I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On Jan 15, 6:06*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

I used to have a working link to the MSDS for Sharpie ink pens

http://www.sharpie.com/enUS/MSDSSheets/default.html but it seems to
not work.

I recall that the solvents varied by pen type.

xylene was the predominate solvent. I used to squirt a bit of Goof
Off into the cap & re-cover the pen.
SOmetimes worked, sometimes not.

On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be enough
to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove and leave
for another day to sort itself out.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"She got her looks from her father. He's a plastic surgeon."

On Jan 15, 12:33*pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be enough
to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove and leave
for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and they
specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but AFAICT
they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their website. I
used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for non-permanent or
nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I lied. Searching for
non permanent returned lots of hits for permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.

On 1/15/2013 1:36 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jan 15, 12:33 pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be enough
to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove and leave
for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and they
specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but AFAICT
they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their website. I
used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for non-permanent or
nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I lied. Searching for
non permanent returned lots of hits for permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.


look for washable markers

On Jan 15, 3:54*pm, chaniarts wrote:
On 1/15/2013 1:36 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:





On Jan 15, 12:33 pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be enough
to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove and leave
for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and they
specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but AFAICT
they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their website. I
used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for non-permanent or
nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I lied. Searching for
non permanent returned lots of hits for permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.

look for washable markers

Is that an answer to my question about non-permanent Sharpies?

No hits for washable at the Sharpie site.

They do list some wash-based markers but they don't state that they
are non-permanent or washable.

Just interesting, that's all.

On 1/15/2013 3:36 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jan 15, 12:33 pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be enough
to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove and leave
for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and they
specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but AFAICT
they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their website. I
used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for non-permanent or
nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I lied. Searching for
non permanent returned lots of hits for permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.


I am pretty sure all sharpie products have some degree of permanence
since they use various non water based solvents in their ink formula.

The "most permanent" line is the one with the white/red reverse
lettering "industrial" which I think use xylene.

As an aside some of the best markers I ever bought for storage life was
a Korean clone brand. I wanted a box of markers and they didn't have the
sharpies so I bought those for a similar price. Had to be 10 years ago
and I found the box the other day and there were a few left. They seem
to be just as good as new.

On 1/15/2013 5:48 PM, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 20:36 DerbyDad03 wrote in alt.home.repair:

On Jan 15, 12:33 pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of capital
cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may be
enough to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then remove
and leave for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and they
specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but AFAICT
they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their website. I
used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for non-permanent or
nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I lied. Searching for
non permanent returned lots of hits for permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.

Pretty sure I have had a non permanant one - I have mistaken with another
brand, but I buy Shapies regularly because they are particularly good for
DIY work (marking cables and stuff) - and something has caused to me look
out for the word "Permanant" when I buy new ones...


All sharpies are permanent to some degree. That is their major selling
point.

On Tue, 15 Jan 2013 09:06:51 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young

A normal person would dispose of them and spend a dollar to buy a new
marker. Therefore, you are NOT normal.....

My parents grew up in the shadow of the
Great Depression. They are not normal, nor
am I. By your definition.

I even write my usenet posts in recycled
plain text.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

wrote in message
...

A normal person would dispose of them and
spend a dollar to buy a new marker. There-
fore, you are NOT normal.....

DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Jan 15, 3:54 pm, chaniarts wrote:
On 1/15/2013 1:36 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:





On Jan 15, 12:33 pm, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 15 January 2013 14:06 Stormin Mormon wrote in
alt.home.repair:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

Permanant or non permanant type?

If permanant, I suspect the solvent would cost more (as a sum of
capital cost and messing about time) than new pens!

If non permanant, a few drops of water may do the trick - it may
be enough to stand the nib end in a glass of water overnight, then
remove and leave for another day to sort itself out.
--

It's a nit, but I'm going to pick it anyway.

You asked: "Permanant or non permanant type?"

