Cleaning up pencil mark's on wood.

[MARK.B.]

A lot of you guy's will probably already know this, but for those that don't . When using a pencil to mark out on lighter woods i ocaissionly found that when sanding the pencil marks that they could sort of smudge in and spread around rather than disapear, not a problem if you have enough wood to sand right through until all the marks are gone. Well today i had finished marking out a piece and gave it a quick wipe over with a rag that i had just used before and was still damp from having some acetone on it , that quick wipe promptly removed about 90% of my marking out . In this situation it was a bit of a bummer as i had to mark out again ,but it could prove useful to someone that actually wants to remove pencil marks

 

[Yojevol]

Use a rubber and stay safe

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Use a rubber and stay safe

That and at least 2B lead works for me

 

[mynamehere]

What they said…^^

 

[MARK.B.]

Indeed there is more than one way to skin a cat but having an extra arrow in you quiver if needed can be very handy and it is a lot lot quicker than using an eraser

 

[TRITON]

Rubber first. Funnily if you just try to sand it, it never comes off as well and you can sometimes still see the marks.

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I did good work with a scraper yesterday, but that is like sandpaper only faster. I used a curved scraper so it only removed where the pencil was. I shall definitely try the acetone trick - lots of nail painting in my house, so there is always some floating about.

 

[rob1693]

A sharp plane is the best eraser I've found

 

[Johnccc]

A normal rubber will tend to spread the graphite rather than lift it off. Artists use a "putty" rubber which is a lot softer and lifts the graphite. Got to an art supply shop, they are not expensive. As an alternative, take some new blu-tack (other brands are available) and work it with your fingers until it is warm then press on and peel off. Don't rub. May take a few goes. Good luck.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

Staedtler White Erasers are anti smudge , cheap and work well for me

 

[johnny]

back in the days when Architects actually used pencils to draw with ,....(imagine that !) we always used Putty rubbers. Its the only way to guarantee no smudging as it removes the graphite without spreading it. They work really well in removing dust and crud from nooks and crannies on your car console and dashboard too

 

[MARK.B.]

Never heard of a putty rubber before but will get a couple

 

[thetyreman]

I like putty rubbers as well, back when I was studying art I used them when doing charcoal work because of the lack of smudging. A technique to help make it easier to erase is to draw with the pencil on its side instead of digging into the wood, and use a darker pencil like a 2B.

 

[Ttrees]

If you're going to the art shop then pick up one of these graphite sticks
They don't cut into the wood, they leave a thick mark with ease, but erase easily, and last forever.
Great for other jobs too, that link is cut to the graphite stick.

 

[David C]

A sharp plane with a fine setting does a perfect job.

Fine setting means shavings of 1 thou" thickness or less.

David Charlesworth

 

[Chief Sawdust Maker]

A magic sponge / eraser (melamine sponge) slightly damp is the best way I have found
D

 

[mikej460]

Staedtler rubber works for me

 

[Jacob]

Rubber! There's a clue in the name - think "rubbing out".
There's more to rubber than meets the eye. Rubber (disambiguation) - Wikipedia
Just noticed this is an old thread. It gives UKW a sort of timeless quality! Recapturing the first careless rapture.

 

[Crispym]

As I recall, my old woodwork and CDT teachers helpfully stated that the way to remove pencil marks from wood was not to put them there in the first place.
They were talking to another pupil who treated his pencil as a gouge, however, but it stuck in my mind as one of their usual asinine comments.

 

[ajs]

As I recall, my old woodwork and CDT teachers helpfully stated that the way to remove pencil marks from wood was not to put them there in the first place.

Sure. I use quite a bit of masking tape for labelling parts to ensure the pencil jottings  are easily removed. Not so much for cut marks but the "left outside" or "corner 3" type stuff.