Monday, May 17, 2010

thrifting tip!

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If your thrift stores are anything like mine, they love using a grease pencil to price things. And if you are anything like me, you loathe how many amazing vintage finds seem utterly ruined by it!

I was told (by a thrift employee) that simple soap and water would take it right off. Wrong. So wrong.

In comes...

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Goo Gone! I love this stuff. Once, when I was a teenager who thought she was going to be a musician (hah!), I got sharpie, lots of it, off of a white electric guitar using only Goo Gone.

I've found the spray gel is slightly less greasy and much easier to use. Spray a bit on a dry paper towel, wipe in a circle, and the grease pencil comes right off. If it's a kitchen item, just be sure to wash off the Goo Gone before you use it. :)

It even works on vintage Tupperwear, you know that nubby texture? I scrubbed with soap and water for a half hour, threw it in the dishwasher, nothing would make that grease pencil come off except Goo Gone.

Yay! Thrifting is a lot less stressful for me since I discovered this. ;)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the tip! I've never thought about using Goo Gone for that. And I am going to have to try to spray!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lexi said...

You are sooo right on about the grease pencil!! Are you talking about the DAV thrift store??? Because we should seriously inform them that they are ruining treasures!! I bought a super awesome melmac divided bowl, off white, but now with a smudge of black on it..grrr...I have stopped purchasing things I want to because of thinking it will be too hard to get the marks off!! Gotta grab some goo be gone and try it out. Thanks for the tip!

courtney.janelle.sews said...

Yes yes yes Lexi! Grrr DAV. I would tell them....lots of things...if I could (mainly, just because an item still has the tag doesn't mean they should charge $25...and $18 for a used flat sheet is f*&$@#^ insane....oh and if I want to pay $15 for a dress that the tag legit fell off of for god sakes let me buy it!).

Anyway, get you some goo gone, I super swear it will take that smudge off! Now every time I bring stuff home from DAV or Salvation Army, I pull out the goo gone & paper towels and clean everything up.