How to remove traces of ink from a ballpoint or gel pen from paper?

Sometimes an accidental underlining on an important document makes us nervous, or it becomes necessary to delete a note in the margins of a book. How to remove ink from paper? You just need to follow the rules exactly, showing maximum care and caution when working with paper.

How to remove ink with chemical solutions?

1. The most common remedy is a mixture of vinegar and potassium permanganate. You only need 1 teaspoon of 70% concentrated vinegar, in which a small amount of potassium permanganate crystals is dissolved - on the tip of a knife. With this mixture, carefully remove marks from the pen using a thin brush for watercolor paints, placing clean paper under the sheet to be processed.

   Potassium permanganate may slightly tint the paper brownish or faintly purple. In this case, you need to wait until the paper dries and remove brown stains using regular 3% hydrogen peroxide. By the way, hydrogen peroxide can independently cope with an unwanted ink line if it is not very bright. The working tool here will be cotton balls or cotton swabs. Hydrogen peroxide can be replaced with a hydroperite solution: two tablets are dissolved in 100 ml of water at room temperature. If the pen marks have not completely disappeared, you will have to repeat all the steps.

2. Second composition: dissolve 10 g of oxalic acid combined with 10 g of citric acid in half a glass of water. You can try lemon juice.
3. Another version of the “cocktail” that helps remove ink: combine 10 g of hydrochloric acid with 10 g of table salt and 30 ml of water.

Let us also name a few effective chemicals that can remove pen marks.

• Acetone, which is included in almost all nail polish remover formulations. But in its pure form it is a rather aggressive liquid that can damage paper.
• A mixture of glycerin and ethyl alcohol, taken in equal parts.
• Bleach called “Whiteness” (this is a 70-80% solution of active chlorine) is also a fairly strong product that requires very careful and careful handling.

Advice

Do not rub too hard to avoid damaging the surface of the paper. Some products (acetone, hydrochloric acid) are best used only for thick, thick paper.

In any case, before you start getting rid of the pen mark, test the composition you prepared on a paper sheet of similar quality. Do not smear the composition on the paper, clean the brush, change the cotton swabs.

Using simple home remedies

Take baking soda and salt in equal proportions and sprinkle in an even thin layer on clean paper. We place the sheet on top with the inscription to be removed down. We press down with glass with a drilled hole through which we inject citric acid using a syringe - very slowly, gradually. The acid will corrode the ink, and the salt and soda will serve as an absorbent.

How to eliminate colored ink?

To remove colored (red, green, violet) ink, prepare a saturated solution of potassium permanganate. In 50 ml of distilled water at a temperature no higher than 30 degrees, gradually dissolve from 3 to 10 g of potassium permanganate. Then combine with 50 ml of acetic acid, cooled to 0 degrees.Only a freshly prepared solution is active.

Advice

Paper usually warps as it dries. The sheet will not look deformed if you put it under a press (for example, under heavy books), having previously laid it with clean sheets of paper. Or pass it through the fax rollers. Option: cover with a thin, clean sheet and iron with a warm (not hot) iron.

How to remove ink: erase or clean up?

A simple eraser and razor blade will help you remove a small fragment of a recording. This requires, of course, a trained hand, as there is a risk of paper damage. Still, it’s worth a try, since with this method the structure of the sheet should not be damaged, only the top layer is carefully removed.

The ink mark of the pen should first be scratched with a razor blade, and then erased - rubbed several times with pressure with an eraser. The surface of the paper will be slightly disheveled, which means it needs to be pressed down with something or sanded with the same blade.

You can try to erase the inscription simply with a finger dipped in water, gradually rolling off the top layer of paper.

How to mask an unnecessary entry?

Finally, there is such a thing as correction fluid, but it is only suitable if the inscription made with a pen is not very noticeable. In this case, the quality of the white putty matters: it should be fresh, not thickened, but not transparent. Apply it to the paper in a thin layer and dry. You may need to reapply the putty and let it dry again. The ideal option is to apply a fresh recording on top of the correction strip.