The question is:

Why doesn't Sharpie list any non-permanent markers on their website?
They specifically list "permanent markers" in numerous colors and
they specifically list "highlighters" and "whiteboard markers", but
AFAICT they never use the term "non-permanent" anywhere on their
website. I used their search engine and couldn't get a hit for
non-permanent or nonpermanent or even non permanent. Well, OK, I
lied. Searching for non permanent returned lots of hits for
permanent.

So, is there really such a thing as a non-permanent Sharpie? Many
other companies market non-permanent markers, but apparently Sharpie
does not.

look for washable markers

Is that an answer to my question about non-permanent Sharpies?

No hits for washable at the Sharpie site.

They do list some wash-based markers but they don't state that they
are non-permanent or washable.

Just interesting, that's all.

Probably just a CYA thing.

On Jan 15, 7:06*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

I soaked mine in ethanol alcohol and got them to write some more

On Jan 16, 5:53*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
My parents grew up in the shadow of the
Great Depression. They are not normal, nor
am I. By your definition.

I even write my usenet posts in recycled
plain text.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

wrote in message

...

A normal person would dispose of them and
spend a dollar to buy a new marker. *There-
fore, you are NOT normal.....

I think it's abnormal to want to throw everything away the minute
there's the slightest problem..

On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 01:17:13 -0800 (PST), Robert Macy
wrote:

On Jan 16, 5:53*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
My parents grew up in the shadow of the
Great Depression. They are not normal, nor
am I. By your definition.

I even write my usenet posts in recycled
plain text.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
*www.lds.org
.

wrote in message

...

A normal person would dispose of them and
spend a dollar to buy a new marker. *There-
fore, you are NOT normal.....

I think it's abnormal to want to throw everything away the minute
there's the slightest problem..

I do agree with that. Most electronics and electrical stuff I will try
to fix as well as other machinery and home items. But there is a limit.
A dead marker or dead ink pen is dead. Toss it. Unless a few drops of
water will make it last longer. But spending money on chemicals,
drilling holes in the marker, and generally wasting a lot of time for a
one dollar marker is just plain dumb. I know a guy who tried to refill
those Bic cigarette lighters. He filled a few of them, then almost blew
himself up when one was leaking and he flicked it.

I'd rather AVOID wasteful disposible stuff. I still have a refillable
metal lighter. Most of the time I use a double edged razor that I buy
blades for, rather than those one time disposible razors, etc.

But I've never seen a refillable marker. And while on that subject,
when I was a kid, they used to sell ink pen refills. I dont see them
anymore, but back then, in elementary school I saved all the pen parts
and used to do pen repair for my classmates. Some of the teachers were
not exactly pleased about it, because during boring subjects, I'd rather
be fixing pens, and had lots of springs and push buttons etc on my desk.

These days, my garage is filled with car parts, building materials, and
so on, so it's the same sort of thing, just bigger toys for bigger
boys!!!

On 1/17/2013 4:17 AM, Robert Macy wrote:
On Jan 16, 5:53 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
My parents grew up in the shadow of the
Great Depression. They are not normal, nor
am I. By your definition.

I even write my usenet posts in recycled
plain text.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

wrote in message

...

A normal person would dispose of them and
spend a dollar to buy a new marker. There-
fore, you are NOT normal.....

I think it's abnormal to want to throw everything away the minute
there's the slightest problem..


Slightest problem? A sharpie is dried out and useless. Sort of like a
burnt out lightbulb being a slight problem.

A 3 pack of sharpies is ~ $2. And a 12 pack ~ $7. How much effort
should go into the project of attempting to renew a sharpie?

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
I have had times when I have marked something with a Sharpie that I wanted
to remove.
If the surface is impervious alcohol works well. I use alcohol of the type
that is used to thin shellac or to use in little heaters.

Charlie

On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 09:04:33 -0500, George
wrote:

On 1/17/2013 4:17 AM, Robert Macy wrote:
On Jan 16, 5:53 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
My parents grew up in the shadow of the
Great Depression. They are not normal, nor
am I. By your definition.

