Hi all,

I recently acquired another plane that has been framed up. I am ready to monokote it, but the builder marked up the balsa wood in some spots during the building process with a sharpieblack marker. When I go to cover it with white or yellow, they will definitely show thru. Other then changing to darker color monokote, white and yellow are my colors I like to use. Does anybody know of any little tricks to remove the marker?

Thanks

Depends on how heavy the marks are and where they are. If they aren't too heavy you may be able to sand them out without changing the shape. If they are heavier you could consider cutting out the marked area and replacing the balsa there. This isn't as big a job as it sounds, especially if you have done any building and/or repairing of planes yourself previously. An intermediate step could be to sand the area down even to the point of distorting the shape - depending on what kind of area it is - and then filling with light weight spackle and covering. Loss of strength with this method, so make sure it's someplace where you can tolerate this method. With very light color Monokote - or any similar covering - painting over the marks probably won't help much as you'll be able to see the painted areas versus the other areas underneath.

Try a little acetone.

What if you tried a stain covering paint like Kilz? It is supposed to prevent bleed through.

Just a thought.

i was thinking the same thing LairdSS,or one those color touch up pens like you use on cars.the problem with a sharpie is the ink wicks pretty deep into balsa,sanding might take off too much material.i would go with the same color paint or like was said kills they make it is spray cans at the hardware store.

Try White-out, if they still stock it at office supply stores.

I am happy to see some great responses. The Acetone on I will try tonight. The Kilz stain blocker I am familiar with works well. However Kilz goes on clear and when painted over with enough coats to cover it. As a stain blocker it keeps it from bleeding thru, as if it was a water stain. Monokote will be one layer only. The plane is an Uproar by Tower hobbies and the location is where the wing saddle meets the fuse. Black marker was used heavily at this point to line the wing up in the fuse area. I may have to iron down an inch of white monokote first to cover the area then proceed with covering the wing and fuse as usual. I would rather eliminate the marker all together, that we be all the better. There are some other locations as well, that I am trying to conceal.

Thanks so far for the ideas, keep'em coming.......

Clear monokote over the affected area would prevent the marker from bleeding through onto the white or yellow. Of course, you would have the same problems that occur when you put monokote over monokote.

Me personally I would use a spray primer as it is available in a multitude of colors. Gray should not show through yellow or white at all. Once sanded it would be an excellent surface to adhere to. I am an owner of a yet to be covered uproar 60 that I built a couple weeks ago and I know for a fact there is no rhyme or reason to use a sharpie. Good luck

How big are these spots? Where are they located? Just go ahead and cover with whatever covering you want, and add darker trimmings over the affected areas, if they can still be seen through the covering.

Hi!
Acetone will not fix it ...it will only spread it out . Only thing is sanding!
Regards!
Jan K