Battlemat stains :(

I have been using a (medium) Staedtler Lumocolor (water-soluble) pen on my 'Crystal Caste' battlemat with no problem (note that this is the brand they advertise on their site). However, I wanted thicker lines (to make things stand out a little better) - so I purchased some 'bold' Staedtler Lumocolor (water-soluble) pens thinking they would be OK... the pen with the medium point is fine, so the bold ones should be no different... right?

Wrong... I now have a nasty stain on my mat I've tried water, washing-up liquid, window cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and even cautiously dabbed a bit of turps-substitute on it (yep I was getting desperate )... but it's not shifted it

Luckily I tested the pens out in a small area near the edge of the mat... but still, I'd like to get rid of the stains if at all possible.

So does anyone have any ideas? (note that I live in the UK... so some US brand name cleaners etc. may not readily available to me).

Thanks in advance!

What helps on whiteboards is the counterintuitive method of writing over it thickly with a real whiteboard marker (i.e. pen with removable ink) and then wipe it away. The solution in the ink of the whiteboard marker dissolves the ink of the non-washable. Needs to be repeated a bit sometimes....

On a related note... how do you get the bloodstains out of the battlemat???

I've always had good luck with highly diluted Simple Green degreaser, but as you say, it may not be available in your area. Perhaps some similar degreaser product is though.

You might try a mix of water and Clorox Cleanup spray. That worked well for me on my mat.


Mike

I can't find the thread where I posted a solution on EN World, but I cross posted it to RPGNet, here.

That worked for me, although the chemicals might be too harsh. It works though.

Edit: I neglected to mention the miracle solvent here, in case you don't want to to over to RPGNEt- It's brake cleaner. I tried literally everything else I could get my hands on and brake cleaner made my mat as good as new- without affecting the printed grid lines.

What color is the stain. Red seems to always be a problem.

Thanks for the help guys - it's really appreciated.

Anyway... I've only tried blue and black pens. Using the black one I drew around one of the mat's squares (which although slightly visible is not such a problem i.e. I didn't even see it at first which is why I then went on to draw a little river with the blue pen ).

With regard to 'Simple Green and Clorox' ...they are not something I can say I have ever seen over here (though I generally pay little attention at the supermarket ), but I have tried various household cleaners (including foam type oven cleaners/degreasers etc.) but with no luck.

Brake cleaner is something I'll try (the next time I pass a store that may sell it) and I'll no doubt be giving the cleaning products aisle at the supermarket some serious scrutiny the next time I'm in there

I'm just kinda annoyed right now because I don't see why two pens (purchased a few years apart though admittedly) from the same manufacturer, both 'water-soluble' and from the same range, act differently. My old medium-point pen is fine... my new chisel-point ones stain. Very weird :S ...oh well.

I don't know what the UK equivalent of Simple Green (it's an entirely organic detergent) is, but Clorox is a brand of laundry bleach- nothing special, except maybe its concentration. Still, I think that the brake cleaner is your best bet. Good luck.

use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. That thing cleans ANYTHING with a hard surface. I can leave pen marks on my mat all week and use it. They still come right off.

Goldmoon said:

use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. That thing cleans ANYTHING with a hard surface. I can leave pen marks on my mat all week and use it. They still come right off.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have any better alternatives then offered above... But I wanted to say... That Mr Clean pad creeps me out... It really DOES clean just about anything...