Can you get Sharpie out of fabric?

[AuroraBorealis]

I just found a North Face fleece jacket (I'm pretty sure it is theKhumbu style) for $3 at a thrift store! It looks almost new except it appears that somebody Sharpied over the logo on the front and back. All the inside tags are still attached and intact with no markings, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a clearance item marked in a store to prevent returns.

Why somebody would Sharpie over the logo is beyond me... But I'm willing to bet that is the reason an almost-new, fairly expensive, fleece ended up at Goodwill!

I would like to try to get the Sharpie out. I'm going to wear the fleece regardless but the sharpied-over logo just looks...odd. The fleece is light blue/grey so the black ink stands out. And whomever did it did not stay inside the lines so there is a big black scribble over the logo area! The fleece does have zip-in capabillities so I'll probably end up wearing it under my other North Face jackets but I would like to try to salvage it so I could wear it on it's own.

Any suggestions on how to remove Sharpie (or black marker/ink) from synthetic fabric? It was only three dollars so I'm willing to try almost anything without fear of ruining it further!

Thanks in advance!

 

[simonsmom]

I don't think you can get it out. I f you wash it a bunch of times it will fade though. Good luck!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Try rubbing alcohol. It gets out ink. It might work. Soak a rag with it and see if you can rub it out gently.

 

[cmaee]

My DD grabbed a black sharpie off of my desk and then drew all over our brand new ottoman and couch last spring. I found someone on line said to use hairspray and another said white toothpaste. I used both and it worked. I saturated the stain with hairspray and then scrubbed. That didn't seem to work that well, but then I put the white toothpaste on it and scrubbed that in and I could see the stain start to lift up. I then just rinsed it with water and blotted the stain every so often and it all came out. That was on fresh ink, so I don't know if it will come out of a already laundered object. Good luck!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Oh I wish I had known that years ago. When DD14 was starting kindergarten a friend and I went shopping with our girls (hers was starting first grade). We came back to my house and the kids were playing and I was showing my dh all i had gotten on great deals. Her son who was little at the time went into her purse and got a sharpie and marked my walls and a line down the whole folded pile of new clothes. I was so upset. The clothes were all on really good sales so it was maybe $30 worth of stuff but that was a lot to us at the time (still is, but not like back then!) I scrubbed so much but it was a lovely pile of yard clothes and I scrubbed the walls so much they had to be repainted. Guess what, no offer to repay me. We aren't friends anymore. It wasn't just that, but it didn't help!

Good luck with it, back then Google would have been helpful!!!

 

[maggiew]

I'm a chemist and we use acetone to get out sharpies off of glassware. So I might try nail polish remover - although I don't know the effect that would have on the fabric? You might want to try it on a section of the inside hem or something to see if the nail polish remover does anything to the fabric first.

And, of course, make sure the remover isn't acetone free.

Maggie

 

[wdwmaw]

I just found a North Face fleece jacket (I'm pretty sure it is theKhumbu style) for $3 at a thrift store! It looks almost new except it appears that somebody Sharpied over the logo on the front and back. All the inside tags are still attached and intact with no markings, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't a clearance item marked in a store to prevent returns.

Why somebody would Sharpie over the logo is beyond me... But I'm willing to bet that is the reason an almost-new, fairly expensive, fleece ended up at Goodwill!

I would like to try to get the Sharpie out. I'm going to wear the fleece regardless but the sharpied-over logo just looks...odd. The fleece is light blue/grey so the black ink stands out. And whomever did it did not stay inside the lines so there is a big black scribble over the logo area! The fleece does have zip-in capabillities so I'll probably end up wearing it under my other North Face jackets but I would like to try to salvage it so I could wear it on it's own.

Any suggestions on how to remove Sharpie (or black marker/ink) from synthetic fabric? It was only three dollars so I'm willing to try almost anything without fear of ruining it further!

Thanks in advance!

