HOWTO: Remove a Sharpie marker stain from an LCD
There are some solutions for life's little mishaps which you hope you never need. But when one of these unfortunate situations presents itself, it's nice to know that there is an answer.
It all started yesterday.
My girlfriend wrote me a note. At this point, I can't remember the contents of the note, but the circumstances surrounding the delivery are unforgettable. Ensuring prompt delivery, she put it on my computer keyboard. As I approached the computer, I see the note. I pick it up to read it and my other hand instinctively moves the mouse to wake up the computer. That's when I saw it... exactly in the middle of my pristine 20-inch LCD is a 1" long black streak. Staring at it in disbelief, I try to brush it off with my finger. It doesn't budge. That's when I put the scene together: the note was written with a Sharpie. The same Sharpie she reached for a week ago when I told her "this is for labeling CDs, use a pen for writing."
Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Rather than yell at her and get all worked up about it, I did a bit of googling (BTW, that's an official English word now). The Internet's a big place; lucky for me. I'm not the first person to face this problem. Although, a more common example is the intro: "My 2 year old son got hold of a Sharpie and..."
Like having the hiccups, people will give you all manner of advice. The trick is sorting out the people who are just guessing from the people who know. For all the proposals, I didn't see anyone say they'd tried them. Maybe they just wanted to see someone else try. Cross-referencing the list of what gets out Sharpie stains with a list of what not to use on an LCD, it came down to isopropyl alcohol.
The Solution.
A trip to the local drug store and $1.79 later, I had a bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Grabbing a cotton ball and inverting the bottle to wet it, I was ready to test the theory. Turns out it works amazingly well. It's nearly impossible to tell that there was ever a problem.
The remnant of the mark is now much less noticeable than a Trinitron line. In fact, if you were here looking at my screen now and I didn't tell you where it was, you'd be hard-pressed to find it.
Click the image for a full-size closeup.
Kudos to the Internet which has once again helped a soul in need find that hard-to-find tidbit of knowledge.
It all started yesterday.
My girlfriend wrote me a note. At this point, I can't remember the contents of the note, but the circumstances surrounding the delivery are unforgettable. Ensuring prompt delivery, she put it on my computer keyboard. As I approached the computer, I see the note. I pick it up to read it and my other hand instinctively moves the mouse to wake up the computer. That's when I saw it... exactly in the middle of my pristine 20-inch LCD is a 1" long black streak. Staring at it in disbelief, I try to brush it off with my finger. It doesn't budge. That's when I put the scene together: the note was written with a Sharpie. The same Sharpie she reached for a week ago when I told her "this is for labeling CDs, use a pen for writing."
Needless to say, I wasn't happy. Rather than yell at her and get all worked up about it, I did a bit of googling (BTW, that's an official English word now). The Internet's a big place; lucky for me. I'm not the first person to face this problem. Although, a more common example is the intro: "My 2 year old son got hold of a Sharpie and..."
Like having the hiccups, people will give you all manner of advice. The trick is sorting out the people who are just guessing from the people who know. For all the proposals, I didn't see anyone say they'd tried them. Maybe they just wanted to see someone else try. Cross-referencing the list of what gets out Sharpie stains with a list of what not to use on an LCD, it came down to isopropyl alcohol.
The Solution.
A trip to the local drug store and $1.79 later, I had a bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Grabbing a cotton ball and inverting the bottle to wet it, I was ready to test the theory. Turns out it works amazingly well. It's nearly impossible to tell that there was ever a problem.
The remnant of the mark is now much less noticeable than a Trinitron line. In fact, if you were here looking at my screen now and I didn't tell you where it was, you'd be hard-pressed to find it.
Click the image for a full-size closeup.
Kudos to the Internet which has once again helped a soul in need find that hard-to-find tidbit of knowledge.
posted by The Amigo at 9:18 PM
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1 Comments:
My GOD your a life saver, your advice helped me in sorting my monitor out.
By luck I had a full bottle of Jamaican Bay Rum, Rubbing alcohol which has 50% alcohol in it. Armed with a cotton bud it took the Sharpie marks right out.
HAPPY Days now hiding the dam pen from my 2 year old.
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