Why does nail polish remover(acetone) remove permanent marker stains?

Posted by on . One comment.

best stain removercleaning suppliesjanitorial suppliesremoving stains


I’m doing a science project and I’d like to know why acetone is able to remove permanent marker stains. Also, it’ll be great if you can give me the chemical formula too =D

Facebook comments:

Comments

  1. Trevor H says:
    May 25, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    Permanent marker inks contain three main ingredients: colorant, carrier, and resin.
    A colorant, usually dyes or pigments, is what gives markers their permanence, and, of course, their color. A dye is usually a coloring material dissolved in a solvent, making it a soluble dye. On the other hand, a pigment is an insoluble coloring matter.

    Solvents are used as the carrier in permanent markers. Alcohol, such as ethanol or isopropanol, is an environmentally friendly solvent. It also evaporates quickly, allowing permanent markers to dry faster.

    The last component, resin, is a polymer that promotes adhesion. This also adds to the permanence of markers. The resin sticks like glue to most of the surfaces the marker is written on causing the pigment to attach to surfaces.
    These markers are generally not truly permanent as, on most surfaces, they do not stain but form a surface layer that can be removed by high pressure cleaning or solvents such as acetone, and they will eventually wear away over time.
    You can now gather that the so called permanent marker, can be removed because the resin component in the marker ink is soluble in acetone.

Leave a Reply