I have your answer !! My mom works non profit and they get lots of donations from comp. and they mark the items with ink so that the product can not be resold as new.In some cases it is marked as a sample, display, return or misfit.

The way to get the ink out is to take tide (or any liquid detergent) and add oxy clean and make a paste. Apply to mark with a toothbrush let set a bit and wash as normal. no stain and you have a wonderful deal !!

 

[torinsmom]

Rubbing alcohol works on sharpie, but plan to treat/wash, treat/wash a few times. Don't dry it until you are satisfied with the result.

For hard surfaces, the Magic Eraser really works well. We use it to get permanent marker off a white board and the floor.

Marsha

 

[pjlla]

Okay... worst case scenario and the Sharpie does not come out.... find a nice patch to sew over the logo (maybe even a Disney patch??) and hide the Sharpie. But it sounds like you got some good ideas here. Just try them BEFORE you put the jacket in the dryer!..................P

 

[surfgirl]

Ironically, I had the opposite going on... kind of.

Our local football team was in the playoffs. They wanted a shirt to wear to school the next day like everyone else.... I was told the night before. oops? Time to be creative! I printed out the logo on a full sheet of paper, found an old white turtleneck and traced it. It actually came out great! (oh yeah, with Sharpie). Over the last few years, it has faded, but still looks great. Unfortunately, the green bled a little into the white, but the black was color fast. So it may depend on color ?

 

[TheLittleRoo]

You may not care in the least, but I'd bet my last dollar that North Face jacket is a fake, and that's why it ended up at Goodwill with the logos defaced. Chances are someone bought it on ebay, realized it was a fake and the seller wouldn't take it back (or whatever) so rather than destroy it , they marked out the logo to prevent resale by someone finding it at GW. There are a TON of fake North Face on ebay.

This is what a similar online forum does with fake designer jeans before donating them to Goodwill or SA - - which is the basis for my hunch.

 

[MyZoeJane]

You may not care in the least, but I'd bet my last dollar that North Face jacket is a fake, and that's why it ended up at Goodwill with the logos defaced. Chances are someone bought it on ebay, realized it was a fake and the seller wouldn't take it back (or whatever) so rather than destroy it , they marked out the logo to prevent resale by someone finding it at GW. There are a TON of fake North Face on ebay.

This is what a similar online forum does with fake designer jeans before donating them to Goodwill or SA - - which is the basis for my hunch.

This makes a lot more sense to me! At first my head went right to the "donated by the store" thing, but I've never seen them deface the front of the clothing. They would be too interested in preserving the advertising they get from people wearing the brand. They usually just clip or mark the tag inside so it can't be returned.

But if it's a fake, it makes much more sense that the logo would be destroyed!

 

[scrapquitler]

Buy an iron on applique or patch (or make your own if you are a bit crafty) and cover up the ugly sharpie marks!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

call the sharpie company and ask!

 

[lcasa]

My husband accidently drew on a shirt with a dry-erase marker and Murphy's Oil Soap got most of it out! Took a couple of tries. May be similar enough to a sharpie to work.

Found the hint on the net....

 

[AuroraBorealis]

Thanks for all the suggestions! If anything works, I'll post back and let you know!

The thought that it is fake did cross my mind-- the inside tags were not marked or clipped and the jacket does look like it was gently used so I'm pretty sure it was not donated by a store. However, I'm pretty sure it is not a fake; I own several North Face garments (purchased from REI) and I live in an area of the Pacific Northwest where high-end sportswear frequently shows up at Goodwill.

I did do some research on how to spot fakes after I bought it. I compared the stitching, logo, and inside tags to my other North Face garments and the fleece material seems to match the fleece on my Denali jacket. I have seen a fake NF fleece before and the difference in the material was quite noticeable. The color and design match descriptions I've found online. Plus, it has zip-in capabilities and I was able to zip it inside a NF shell-- if it is a fake, it is a dang good one!

Either way, for $3, I don't care!

Thanks again for the suggestions on how to get the ink out!