in gently you could try that.

hairspray works on some surfaces

Jif got mine down to a dull grey smear, but it's new tablecloth time I think.

I 2nd hairspray!!

Grafitol is a spray that will remove Sharpie from any surface. It is very expensive, but looking at its ingredients - includes ethyl acetate, butoxyethanol, dichloromethane, a combination of nail varnish remover and alcohol should work.

I know this is an old thread but I have the same problem with a marker stain on a coated tablecloth. I cannot find the Acetyl Alcohol that is recommended....not even at the local pharmacy (chemist). I tried Vodka but no luck either. It's a brand new cloth and I am gutted. Any suggestions?

Try isopropyl alcohol, I think
Maplin may sell it for cleaning electrical stuff. IIRC I bought our last bottle from ebay.

this

I tried the isopropyl alcohol but it did not budge it.

Just seen this has new replies! Ours actually just faded over time so I guess UV did the trick. But I think nail varnish remover helped a bit at the time.

Hi all, found this thread after encountering a sharpie on table cloth problem described above. After trying dry erase marker, wd40 and white spirits with no success at all, a nail varnish remover pad with a bit of elbow grease did the trick! Table cloth feels slightly tacky where it was applied, but the marks are gone!