removing sharpie autograph

[CES]

If the price is right, go for it!

[fatt-dad]

only to add to the already-great ideas from folks that actually know stuff - when I was in auto mechanics' school (never worked out, by the way), we learned about painting and such. Turns out that brake fluid does dissolve paint.

Maybe try brake fluid - not sure about the underlying finish; however.

Nobody will see that mark though.

f-d

[Paul Busman]

I agree with the advice to live with the autograph. If it's a mandolin you really want,it's in good condition otherwise and the price is right that unobtrusive autograph is small potatoes.
If you can't live with that, it looks like the back of the peghead is already black so you wouldn't have to try to match a stain or clear finish. You could probably overspray it yourself. Take off the hardware, mask all the parts you don't want to spray with blue painters' tape and go to town with black finish of your choice. Practice on some scrap wood first to get the feel of spraying.

[G7MOF]

This may belong in the thread recently where the differences between the British version and the American version of our common language was discussed. Meth has a rather different meaning in the U.S.

I mean Methylated Spirit, this is a very none intrusive cleaner which I have used a lot in the past!

[darrylicshon]

Buy it, and rub it every time you play the mandolin and it will disappear one day

[Phil Goodson]

Considering the legibility of the signature, I'd just tell anyone who asks that it means "Excellence" in Sanskrit!

[Drew Streip]

I'd buy the mandolin in a heartbeat. It's just some mojo. You're the only one who ever sees the back of the headstock -- and even then, you could just try closing your eyes for a Ray-Charles-meets-Stevie-Wonder vibe when you perform.

Also CT is the only mandolin player that most non-musicians might have ever heard of = instant street cred.

I see no downsides.

[Timbofood]

In the greater scheme of mandolin playing, who really cares? If it sounds good, and you are happy with the feel and sound, buy it and don't worry about it.

[EdHanrahan]

... in a heartbeat. It's just some mojo. ...

Except for that "just", strongly agree! Besides, demolishing such a CT-related imprimatur could have a big downside, sortta like goin' down to the crossroad at midnight and really screwin' up the transaction!

[Jeff Mando]

Also CT is the only mandolin player that most non-musicians might have ever heard of = instant street cred.

I see no downsides.

CT is great. No argument about his playing ability. For me, it would be more of a "hey, I'm 70 and I've got a 35-year old's signature on the back of my mandolin" type of thing. Monroe, Norman Blake, Doc Watson -- I might feel differently about.

Not sure how to remove it for fear of damaging the underlying finish. The owner of our local pawn shop uses oven cleaner to remove signatures from guitars and it works -- I've seen the results! BUT, he says don't leave it on too long....and wear gloves! He also uses it to clean tools, etc., so use your own judgement.....

I guess my approach would be first try to polish it off. (rubbing compound followed by polish) Second, try a chemical. Third, a series of super fine wet sandpaper grades 1000-3000, followed by a polish and buff. And fourth, if none of those work plan to respray the back of the peghead, as a last resort.

[George R. Lane]

No one signs my mandolin, but I have several on my Weber case. Especially fond of John Reichmans' signature.

[Ray(T)]

Many years ago, a friend of mine bought a Martin D28 from a well known folk UK musician onto which numerous signatures from well known musicians had been scratched into the back. The first thing he did was send it to have the back re-finished.

A short while later, he received a 'phone call from the musicians wife desparately asking if her husband could buy the guitar back as all his memories had been scratched into the guitar!

[Roger Adams]

I would leave it "as is."

[soliver]

You could try this. Watch on Youtube and there is a brief explanation in the write up.

Very Cool!... I knew the Dry-erase maker trick worked when someone uses sharpie on a dry erase board, but i didn't know it would work in other applications... thanks for sharing that!

Also, not sure if works with the silver kind, but with your standard sharpie, I've seen a Magic Eraser take sharpie off stuff...
toddler + Sharpie =
Wifey + Magic Eraser =

[Hudmister]

I recommend the stuff they sell for cleaning ceramic stove tops. I've used a brand called "Ceramabrite" to remove magic marker and sharpie and it works great. Just rub gently until the marks are gone. It works, simple and easy. If you don't like the initials on the back then by all means remove them.

[Mike Sayre]

Are you seeking a good-playing and good-sounding instrument to play some music with? Or something else?

[bratsche]

I did a complete 180 degree turn from my initial knee-jerk reaction. When I saw "autograph" in the title, I thought "Ewww, must eliminate!" (don't care whose it is); but now after having seen the photo, even though I'm no particular fan of CT, I'd just leave it be if it were on an instrument I was buying. It's illegible, as others have noted, and actually looks rather artistic, IMO.

bratsche

[Jeff Mando]

I'd just leave it be if it were on an instrument I was buying.

I'm kinda leaning that way, also. Thankfully, it is not on the front. It might be used as a negotiating point for a better price. Worth a try.

[Phil Goodson]

John Lennon's take on Salvador Dali ???
I like it!

[Paul Busman]

Am I missing something? I don't see CT in that autograph.

[Eric C.]

Am I missing something? I don't see CT in that autograph.

Rotate it it 90 degrees clockwise. That's how he signs his name.

[Inklings]

You could try Micromesh, as well. Start at 12k and work down until it's grabbing it, then work back up to polish it.

[colorado_al]

Rotate it it 90 degrees clockwise. That's how he signs his name.

Looks similar to me

[Bernie Daniel]

Sounds like you have found a deal involving a good price on a really great mandolin -- a Gibson Goldrush!! That is about as good looking as there is in mandolin world -- my unbiased opinion.

I've seen this signature enough times now that I agree with some others --don't pass up a great deal for such a "small" concern.

Buy that mandolin and then if you want spend the next 6 months researching out how to remove the signature.


It simply HAS TO BE possible to do and you have as long as you live to figure it out.

Meanwhile:

[Paul Busman]

Rotate it it 90 degrees clockwise. That's how he signs his name.

Ah-- OK. I"d let him sign my mandolin in that location. Not on the front though.