OutDamnedSpotFilter:

May 21, 2005 1:44 PM

Nice white walls in the new place, a few bad scuffmarks from the moving hooligans...help!

The walls are drywall, paint is flat finish. What's a good method/product/thing to get rid of these? Painting is not an option...thanks.

posted by nj_subgenius to home & garden (15 comments total)

The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser should work for you.
posted by melissa may at 1:58 PM on May 21, 2005

yup, or even maybe just a damp sponge.
posted by amberglow at 2:20 PM on May 21, 2005

Lighter fluid works wonders with scuff marks.
posted by grouse at 2:57 PM on May 21, 2005

I second the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser recommendation, however I've had some problems in the past with it actually taking the paint off the wall and changing the consistency of the paint - making it noticeably smoother in comparison to the rest of the wall.
posted by tozturk at 2:57 PM on May 21, 2005

tozturk is right, but I think this is a more frequent problem with scuffs on gloss or satin surfaces -- a flat finish surface should be okay. You can get one, test it in an inconspicuous spot, and if it mars the paint, use it for cleaning soap scum or some other tough task.
posted by melissa may at 3:07 PM on May 21, 2005

If it is truly white you can often touch up the paint without it being noticeable. No need to repaint an entire wall.
posted by Carbolic at 3:12 PM on May 21, 2005

The Mr. Clean Magic Erase is the most aptly named product ever. We could find out it's made of ground-up puppies and I'd still use it.
posted by keswick at 3:17 PM on May 21, 2005

Just have to second the bit about watching out for what you're doing to the wall. It's easy to concentrate only on the mark, and you do get it out, maybe with some extra effort -- but then you look at the wall from another angle and you see the perfectly flat almost shiny section you just polished into it.
posted by smackfu at 3:17 PM on May 21, 2005

Long before Mr. Clean got into the racket, any fresh rubber eraser has worked well for me. (Just make sure it's new. You don't want to smear old graphic and ink into your wall.) That usually gets out 99.9% of the marks. Then a dot or two of touch up paint hides the rest.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 3:55 PM on May 21, 2005

...er, I meant graphite.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 3:57 PM on May 21, 2005

I know there's already a best answer, and I know nobody really cares, but I though it was important to chime in with yet more praise for the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It's pretty fucking awesome.
posted by jdroth at 5:11 PM on May 21, 2005

O yeah. Mr Clean Magic Eraser. Thanks all.
posted by nj_subgenius at 5:49 PM on May 21, 2005

putty rubber
posted by fire&wings at 6:00 PM on May 21, 2005

I too am endorsing the Magic Eraser.
posted by puddinghead at 6:08 PM on May 21, 2005

I've never seen this so-called "Mr. Clean Eraser" in the eraser-flesh, but just from these comments I might postulate that it is a vinyl eraser, available at any art supply store with drafting supplies. Just a guess.

Or it's made out of puppies.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 12:48 AM on May 22, 2005