So I was at the bank drive thru, and was signing the back of a check on the arm rest between the two front seats. The ballpoint pen went through the paper and left a mark on the surface. I think the surface is SofTex. How do I clean this off without harming it? Would GooGone work?
Try hairspray.....the pump type, not aerosol. it sounds wierd, but it really does a good job removing ink. I'm not sure how it would do on the SofTex, but I think it would be less harsh than GooGone.
I've used GooGone on just about every type of non-porous surface with good results, so I would imagine it would work without damage--but I'm not certain, so try at your own risk.
I winded up using Mr. Clean Magic Eraser after some research online. There was no magic, took plenty of rubs. The mark got very light at the end, but it is still there. Harder rubbing did not take it completly off at the end. It is at the point you have to look, to see it there. The downside is the rubbing polished the texture of the surface off, and dulled out the affected area. You can see that in the right light. I am bummed out about that considering the car is just over a week old. I might throw some leather conditioner on it to see if I can cover up the dulled area.
I am thinking about getting paint protection film installed. I would like feedback from someone with the film. Thanks!
I would start with some dawn dish soap on a damp rag for something like that before getting more drastic.
Blot only. Never rub. Hairspray does work pretty well to loosen stains like ink. If hairspray fails, you can make a spot remover with 1 part glycerine, 1 part clear Dawn, and 8 parts water. Apply a few drops of this, and then a few drops of white vinegar. Let stand for 30 minutes, blotting every 5 minutes with a clean, dry cloth. Add more of the glycerine mix and the vinegar as necessary to keep the stain moist. After 30 minutes blot with a water-soaked clean cloth. You need enough water to flush the ink out. You might want to try this in a non-readily-visible spot first. I'm not sure how colorfast softex is. I would be reluctant to try anything like rubbing alcohol or acetone, because that isn't good on some plant-based synthetic fabrics.
After a few days, the remaining ink mark completely disappeared on its own. I don't know how. Of course, the dulled area from rubbing is still there. Makes me wonder if the ink was going to disppear on its own anyway, had I left it alone. But then again, I have seen it blot like a bad tatoo too.
I just had great success using plain old rubbing alcohol to get out ink stains on my softex black/gray seats. I used a q tip and dabbed it lightly on the ink and then gently dabbed it dry with a soft white cloth. No rubbing, no smear, no discoloration. Fast, easy and cheap to fix. It was blue ink from a bic and was a stain less than 2hours old.
