Help! I am trying to restore my Dianoga, that as a kid, I colored his mouth with a black sharpie pen! I know, I know...... I have used toothpaste and 10% benzoyl peroxide (pimple cream) so far and it has lightened it quite a bit.

Does anyone know of a better solution out there? I am trying to restore it to pristine condition.

Thanks!

How long did you leave the benzoyl peroxide (pimple cream) on for? With 1960's / 70's Action Man (12" Gi Joe) heads, it would sometimes take weeks if not months to work.

Failing that, the peroxcide UV ('Apple Computer' / StormTrooper figure restoration) technique might be worth a go?

Good luck

Cheers
Scott

I've found that using a dry erase marker over the sharpie sometimes removes the marker. If anything it doesn't work it at least wipes off easily.

Yea like after it's been applied for a few days, after 40 years it's inside the plastic. If he is trying the expert methods already we can assume he's tried wipes etc long ago.

In fact you can see he's taken the shine off the rubber, trying multiple methods probably.

Cheers
Scott

Isopropyl Alcohol will most likely solve this. It is the basis of both dry erase and sharpie markers. I'd load up a q-tip and clean that filthy mouth like a waxy dog ear. if that does not work, balance the Dianoga mouth-up, make a small puddle in the mouth, and let it soak. IPA has a tendency to draw out inks like sharpie and even ball point pen over time. A couple hours' soak may help. if the IPA evaporates too fast, dilute with some water and/or cover with plastic wrap. Note it can make some plastics brittle over time but it takes quite a long bath to get there.

boring-fett wrote:

Isopropyl Alcohol will most likely solve this. It is the basis of both dry erase and sharpie markers. I'd load up a q-tip and clean that filthy mouth like a waxy dog ear. if that does not work, balance the Dianoga mouth-up, make a small puddle in the mouth, and let it soak. IPA has a tendency to draw out inks like sharpie and even ball point pen over time. A couple hours' soak may help. if the IPA evaporates too fast, dilute with some water and/or cover with plastic wrap. Note it can make some plastics brittle over time but it takes quite a long bath to get there.

I thought he said he'd tried that, yea good call.

I think he said peroxide, which is a great bleach for plastics.
IPA usually does one better by physical drawing out the ink particles (when you get lucky).

Thanks guys, I tried the benzoyl peroxide for about 4 to 6 hours. I didn't let it set on there for a week or longer. That may have been one of my issues there. I'll try the IPA option. My plan is to sacrifice an entire bottle of it and fully engulf the dianoga into the IPA. I'll let it set for a week or more that way. I'm guessing the IPA won't harm the rubber? Any thoughts on that method?

IPA can harm some rubbers and plastics by making them brittle over time, so a long bath is a last resort in my book. First i'd try to:
1) balance him and fill his mouth with IPA and pour it out every hour or so.
2) do a long soak with it in his mouth - balanced / propped up the same way - but also covering him in plastic wrap to impede evaporation.
3) place him face down in a cup of IPA so just his mouth is submerged. Upside down will help the ink "fall" out of the plastic. Remember these are physical particles that have penetrated the surface so this can actually help.

In the cases where you are using low volumes of IPA you should see some tint in it if the ink is lifting.

Last resort, long full body bath, but i'd avoid it if you can.

Oh, and a UV light can help if you have one (turns sharpie from black to red to yellow over time) but it can also brittle the plastic if done long term.

KK, Thanks Boring-Fett. I'll give that a try. Been meaning to pick up a uv light anyway, so this is as good an excuse as any.