Removing Sharpie from a pickguard

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:36 pm

Hey guys. I just got a used Ibanez Black Eagle. The guy I got it from decided the pickguard looked too "pimp" and colored all the inlays and the clear back part with a freaking black Sharpie... I looked up ways to remove it and it seems easy but I don't know if any of the methods will screw up the guard.

Anyone got any suggestions?

I also need to get a new sheet of pearl cuz he tossed it...

George · Post by **George** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:41 pm

White spirit/acetone, and if that doesn't work maybe a very fine wire wool like 0000 possibly?

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:51 pm

I've used upvc solvent cleaner in the past. It's the stuff we use when fitting double glazed windows, it removes glue, marker pen and dried expanding foam.
Not sure if you have something similar in the US.

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:53 pm

I was gonna try the acetone do that works. I just wasn't sure if anything would ruin it. I'll take the chance on it.

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:33 pm

When IDIOTS write on our whiteboards at work with permanent pens (cleu: this happens all the time), we write over it with drywipe pen, then rub it out. I don't know why it works, but it works.

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:50 pm

benecol wrote:When IDIOTS write on our whiteboards at work with permanent pens (cleu: this happens all the time), we write over it with drywipe pen, then rub it out. I don't know why it works, but it works.

Yep!

No cure for same idiots using a drywipe pen to write on a paper though, immediately emptying it.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:40 am

Acetone can damage plastics. I usually use isopropyl alcohol to take sharpie off plastics. It might not get it all off but it usually gets most of it off and doesn't hurt anything.

In other words pour beer on it

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 2:48 am

I'll try the alcohol then. Definitely don't wanna damage the pickguard...

Ankhanu · Post by **Ankhanu** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:16 am

Yeah, I clean Sharpie off plastic all the time with ethanol; isopropyl works just as well.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:59 am

Glad this got to you in time then, I can't imagine it's easy to buy a replacement for those basses, even a reissue. In my experience even a slight too-long exposure to acetone can mess up the sheen or surface of the plastic.

Thinking about what I said about alcohol getting MOST of the sharpie off, I'm usually using the alcohol to clean old video game cartridges, which are textured. A smooth pickguard should have all its surface area exposed and clean easily with alcohol. Let us know how it works out.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 5:28 pm

benecol wrote:When IDIOTS write on our whiteboards at work with permanent pens (cleu: this happens all the time), we write over it with drywipe pen, then rub it out. I don't know why it works, but it works.

A bit like getting rid of red wine stains using white wine, maybe (a waste of good booze if you ask me)?

Acetone will do the trick all right, but it's pretty hardcore stuff - alcohol might work better without dissolving the plastic that the ink's written on. That's what I found out from my "analytical chemistry lab gopher" days, where I tried to wipe off some permanent marker with acetone and took the top layer of the cardboard off.

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:03 pm

Well... Looks like I'm just gonna have to live with the colored in scroll work on the face of the pickguard. I started using cotton balls damp with alcohol and the black top layer of the pickguard started to melt... Not sure what the hell it's made of but it's not regular pickguard material.

Luckily the eagle itself was just covered up with black duct tape on the back so I fixed that no problem. I dunno if I'll spring for some pearloid or just use some white paper. Whatevs. Ha

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:52 pm

Acetone and even strong isopropyl alcohol can damage many plastics and finishes (though pickguards aren't typically made from stuff that will easily melt nowadays and modern poly finishes rarely have a problem with either), and even if you got the Sharpie off the surface of the white bits without damaging the black there would probably be visible staining afterward due to the plastic absorbing the ink. I've removed Sharpie from light-coloured pickguards before no problem, but they usually never look brand new again, especially if there was any wear to them before they got drawn on.

markleton · Post by **markleton** » Sun Oct 29, 2017 10:38 am

Nail polish remover usually does the trick- Anything non-polar (not water basically) should get rid of it.

The whiteboard marker trick works because of the solvent in the markers dissolves the ink so you can wipe it up.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:56 pm

what's that black shit around the pickups?

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:05 am

Fixed it! Sort of. Ha

http://www.flickr.com/gp/159855034@N04/44C4f5

I got a fine tipped white out pen and injected it into the inlays on the pickguard. Up close it's rough, but whatever.

Can't get the damn picture to post...

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:26 pm

Looks pretty good.

theshadowofseattle · Post by **theshadowofseattle** » Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:42 pm

GreenCustom24 wrote:I got a fine tipped white out pen and injected it into the inlays on the pickguard. Up close it's rough, but whatever.

That'll look sick as the white out wears from play, though. It'll probably rub smooth eventually.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Fri Nov 17, 2017 1:43 am

Whats it's like compared to a Jazz Bass?

GreenCustom24 · Post by **GreenCustom24** » Fri Nov 17, 2017 1:49 am

Sounds just like a Jazz Bass. No real difference there. The vintage ones sounded different. Beefier and more aggressive. Listen to Bleach. Krist used one on that record. Kinda wish Ibanez had remade the pickups too.

The neck is between a Jazz and P Bass. The vintage one I had was a baseball bat so I'm glad the reissue was changed.

Other than that it's just the fancy pickguard, the curved fangs and the F hole in the headstock.