I even write my usenet posts in recycled
plain text.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

wrote in message

...

A normal person would dispose of them and
spend a dollar to buy a new marker. There-
fore, you are NOT normal.....

I think it's abnormal to want to throw everything away the minute
there's the slightest problem..


Slightest problem? A sharpie is dried out and useless. Sort of like a
burnt out lightbulb being a slight problem.

You don't fix light bulbs? Wasteful!

A 3 pack of sharpies is ~ $2. And a 12 pack ~ $7. How much effort
should go into the project of attempting to renew a sharpie?

Hours, after spending a day asking how to restore them on the Usenet,
obviously.

On 01/17/13 10:10 am, Charlie wrote:

I've got a box of black Sharpie markers,
purchased several years ago. They have
dried out, so they don't write properly. Is
there something I can add, some solvent,
to make them write again? Drill a hole in
the barrel, and drip some solvent in?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
I have had times when I have marked something with a Sharpie that I wanted
to remove.
If the surface is impervious alcohol works well. I use alcohol of the type
that is used to thin shellac or to use in little heaters.

Rubbing alcohol (sometimes ethyl alcohol, sometimes isopropyl alcohol,
plus other chemicals to "denature" it) works to remove "Sharpie" marks,
but to renovate a dried-out marker you want something that evaporates
more quickly. The ones I have are labeled "Nontoxic," and I don't think
xylene (suggested by somebody else) falls into that category.

Perce

On 2013-01-17, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

but to renovate a dried-out marker you want something that evaporates
more quickly.

Acetone

On 01/17/13 10:29 am, notbob wrote:

but to renovate a dried-out marker you want something that evaporates
more quickly.

Acetone

But I don't think it counts as "nontoxic," as my Sharpie markers are
labeled. I just uncapped a "good" Sharpie and sniffed: possibly MEK
(=methyl ethyl ketone)? -- but I'm not sure how "nontoxic" that is ether.

Perce

Hey, can we fix burnt out light bulbs? Neat!

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"George" wrote in message
...

Slightest problem? A sharpie is dried out and useless. Sort of like a
burnt out lightbulb being a slight problem.

A 3 pack of sharpies is ~ $2. And a 12 pack ~ $7. How much effort
should go into the project of attempting to renew a sharpie?

Around here, rubbing alcohol is 30% water,
I'd not waste my time trying that on removing
sharpie. I would try denatured alcohol.

I did buy another box of black markers. I'll
try some various solvents on the old pens, see
if anything works.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote in message ...

Rubbing alcohol (sometimes ethyl alcohol, sometimes isopropyl alcohol,
plus other chemicals to "denature" it) works to remove "Sharpie" marks,
but to renovate a dried-out marker you want something that evaporates
more quickly. The ones I have are labeled "Nontoxic," and I don't think
xylene (suggested by somebody else) falls into that category.

Perce

On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:36:58 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Around here, rubbing alcohol is 30% water,
I'd not waste my time trying that on removing
sharpie. I would try denatured alcohol.

I did buy another box of black markers. I'll
try some various solvents on the old pens, see
if anything works.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Percival P. Cassidy"
wrote in message ...

Rubbing alcohol (sometimes ethyl alcohol, sometimes isopropyl alcohol,
plus other chemicals to "denature" it) works to remove "Sharpie" marks,
but to renovate a dried-out marker you want something that evaporates
more quickly. The ones I have are labeled "Nontoxic," and I don't think
xylene (suggested by somebody else) falls into that category.

Perce

What I've found removes Sharpie is Expo white board cleaner. Ethylene
Glycol Monobutyl Ether. (butoxyethanol).

This IS the solvent used in Sharpie fine tip markers. If you can
inject butoxyethanol into the barrel of the sharpie there is a GOOD
chance the sharpie can be resurected.

On Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:35:14 -0500, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Hey, can we fix burnt out light bulbs? Neat!

Christopher A. Young

A burnt out lightbulb has a chance of being fixed, unlike your burnt out
brain that is beyond repair!