When you’re restyling salvaged furniture, believe me – you see your fair share of stains. When I’m painting children’s furniture, the most common stain I see is ink and permanent marker.
Even though ink stains are one of the most difficult to remove, I have to admit – I admire the little ones for testing their artistic abilities. {big smile} If it were socially acceptable for adults to doodle anytime-anywhere, I’d be pack’n a Sharpie!
Here’s a list of 12 products to help remove ink stains from wood furniture.
:: Dawn Dish Detergent
:: Baking Soda
:: Rubbing Alcohol
:: Mean Green
:: Tea Tree Oil
:: Nail Polish Remover
:: Goof Off or Goo Buster
:: Barbasol Shaving Cream
:: Toothpaste
:: Window Cleaner
:: Vinegar
:: Shout Stain Remover
The above products also remove ink stains from hardwood floors and wood cabinets and work on finished and/or unfinished wood.
Just keep in mind, when using ANY product, it’s a good idea to test in an inconspicuous area before going ahead with the entire piece.
Here’s a few other methods to keep your furniture drawers looking super clean.
Removing Stains From The Inside of Drawers
Painting The Inside of Drawers
What do you use to remove ink stains from your wood furniture? Chime in! As always, I love hearing from you!
Catch last week’s Q-T-T here – and if YOU have any ideas or tips you would like to share on the SI Quick-Tip-Tuesday-Series, send me an email!
Enjoy your day and have fun with your next project!
Denise x
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Will magic eraser take off finish on my table while removing ink stain?
Usually not but I would test in an inconspicuous area before tackling the ink on a table top.
My granddaughter got alcohol marker on my maple table top, after reading your tips, I used a magic eraser and it worked fabulously. I tried alcohol before reading but only worked slightly. Thank you so much for saving my table!!
I’m so glad!
Hi there! Would you have any tips on how to remove kids paint? I just bought a nice table cheap, but it has some kids paint on it.
Will this work on inkwell stains? There’s a huge stain from my greatgrandmother. We have stained the intire pine jr roll back desk that 4 generations have used and I’m getting it ready for the 5th. So after sanding the stain remains. Which it does have a lot of character. Also was thinking of painting with a pop of color on the inside only which would cover the large stain
Hi about a year ago I left a pink folder on the wooden kitchen table and some water got on it and there are lots of big ink stains on it. I have scrubbed it but now I just cover it with a table cloth. How can I get this old ink stain out?
I have old ink stains on a 1950’s desk and was wondering if there is a way to get them out?
-Thanks in advance!
thanks admin so much! it’s useful article! now i can remove all ink easy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW5DCxfZ0ZY
Our Housesitter left a wet newspaper on an antique chestnut wood table (😱) and by the time we got back from holidays the ink had soaked right through the old finish. I tried to clean it with a magic eraser and it helped a bit, then I tried the toothpaste trick which damaged the finish even more, then I used a baking soda police which spread the stain so badly that I now have a huge dark grey stain instead. I fear the table is ruined and I am SO angry with myself for not just leaving the stain and hoping it would fade in time. HELP!! Any suggestions gratefully received!!
That was meant to be POULTICE of course!
What about ball point pen on an unfinished table? My daughter wrote her name on one at church and I have no idea what will take it off except sanding it which I don’t think they want us to do.
I used a piece of hot pink paper to (I thought) shield my painted wood coffee table from a fast food drink. Well the pa per left a pink stain in the shape of the cup! I am very upset!! Any idea what would get it out?
I used nail polish remover and it came right off! ?
Thank you so much, nail polish remover worked amazingly well!
Hair spray or aftershave lotion can also remove ink stains. They both contain plenty of alcohol which dissolves ink. I was able to remove permanent marker stains from a wooden furniture using it.
Thanks for the help. Toothpast worked for an ink stain.
Thank you for this article! We are on vacation in a rental house with new furniture. My son drew all over the white painted kitchen table with ball point pen. We are limited on the types of products we have on hand as well as afraid to scratch the finish. We could not get it out! After reading this article along with some of the comments I tried white toothpaste. Magical!! I am so relieved.
So glad Betsy! Now you’ll get your deposit back..lol 😉
I’ve tried all of these and nothing is working. My son took a pen to my coffee table when I wasn’t looking. It has lightened up, but hasn’t gone away. Any ideas?
My daughter drew all over her desk with pen and i tried most of the above. Then i tried hand sanitizer, And it came off like a charm a little bit of hard rubbing with a towel but happy it came off. Just got to try everything.
Hand sanitizer! Thanks for sharing Liz!
I have a white lacquer desk that I got stamp ink on. Help! It is the Jett Desk from z Gallerie
I used nail polish on a sharpie stain and it worked like a charm!!!!You should try it!
I used white toothpaste on a wooden bedside table. The ink from a handwritten note got into the varnish. The stain went by rubbing a small amount of the toothpaste. Magic. Thank you!
My son has stamped our stamps all over our office desk. The red one come off immediately but the blue stamp wont budge. I have tried all of the above. Any ideas
That’s one tough blue ink Jane! You may possibly find some chemical based products online…or is there anyway of covering or masking your son’s artistic endevour.
Magic Eraser works good too.
Thanks Ashley!
Lets face it, kids aren’t the only ones that get ink everywhere. Don’t get me started on fountain pen users!!
I just want to add hairspray to the list of ink removers. It works beautifuly for ink marks on both wood and fabric, but sometimes I wonder what it is doing to my hair
And I want to upgrade your tip about nailpolish remover. There are many formulations of nailpolish
remover…The acetone-free varieties and the “moisturizing” types don’t work well at all. I just use lab-grade acetone. No additives! works great.
Barbasol shaving cream? That’s a new one. I wonder what the story is behind that discovery!
Ohhhh – I love these tips Karen – thank you! And I have no idea what the story behind the Barbasol Shaving cream is but when I watched the youtube vid, it worked really amazing! If I find the video again (just looked for it for the last 10 min with no luck) I’ll post it here. 🙂
Great Pinworthy list! I usually reach for the toxic stuff like Zip Strip…since I usually have it around as I love to strip furniture!
The toxic stuff works great but smells like crazy doesn’t it!? Since my studio/workplace is in my home, I try not to stink up the house. 😉
Magic eraser works awesome. My son had a pink post it that got wet and he left on my hardwood floor. Little scrubbing and it came up and left my finish intact.
Love this…thanks Lacy!
We had a similar issue – an orange paper got wet and sat overnight on our wood table. Huuuge stain. I found this site looking for a solution and magic eraser worked like a charm. Thank you for the tip!!