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Theodred theOld
2015-12-19, 12:39 PM
I knew it would happen eventually but I drew on my mat with a sharpie the other night. Anyone know how to fix?

hymer
2015-12-19, 01:14 PM
Try rubber (or an eraser if you're American). It will take the lines on my mats off right along with the other stuff, so be careful.

Edit: By lines, I meant the lines that make up the grid. Not just the lines you draw yourself.

JAL_1138
2015-12-19, 01:21 PM
Whiskey. What you need is anywhere from about a quarter pint to half a pint, depending on how much sharpie there is. Drink it. Now you won't care that there's sharpie on the mat. Then throw out yer newfangled battlemapamajig and go old-school TotM. With an edition that has descending AC, dagnabbit. Git off my lawn!

In all seriousness, a little dish soap, a sponge, and some patience and elbow grease are all I know to do. You won't be able to get it completely clean again, I don't think, but might be able to fade it enough for the map to be useable for other terrain. Usually once a mat is stained, it's stained for good, in my experience. Sorry. I've had one get pretty much destroyed by the wrong type of markers before.

Nightcanon
2015-12-19, 02:14 PM
'Fraid I don't know about battlemats, but 100% ethanol wipes Sharpie from plastic microcentrifuge tubes pretty effectively. Methylated spirit will probably work too.

Amidus Drexel
2015-12-19, 02:31 PM
I'd recommend rubbing alcohol or something similar. I usually use it to remove dry erase marker that's been on my vinyl mats for too long (and thus doesn't come up with a regular dry eraser), but I don't see why it wouldn't work with permanent marker as well.

Blackhawk748
2015-12-19, 02:31 PM
Lots of soap and a dish rag, oh and patience, lots and lots of that. You should be able to get most of it off.

MrStabby
2015-12-19, 03:24 PM
Acetone or white spirit would be your best hope I think.

Theodred theOld
2015-12-19, 04:18 PM
I think whiskey may be my best bet.

Madbox
2015-12-19, 09:40 PM
I don't know about mats, but you can get sharpie off of a dry erase board by scribbling over it with dry erase. Not sure why, but that makes it come right off. Might work for a mat as well.

JAL_1138
2015-12-20, 04:55 AM
I don't know about mats, but you can get sharpie off of a dry erase board by scribbling over it with dry erase. Not sure why, but that makes it come right off. Might work for a mat as well.


Noooooooooo!

Dry erase markers do NOT come off battlemats easily, they're practically Sharpies themselves on the mats because of how porous tne material of the battlemat is.

Kane0
2015-12-20, 06:00 AM
Yeah with vinyl, rubbing alcohol will erase everything you rub hard enough.
Even the markers specially for vinyl do the same thing as whiteboard and permanent markers if left on for too long (left my first mini dungeon on for two weeks between sessions, still there to this day).

My advice is get a new one if the sharpie takes up that much space, or another kind of mat/board. Keep it as a spare because theyre always handy.

Lvl 2 Expert
2015-12-20, 08:47 AM
I came into this thread fully expecting to see a battle mat covered in awesome sharpie doodles. So that's always an option if the cleaning doesn't work...

DigoDragon
2015-12-20, 09:16 AM
I don't know about mats, but you can get sharpie off of a dry erase board by scribbling over it with dry erase. Not sure why, but that makes it come right off. Might work for a mat as well.

Personal experience here-- it does work on most battlemats! Best results happen if combined with another option above to erase the lines. Test on a small area first to ensure you don't destroy the mat.

Âmesang
2015-12-20, 10:33 AM
Color the entire map black. Make the grid-lines white. Add stars. Play SPELLJAMMER® :smallcool:

JAL_1138
2015-12-20, 09:35 PM
Color the entire map black. Make the grid-lines white. Add stars. Play SPELLJAMMER® :smallcool:

YES. Play SPELLJAMMER®.

Bonus points if the mat is extremely combustible.

PrincessCupcake
2015-12-21, 01:03 AM
I'm going to parrot the rubbing alcohol option. Nail Polish remover can work as well, but it also melts certain plastics if left on too long so be careful with it.

A Mr. Clean Magic eraser should do exactly what you need without ruining anything or taking too much time.

Esprit15
2015-12-21, 01:13 AM
Alcoholic hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and dry erase are all things I have found work great for removing sharpie.

hifidelity2
2015-12-21, 05:21 AM
Hairspray work well

Elvenoutrider
2015-12-22, 09:03 AM
Spray paint over it with white spray paint and redraw the lines using a straight edge and thin sharpie. That's what I did and it worked well

FocusWolf413
2015-12-22, 10:14 AM
Acetone, rubbing alcohol, and vodka (for you).