My Most Popular Post!

I was looking at the stats on my blog and was surprised to see a lot of people who are still reading my 2009 post about how to remove pen ink from leather.

We'd just bought a couple of Stressless recliners which were a good deal on Craigslist. We almost didn't buy them when we saw a lot of pen ink marks all over the arm rests and a bit on the seat. The owner had been doing crosswords on the chairs.... in ink! However the person selling the chairs desperately wanted us to buy them because she was selling them for an elderly friend and wanted to get rid of them. So we took a chance and then I wrote the following blog post which is somehow still being read.

Written on July 3, 2009

You are not going to believe this. There were an awful lot of pen marks on the Stressless chairs we bought today. We tried rubbing alcohol to remove the pen ink but it took off the leather color and left the ink untouched. I checked the web and tried another recommendation... pink pearl eraser. Nope. Didn't work. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser took off dirt beautifully but nothing else. Meguiar's Leather cleaner? Nope, but it's a conditioner also. Nail Polish remover? Nope, bad idea...takes off the leather color. Amway's LOC cleaner...Nope, did nothing. I was thinking of trying hair spray or ethanol next but didn't have them around the house. 

That's when I saw a recommendation for Hand Sanitizer. No kidding. It said to put a bit on the pen mark and rub gently. You do need to be gentle but with a bit of gentle patience.... Hot Dang! It worked! No kidding! The chairs now look almost brand new. Woo hoo! Happy Days!