Monday, February 14, 2011

How do you remove a "gel" ink stain?

My wife bought me two nice-looking gingham shirts on Friday - one a nice mint green/white, the other orange/white.

I wore the orange one on Saturday, and toward the end of the afternoon, we noticed my pen stained the bottom of the shirt pocket.

Being in the IT industry, I learned a long time ago that you can get ink stains out of a shirt by spraying it with alchohol based hairspray, let it set a bit, then wash - and stain gone.

But gel pen ink seems to be another story.  We've tried, hairspray, rubbing alcohol, OXY spray, dish soap - you name it - but the ink won't budge.

Any clues as to what to do?  I've searched the internet, but most say to use hairspray.  Otherwise I'll be cutting the shirt up for a nice gingham pocket square :(

Stained in Orlando.....

7 comments:

K.S.Anthony said...

Just wear the shirt with sprezzatura and a look of mild disdain and you'll be fine.

tricia said...

i emailed you the name of a product i read about that's supposed to help with stains...

also, maybe check the website for the maker of the pen... perhaps they have a suggestion, or maybe have a contact email. you could write them and see what they suggest for these sorts of matters.

good luck.

Jim Grillo said...

What a coincidence I have the same problem. We have tried OXY Clean, and others with no luck removing the stain. On HSN they advertise S20 to remove Gel pen ink stain. # 8 oz bottles cost $25, not far from the cost of a new shirt. Google S20.

Silk Regimental said...

OK - here's what I've found from a link off of the Pilot Pen website:

http://www.liftoffinc.com/product-ink-remover.php

Works On:
Ball Point Pen & Inks • Permanent Markers • Nail Polish • Hair Dyes • Newsprint • Pencil Marks • Stamp Pad Inks • India Ink • Correction Fluid • Fountain Pen Inks • Highlighters & More!

Can be purchased at Home Depot, Lowe’s Ace Hardware, True Value

A message from the folks over at Pilot:

We appreciate the opportunity to share our experiences with Mötsenböcker’s stain removal products with our customers.
These stain removal products, especially Mötsenböcker’s Lift Off #3, have been very helpful in removing many different types of ink stains on fabrics and solid surfaces. Once again, thank you for providing such a useful and readily available remedy for those situations requiring a stain removal product.

Silk Regimental said...

KSA -- hey is that sprezzatura with, or without a squeeze of lime???

Silk Regimental said...

Just thought I'd give you an update on the the ink-stained sirt.

We (my wife and I) rubbed with different solutions/remedies - to the point of putting a hole in the pocket!

My wife went out and bought me another shirt exactly like it, but 60% off.

So, now I have a orange gingham pocket square!

London Cleaners said...

Ink stains are terrible. Thank God you had alchohol based hair spray with you. It is a good way to remove ink stains.