Getting Magic Marker off a bass?

[jzucker]

I bought a bass a few weeks ago that the previous owner had gotten signed in magic marker by a couple famous bassists. The bass is finished with a single coat of minmax tung oil and then wax. The marker is on top of the finish but with such a thin finish I'm sure it's penetrated somewhat into the wood...

I started off with alcohol and then tried naptha and finally alcohol and white 3m pads. I've gotten 75% of it but do I just need to brute force sand through it at this point?

[62bass]

Probably you'll have to sand through it and into the wood. Anything strong enough to remove the marker (which is usually in a solvent based solution) would probably dissolve the Minwax finish anyhow. If the marker is right into the wood you'll have to sand it out. I've sometimes had to use one of the 2 part wood bleaches to get marks like these out of the wood without excessive sanding.

One thing though-it'll be easy enough to redo the finish once it's all cleaned up. I'd wash it down well with mineral spirits (paint thinner) before refinishing to get any traces of wax out of the wood.