I want my investment in erasers to be worth it!

March 3, 2008 6:59 PM

Is there any way to improve the erasability of an old whiteboard?

I have a whiteboard that simply does not work any more. You write on it with a dry-erase marker, and, if you're lucky, what you wrote becomes slightly fainter after strenuous attempts to erase it. It's frustrating and useless.

I've heard that cleaning agents actually ruin whiteboards by destroying the slick film on the board's surface. I'm assuming that this is true and that it explains what happened to my whiteboard. Now, the question is, is there anything I can do to get that slick film back? Is there any way I can make the whiteboard actually work again, or is it irrevocably ruined?

posted by Ms. Saint to grab bag (8 comments total)

Restore the coat by painting it with whiteboard coating?
posted by chrisamiller at 7:09 PM on March 3 [1 favorite]

There's a product called Plasti-Kleen that does just that. I haven't used it, but I've seen it recommended here.
posted by O9scar at 7:29 PM on March 3

Oh, and a word of warning - the Plasti-Kleen site loads a hilarious MIDI of Van Halen's Right Now
posted by O9scar at 7:31 PM on March 3

I have 35 old (10+ years min.) white boards at work to maintain or there will be armed insurrection in the eng. labs. The only stuff that I have found that works is GEL-GLOSS. Wiping down each board with it once week has kept them useable...
posted by digital-dragonfly at 8:07 PM on March 3

the ones I use are GG-1 or GA-12 from the link
posted by digital-dragonfly at 8:10 PM on March 3

We clean ours with alcohol wipes (or deoderant, if there's no alcohol wipes about). Dry-wipe markers come off as long as they're not on there for longer than a few days.
posted by Happy Dave at 12:45 AM on March 4

Note that an old cloth dampened with a little water works much better than those furry erasers, for hard-to-remove marks made on a whiteboard with dry-erase markers.
posted by Rash at 2:13 PM on March 4

The whiteboard that I inherited from a former officemate usually gets cleaned with vinegar and paper towel. No idea if this is actually good for it, though...
posted by FlyingMonkey at 7:35 PM on March 6