How to Get an Ink Stain Off Leather
A leaky pen or accidental marker swipe can result in an ink stain on a leather surface. The porous nature of this natural material can make it a challenge to remove ink stains as they absorb into the leather. Act fast for the easiest stain removal process, using supplies that both prevent the stain from spreading while removing it without damaging your leather surface. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Talcum powder
- Clean towels
- Rubbing alcohol
- Cotton swabs
- Nail polish wipes
- Saddle soap
- Bucket
Instructions
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Sprinkle talcum powder on a fresh ink stain. This helps to stabilize the stain and keep it from penetrating deeper into your leather while absorbing the ink substance. Allow the talc to sit on the surface of the leather for five minutes.
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Brush the talcum powder off with a clean cloth without smearing the remaining ink. Sweep the cloth lightly over the leather surface.
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Cotton swabs serve as gentle cleaning tools to remove ink from leather. Wet a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol and wipe the remaining ink stain, moving from the outer edge of the stain in toward the middle. Change to a new cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol as you lift the ink stain. Continue this process until no more ink transfers to the cotton.
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Lift any last traces of ink with nail polish remover wipes. Swipe the dampened cloth across the ink stain, moving in one direction, until it's gone.
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Old towels come in handy when removing stains from leather. Pour a capful of saddle soap into a bucket with 1/2 gallon of warm water. Wash your leather surface to remove the ink stain removing agents and clean the leather. Rinse with a clean damp cloth and dry with a clean towel.
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Tips & Warnings
A fresh ink stain might be easily removed by cleaning with a saddle soap solution.
Rub white toothpaste into an ink stain to remove it.
Do not rub and scrub an ink stain as this will spread the stain further into the leather.
References
- Photo Credit Andres Balcazar/Photodisc/Getty Images cotton swabs image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com towels image by Ekaterina Lozanova from Fotolia.com
