Biro on cedar table

[Andy Mac]

Hi there,
I made this coffee table some time back, from red cedar I salvaged and milled. A few natural imperfections but overall a lovely bit of crotch grain. The finish is China oil with beeswax.
The table has copped its fair share of abuse/patina which I expect with a soft timber like this, but now I notice toddler damage in the form of Biro scribble! What should I do to remove the marks, other than sand it right back?
Hope someone has some bright solution!

Cheers,

[Andy Mac]

Here is a close up of some of the damage, for what its worth...
Several localised patches like this.

Thanks,

[orraloon]

I wish I could help that is a nice table. I am not familiar with china oil, is it tung oil. At a guess a scrub with turps then reapply the oil then the wax. I am no expert at finishing however so see what others have to say. If the pen has left grooves in the wood then you will have to sand back in any case.

Regards
John

[Ivan in Oz]

AM,

Bummer

Could you try some of the 'Biro' ink on Blotting Paper.....Do we remember what Blotting Paper is

Then see what some solvents do.
But First; try the solvent on some scrap Cedar

Thinking:
Metho
Shellitte
Turps
Perhaps Degreaser....$1.99 at SuperCheat

Perhaps even Contact Cleaner....Try on Cedar first, mind you.

Then Baking Soda and that group

[echnidna]

metho shuld take it off

[MICKYG]

If the biro has left a trail in the timber where the timber has "tracks" in it you could get them out with a damp cloth and run over it with a hot iron, consult the good lady for the use of her iron. This method works on quite a lot of softer timber marks for me.

The biro may disolve with a quick wipe with a cloth after spraying hairspray on affected area, also a cloth with metho ( caution some metho is now 96%ethanol ) on it will often remove biro. Treat with carefull caution, good luck. found this:

http://www.tellmehowto.net/answers/cleaning

Regards Mike

[Andy Mac]

Thanks guys, I'll try Metho first, and then re-oil. Its due for a feed anyway!

Cheers,