PermanentMarker
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Parenting tip: Removing permanent marker from your devices
A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of leaving my Mac unattended for a few minutes while I got something to eat. Little did I know while I was making some food, my then 4-year-old son had found a Sharpie and was writing all over the screen of my MacBook Pro. When I returned, I wanted to cry. My lovely laptop display was covered from edge to edge with black scribbles. If you find yourself in this circumstance, don't despair as there is an easy solution -- dry erase markers! It defies conventional wisdom, but I have found that dry erase marker is excellent at removing permanent marker from hard surfaces. All I had to do to remove the permanent marker from my screen was re-scribble over the permanent marker ink with a dry erase marker (any color will do as shown above), wait 20 seconds and wipe with a paper towel. A screen cleaner will remove any residue from the dry erase marker. It took 10 minutes and a bit of scrubbing, but the permanent marker was successfully removed. Now before you go drawing on your iMac to make sure it works, I will caution you that this is not foolproof. If the material is porous like leather, the permanent marker will be absorbed into the material, and the dry erase marker will only be able to remove some, but not all of the markings. Also, the longer the markings stay on the device the harder it may be to get them off. I've tested it at home and can confirm this dry erase marker trick works great on the aluminum casing of the iPad (see above), iPhone, Mac mini and MacBook Pro. It also works well on the glossy or matte screen of a MacBook Pro. Accessories also are safe as the dry erase marker removes scribbles from the Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Apple Wireless keyboard. You don't have to worry about permanent marker on the screen of your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch as the oleophobic coating doesn't allow the permanent marker to stick. If you don't have a dry erase marker, then a harsher solvent like WD-40 or Goo Gone may work, but they are not as effective as the dry erase marker. Do you have any home remedies that work for removing permanent marker from items around the house? If so, share your horror story and the remedy in the comments.
Sharpie Liquid Pencil doesn't dry like a Sharpie
We were pretty excited about the Sharpie Liquid Pencil when we first heard about it -- it uses liquid graphite to write like a pen, erase like a pencil, and (supposedly) dry like a permanent marker after three days. Well, it's been just over a week since our first hands-on, and we've got some bad news: we can still erase what we've written pretty easily. If you squint just right it sort of looks like it might have dried a little darker, but it's certainly not Sharpie-level permanence. Sad faces all around. We've followed up with Sharpie to see what's going on and we'll let you know what we hear, but check the video after the break in the meantime.
Sharpie Liquid Pencil writes and erases like a pencil, dries like a Sharpie (video hands-on!)
Doesn't look like we've ever covered a pencil on Engadget before, but this is just too nifty to pass up: the Sharpie Liquid Pencil uses liquid graphite to write like a pen, erase like a pencil, and eventually dry like a permanent marker. Sharpie's blog says the Liquid Pencil go on sale in September, but Office Depot has a $5 two-pack with six erasers in stock online now -- and we were charming enough to snag an early review sample. It basically works as described, although the marks don't erase completely clear -- because you're writing with a metal pen tip, there's no way to avoid impressing the paper a little, and the indentations are pretty visible. Still, it's better than any erasable pen we've ever used, and it definitely writes like a decent clicky-pen, so we can't fault it too much. Oddly, Sharpie's blog says it takes three days for the ink to dry to permanence, but the back of the package says 24 hours, so we'll have to see how long our test scribbles last -- we'll let you know. Video after the break. %Gallery-99118%
