Painting over Crayon marks????

[DaveO]

I built this for my daughter many years ago -

It has seen it's fair share of use and abuse. She no longer plays with it and we would like to either sell or donate it. But it has been marked with everything in a little girls arsenal...marker, crayon, paint, and stickers.
The original finish is Latex paint over MDF. I feel confident that I can paint over the marker and paint with a good primer coat. It's the Crayon I am concerned about as it is waxy substance that paint/primer won't stick to it well.
Would a wash with TSP and/or mineral spirits and then a primer coat with shellac-based primer do the trick?


Dave

 

[Trent Mason]

Dave, while I can't answer your question, it's great to see you post a thread here and the response may be quite useful to me in the future. :gar-La; We need to hangout soon. ccasion1

 

[jhreed]

I would try mineral spirits, you probably have that. I think school janitors use GOOGONE.

 

[dlrion]

Magic Erasers

They will take crayon off paint... DAMHIKT


Also, if you are looking to sell it, how much do you want? I have been looking for a playset just like this for my daughter. The plastic junk costs upward of $100 I would be really interested in taking that off your hands.

Dan

 

[Mark Stewart]

Mr clean magic erasers and if that dont do it wd40 will glad to here from you daveo

 

[Gotcha6]

I've seen all the remedies aforementioned remove crayon, but the one thing you should be concerned about are the permanent markers. They don't call 'em that for nothin'. :tongue2: Multiple coats of paint have not remedied that for me. I've tried Shieldz and other primers to no avail. The only remedy I've seen on drywall is to skim coat over the stuff. DAMHIKT. I can't say what may work on painted MDF, but that will be your biggest battle IMO.

 

[DonDeJ]

If you don't mind using it, acetone is a good wax remover. Should work for markers, too.

 

[Jeff]

Dave,

How about some light work with a card scraper to remove the bulk of the crayon and other marks?

THEN, a wipe down with MS to get the rest of the residue or maybe just some soap and warm water.

Prime with KILZ "Original" or "Complete". KILZ excels at stain blocking; like "greasy" kitchen ceilings or nicotine stained areas to prevent bleed through on the final coat.

http://www.masterchem.com/masterchem/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=62de90033f9ff110VgnVCM1000008a05d103RCRD

I'm guessing that you want an effective, durable finish which makes the pieces presentable for sale or donation. :icon_scra

 

[RobS.]

Most paint stores have several products that will remove the crayon. Not sure about permanant marker, although I've removed that before (can't remember what I used, may have been rubbing alcohol). One product that comes to mind is called "Goof Off". Acetone will work but might (should) break down the latex paint. That shouldn't matter much if you plan to repaint. All of the above will get rid of the adhesive from the stickers.

If you try Kilz and it doesn't cover try white pigmented shellac (with plenty of ventilation).

 

[Glennbear]

As the father of two "creative" daughters, decades ago when faced with a similar task I used MS,and Goof Off (sparingly) followed by a coat of Kilz. :wsmile:

 

[JimmyC]

I've had good luck spraying shellac over markers and other stuff, before priming and painting.

 

[ebarr]

try some hair spray on the perm marker. should take it off.

 

[CaptnA]

!

I had some good luck with an iron and clean paper towels. No steam.
Put the paper towel over the crayon marks, the wax melts and the paper towel sucks it up.
If you are careful you can do it without damaging the finish.
It worked well for me - and my son was able to sit at the table after all :widea:

We had a house fire where a man used coleman fuel (white gas) to remove crayon marks. Can't say how well it removed the crayon cause naturally a pilot light lit the fuel -
(that was his story anyhow...)

 

[Gofor]

Despite what CaptnA said, naptha (coleman lantern fuel) or gasoline would probably be your best bet to get the wax off, and then a wipe-down with alcohol to get the additive residue off. Don't have to soak it, wipe with a dampened rag and then wipe the dissolved wax off with another clean rag. MEK or lacquer thinner will probably do as well, but both evaporate quickly, so limit your time to get the dissolved wax removed. Make sure you dispose of the rags safely.

Go

PS: Should be easier than peach latex:wsmile:

 

[JimmyC]

PS: Should be easier than peach latex:wsmile:[/QUOTE]

Poor Dave, that peach just won't die. :rotflm:

 

[petebucy4638]

I built this for my daughter many years ago -

It has seen it's fair share of use and abuse. She no longer plays with it and we would like to either sell or donate it. But it has been marked with everything in a little girls arsenal...marker, crayon, paint, and stickers.
The original finish is Latex paint over MDF. I feel confident that I can paint over the marker and paint with a good primer coat. It's the Crayon I am concerned about as it is waxy substance that paint/primer won't stick to it well.
Would a wash with TSP and/or mineral spirits and then a primer coat with shellac-based primer do the trick?


Dave

There are several products that do a good job of removing wax. Goof-Off comes to mind. Once you have done that sanding the old finish with a power pad sander will give the old paint some tooth and will remove any remaining wax from the crayons. I'd then recommend a good stain-killer primer. I like Binz because it does not have as much of the filler that Kilz uses. It works better on harder surfaces where as Kilz is more of a drywall primer.

TSP is a great general purpose cleaner. Start out with a light mix so that you don't have to work so hard removing the residue afterwards. TSP can be really harsh and it can add more water than you might want to the piece that you are working on.

Any of these primers will give you a better finish if you lightly sand them after they are dry with a fine sandpaper.