Graffiti on my coat: the solution!

A number of weeks ago I tossed up a short post telling you all the sad story of how, the previous morning, I had unwittingly leaned up against some wet graffiti on my train ride into work. I have one warm winter coat that fulfills all my needs, and since I was determined that some punk graffiti artist was not going to coerce me into buying new winterwear by means of his moist silver tag, I could either figure out how to clean it or live with the streaks and splotches forevah-evah. Here is the coat in question:

And here is the damage on the sleeve . . .

. . . and on the side, towards the bottom.

Not huge marks–but definitely noticeable. And annoying.

Two days after getting the graffiti on my coat, I was at a women’s breakfast/brunch that Traci (our pastor’s wife) was hosting. During the course of conversation, she and another mom were talking about occasions their kids had drawn all over stuff–walls, upholstery, etc. And then Traci mentioned how she had removed ink stains from their beige couch with her Tide magic marker. I perked up. A magic stain-removing marker? I rushed out of the room, grabbed my coat and shoved it towards Traci. “What about this?? Will the magic marker get this graffiti out??”

Traci genially applied her magic Tide marker. And it started working.

Needless to say, I bought my own at the grocery store that same afternoon and went to work on the coat.

I worked on the stain on and off for a couple weeks, carrying the marker around in the pocket of my coat so that I could pull it out whenever I had time to sit and rub at the paint with vigor. And after some time and diligence, it is mostly gone, with only a shadow left where the original stains were. Want to see the maker in action?

Here’s a small part of the stain up close . . .

Now let’s apply the magic.

Scrubbity dubbity dub . . .

. . . three men in a tub . . . the butcher, the baker . . . Huh? Three men in a tub? What’s this nursery rhyme about, anyway?

Moving on.

See how quickly it faded the silver? I’ll show you the ‘erased’ spot in contrast with the larger stain.

It’s still a little wet from the Tide liquid, but you get the idea.

And I have to say for any Doubting Daisies–this is no paid product endorsement or any such thing. This is simply a product I pounced on when Traci mentioned it because I was desperate to reclaim my winter coat from whatever gang tried to destroy it.

I also heard from Shalice (at the same women’s gathering) that a little Hydrogen Peroxide takes care of most blood stains. Well, I happen to have this nagging little blood stain on a perfectly great dress that I haven’t been able to remove even after repeated applications of Lestoil.

So I grabbed the peroxide . . .

. . . and thus endeth the story.

Because unfortunately, the peroxide was old and had lost all its bubbles, impeding me from carrying forth with the experiment. But I will resume this topic once I get a new bottle at the grocery store!

8 thoughts on “Graffiti on my coat: the solution!

  1. Madeline G.

    I love my Tide marker! I’m glad someone agrees 🙂 I was dog sitting while wearing a white sweater once (bad idea when it’s muddy outside). Even the washer didn’t get the mud out. But my Tide marker did! The only problem I’ve had with it is that sometimes the wet spot leaves a mark/residue stain on lighter clothing. I think that’s because the particular marker I was using absorbed some of the color and spread it around a bit.

  2. Suzie

    I carry one in my purse but, I wouldn’t have thought it would remove paint…that’s great! I’ll try to remember the tip about the peroxide too but, my bottles a few years old also…ha!

  3. Veronica

    I’m so glad you found something to remove it!! A tip I learned was that hairspray will remove ink stains. I tried it on a white shirt and spraying on hairspray took it right out! I was impressed. Also, for grease stains, liberally sprinkle baby powder on both sides of the garment where the stain is and leave on overnight or longer to let the powder absorb it. Then shake out and wash as usual. For really heavy grease stains, you might have to shake off the grease laden powder and apply it a second time. That’s all my tips! 🙂

  4. Elizabeth

    Just another hazard of living in the city! Glad you story as a happy ending though. I have been known to carry those little pens around with me too. They sure work in a pinch.

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