How to clean pen on leather?
What a horror to see a ballpoint pen stain on leather isn’t it!? Whether on a sofa, shoes, clothes or a leather bag, it is possible to clean this pen stain.
I offer you in my article some good tips and tricks to remove pen on leather easily and effectively.
1. Test the product on a small area of the leather to start
No matter what product you are going to use to clean stained ballpoint pen leather, it is VERY important to test it on a small, inconspicuous area.
Indeed, as there are several types of leathers and colors, some products may react differently when in contact with leather. So before attacking the pen stain, it is better to test on an inconspicuous part of your sofa, your handbag or even your leather clothing.
Simply soak a cotton swab in the product, rub the leather, rinse, dry and observe how the leather reacts in contact with this product.
2. Clean ballpoint pen on leather with 70° alcohol
A first grandmother’s tip for removing ballpoint pen effectively from leather is 70° alcohol. Here’s how to do this trick:
- Soak a cotton swab or cotton ball with 70° alcohol.
- Gently dab the pen stain and change the cotton swab as soon as it gets stained with ink.
- Repeat and change cotton swabs until the ink stain is completely gone.
If the leather surface to be cleaned is fragile, you can dilute the 70° alcohol with a little water to avoid damaging it.
3. Remove a pen stain from leather with White Spirit
Another product to try to remove a pen stain from leather is White spirit! As with other products, it is important to test White Spirit on an inconspicuous part of furniture or leather clothing.
So here’s how to remove that ballpoint pen stain:
- Soak a cotton ball in white spirit and gently dab the pen stain.
- Change the cotton ball (or cotton swab) regularly so as not to spread the ink even more on the leather.
- Repeat until the pen stain disappears completely from the leather.
I have personally used this trick on a brown leather couch and it worked great.
4. Remove from pen on leather with vinegar and lemon juice
One last home remedy for naturally removing a ballpoint pen stain from leather is to use lemon juice and white vinegar.
These two ingredients are excellent for cleaning different surfaces and making stains disappear naturally! So here’s how to use them to remove pen stains:
- Soak a cotton swab in white vinegar or lemon juice and dab the pen stain.
- Change the cotton swab often and continue to dab the stain until it disappears.
You can also make a mixture of lemon juice and white vinegar in equal quantities. This recipe is also effective for removing pen stains from fabrics.