Painting over permanent marker on walls

April 11, 2020 2:02 AM

We have a wall with a lot of black permanent marker on it (housewarming party game went a little over the top:) and want to paint over it. Some sites suggest that an oil-based primer will do the trick, but that didn't work for us. Other sites suggest simple spray-can paint works best. Any tips?

It's permanent black marker on wallpaper (that we knew we were going to paint over. We didn't know that it would be a problem...). According to the internet, alcohol based primers don't work as the alcohol solvent in the marker helps it to bleed through. We're painting with 'egg-oil tempera', a traditional Swedish paint that is pigment mixed through an egg and oil emulsion. We figured that since this is an oil-based paint it will work, but a test patch had the marker showing through within a day.

Some sites suggest using spray-paint - is this a better solution? Quick and cheap is always handy :)

Thanks for the help!

posted by twirlypen to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Have you tried scrubbing the marker off with rubbing alcohol and one of those Mr. Clean magic erasers?
posted by Morpeth at 3:14 AM on April 11, 2020 [10 favorites]

Do they sell Kilz where you are? Oil-based Kilz blocks pritnear anything.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:11 AM on April 11, 2020 [17 favorites]

cover it with lining paper? then paint on top of that

you might get a better finish that way - if you paint directly onto old paper then you risk the pattern or colours showing through - even without any marker pen
posted by rd45 at 5:18 AM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

The real decorator’s answer, of course, is to strip the old paper, then make good any defects in the surface, then hang lining paper, then base coat of primer, then two coats of your actual paint

Neither quick nor cheap, though
posted by rd45 at 5:23 AM on April 11, 2020 [7 favorites]

You need a shellac based primer. Most paint manufacturers offer some sort of shellac primer. EG: Sherman Williams.
posted by Mitheral at 5:52 AM on April 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

Zinisser do several primers - water based, oil based, and shellac based, depending on your needs and VOC tolerance - which are designed to be stain blocking. They've been great when I've used them.
posted by stillnocturnal at 7:00 AM on April 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

You can usually remove permanent marker with alcohol hand sanitizer and a paper towel. It may stain a little, but that should take most of it off.
posted by Nibbly Fang at 8:06 AM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Sounds like ya already painted over it so cleaning the marks probably won't work.

Mitheral and stillnocturnal are on point here.
posted by Max Power at 8:12 AM on April 11, 2020

I had never heard that alcohol based (shellac) primers didn't work as BIN is what I have always used for problem stains. You could give it a try, it cleans up with hot water and ammonia. As for an oil primer I think it depends on whether or not it is a "stain blocking primer" as I remember early in my "career" painting some exterior trim with primer and finish and being proud till the next day all the knots in the wood bled through, (that is when I learned about Bin,) and given the era I assume that I use an oil based primer on raw wood.
posted by Pembquist at 8:56 AM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

BIN
posted by Pembquist at 9:21 AM on April 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

I once had the pleasure of repainting a rental that had every wall surface within reach of a certain little kid covered with everything. It had ink, marker, crayon, and lipstick. The oil-based KILZ covered it all in one application. It is a miracle product.

There is also a water-based KILZ which is useless.

Get cheap rollers and roller tray inserts, and throw them away each time when you're done. You cannot clean it up, don't bother.
posted by fritley at 12:08 PM on April 11, 2020 [2 favorites]