Removing ink and ballpoint pen marks from leather

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Ballpoint pen on the sofa, ink stains on the armchair. How well they can be removed depends on the type of leather and, above all, on how long the stain has been there.

IMPORTANT: The fresher a mark is, the better the chances. Marks that are three days old or older can generally only be treated by colour matching. Attempts to clean with the wrong products often increase the damage. Therefore, read first, then act.

First: determine the type of leather

Rub in a drop of water in a concealed area:

Pigmented smooth leather: Pigmented smooth leather has a colour layer on its surface. A rubbed-in drop of water does not soak into the leather, but beads up. Pigmented smooth leather is generally satin-matt and has a grained surface.

Aniline leather: Aniline leather is open-pore smooth leather. A rubbed-in drop of water soaks in and darkens the moistened area.

Suede leather: Suede leather has a velour-like surface. Nubuck leather has a very fine nap. Suede leather has a coarser nap, like the reverse side of leather.

PU leather: PU leather, also known as Bycast leather, is split suede leather with a polyurethane coating applied to make it look like smooth leather. PU leather can be recognised by its gloss and plastic-like feel.

Pigmented smooth leather
Pigmented smooth leather
Open-pore aniline leather
Open-pore aniline leather
Nubuck leather
Nubuck leather
Suede leather
Suede leather
PU leather
PU leather

Ballpoint pen marks

Pigmented smooth leather

Ballpoint pen marks on furniture, automotive or artificial leather are common, but not always easy to remove.

Points to note:

  • The fresher the mark, the better the chances. Marks that are three days old or older can generally only be treated by colour matching.
  • Entire drawings made by children are considerably more difficult to remove than short marks.
  • Attempts to clean with the wrong products often increase the damage.

Procedure:

  1. Test in a concealed area. Ideally, even make a mark in the leather there and clean a little more vigorously. This shows how the leather in the visible area will react.
  2. Apply yellow masking tape to the mark several times and pull it off sharply. Repeat as long as discolouration remains visible. This is the gentlest way to remove excess ink.
  3. Use Ballpoint Pen Remover. Press the pen tip into the pen two to three times until it is saturated. Work on the mark using light pressure and small circular movements. Always remove loosened ink immediately with a cloth in between so that you can keep track. Also wipe the pen tip in between. Increase the pressure slightly if necessary.

Cleaning older marks can easily remove some of the leather colour. Match such areas in colour with Colourlock Leather Fresh. Always pre-clean beforehand so that the ink cannot bleed through the tint.

Then protect cleaned areas again with Colourlock Leather Shield.

Fresh ballpoint pen marks can still be removed easily.
With older marks, the leather colour is quickly rubbed off as well.
Such areas must then be colour-matched with Leather Fresh.

Ballpoint pen on aniline leather

Aniline leather is very sensitive; ballpoint pen marks usually cannot be removed without specialist knowledge. The risk of increasing the damage is high.

First try the masking-tape method. Nothing more can be done independently, as Ballpoint Pen Remover would damage the surface. Leather Fresh is only an option for completely plain-coloured aniline leather. Please first contact us so that we can advise you.

Ballpoint pen on suede leather

First try the masking-tape method. On coarse nap, remaining stains can be carefully treated with the Colourlock Sanding Pad or the Nubuck Eraser Block; on fine nap, use the Nubuck Sponge. Always test in a concealed area. Do not sand locally for too long, as this creates a “halo” around the mark. Stop in time: a slightly faded mark is better than a damaged surface.

Ballpoint pen on PU leather

PU leather is usually dark, so marks are less noticeable. However, cleaning carries the risk of damaging the applied film, which is sensitive and cannot be repaired easily. Therefore, always test first in a concealed area and never clean with pressure. It is better to leave remaining stains. Since PU leather is generally multicoloured, it also cannot simply be colour-matched with Leather Fresh.

Marks from felt-tip pens, “Edding” or other permanent markers, and ink stains

Marks on pigmented smooth leather:

The procedure is the same as for ballpoint pen marks: first try masking tape, then Ballpoint Pen Remover. For smeared marks or when the remover is insufficient, use Colourlock GLD-Solvent. Colour-match remaining stains with Leather Fresh. Then protect the treated areas with Colourlock Leather Shield.

Marks on aniline leather

Aniline leather is very sensitive because of its open pores. Colourants from felt-tip pens penetrate deeply into the leather and cannot be cleaned. The risk of increasing the damage is high. Please first contact us so that we can advise you.

Marks on suede leather

As with aniline leather, the colourant also penetrates the fibre of suede leather. On coarse nap, you can try to reduce the marks somewhat with the Sanding Pad or Nubuck Eraser Block. On fine nap, use the Nubuck Sponge. However, the chances are very poor with pronounced marks. Please first contact us so that we can advise you.

Marks on PU leather

Since it is a closed film, some marks can still be removed in a similar way to pigmented smooth leather. Always test first in a concealed area to see whether the film is damaged.

Ink stains

With luck, ink stains on pigmented smooth leather can be removed like pen marks. Colourlock GLD-Solvent is the first choice for this. Ink that has already penetrated deeply into the leather can often no longer be cleaned. On smooth leather, it even migrates back to the surface through colour matching with Leather Fresh. There is practically no option for suede leather. Self-repair is also hopeless for leaking pens in leather clothing. Please first contact us so that we can advise you. It may be possible to encapsulate the damage so that it no longer shows through the colour.

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Pigmented smooth leather

Ballpoint pen on suede leather

Marks from felt-tip pens, “Edding” or other permanent markers, and ink stains

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Removing ink stains in our leather workshop