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Greetings,
is it possible to remove old ink stains from a light creme colored body?
Ink stains are smudges and parts of finger prints, probably 50 years old. Body is from a Gossen Tippa 1B with smooth finish.
I did not manage to remove the ink stains. Now I wonder if it is even possible, I have the idea the ink has penetrated the paint.
Thanks,
Lau
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What did you try? Have you tested any solvents for color fastness on hidden parts of the body?
I'm curious because I have a Royal with paint drips on it but obviously anything that removes the bad paint is likely to remove the good. But ink might come off with something less than a paint stripper.
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Lau, I have had good luck with a product (here in the uSA) called Goo-Gone.
Ink takes several goes at it but eventually did the trick for me...
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@overwood: I used dishwashing soap, all purpose cleaner, TurtleWax, denatured alcohol (96%). The latter dissolved the paint almost immediately while having no effect on the ink. With Scotch Brite it was not possible to sand away the ink. I tried until I reached the metal of the body. I am under the impression the ink has fused with the paint.
@Pete: thanks, good to know there is something on the market for this, I will check if I can find it here.
@overwood: about the paint drips on your Royal, if it has a glossy black finish, it might be possible to scratch them away with a finger nail or a paint stirring stick. I had a 1938 Erika S with a lot of small paint splatters (0.5-1.5 mm) and I managed to remove them all with the above mentioned method.
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For actual paint, nail polish, or white out drips, I have good success using a bamboo skewer to scratch the drip away.
For removal of ink, on SC and Remington crinkle finish paint, I've had success with window cleaner that contains ammonia and a long time using a tooth brush.
Phil Forrest
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I just noticed some inky fingerprints on my SM9, which is also a smooth creamy finish. Without thinking I grabbed the 70% ethanol I had sitting there for something else and started rubbing some with a paper towel. The ink came off with some effort but it did not harm the paint. However this was probably ink that I got on there only a couple weeks ago.
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Same here with my SM9, 70% alcohol and fairly fresh ink smear
I suppose the longer you wait, the harder it is to get the ink removed. But I am not sure, maybe the ink was different from what we use now, the same goes for the paint. It was a pretty uncommon color, I have seen only one Tippa on the internet with that color. Maybe it was uncommon for the reason it was hard
to get rid of the ink. The smears suggest the previous owner was not successful at removing the ink too.