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A little pen accident

SkyBell

SkyBell

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
6,606
226
Texas, unfortunately.
Earlier today, I stuffed a pen into my pocket. Later I reached for it, and took it out, only to discover it had busted, and leaked black ink everywhere. Unfortunatly, my iPod Shuffle 1st gen was in the same pocket at the time, so it got covered in ink too. It still works, but it's really ugly. :)

What is the best solution to getting the ink off this thing. without ruining it?
 
Yikes! I've not used one of these myself, but I know a lot of people swear by Mr Clean Magic Erasers (I think they're called that) to keep their Apple gear in tip top condition. Maybe one of those might be worth a try?
 
Lighter fluid is splendid for cleaning things, and it's safe on most things. However, plastic is notoriously dodgy with chemicals, so test it first. As Jaffa Cake says, a magic eraser is a good bet, just don't press too hard as they are slightly abrasive.
 
Post a pic?

I would, but I don't have a camera.:( Let's just say its covered except for the right side of the control wheel, and the back is mostly untouched except for the bottem left side

It's times like these I'm glad I always keep the cap on. :D
 
I would stay away from the magic eraser as it is indeed abrasive. In the lab I use plain ethanol to 'unlabel' or take out most pen inks. You might also try goo gone. :)
 
You can get some quite cool stick-on skins for the Shuffle, so as long as the buttons aren't too badly covered, that could be one solution.

I've always wanted to do this to mine: :cool:

ips-ahirst-300.jpg
 
Went to Wal-Mart and bought myself an $8.00 digital camera, just so I could take these pics. Here is the Shuffle I managed to get some of the ink off with water, but the rest won't come off.
 

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Eek. What kind of ink/pen was it?

Did you have any luck with the lighter fluid or the Magic Eraser?
 
It was a papermate pen. I'm not sure what you mean by kind of ink. it was black. and it came out of a pen

I didn't try either. I don't want to mess up my shuffle just cuz I can't see sh*t without my glasses (Which are currently lost)


Do they make Cases for the shuffle that look exactly like an uncovered shuffle?
 
Cassie said:
Do they make Cases for the shuffle that look exactly like an uncovered shuffle?
Click to expand...

The site that I got the Damien Hirst skin pic from also sells some plain skins on page 7, unfortunately it doesn't look like they have a white one though. A Google search might find you one.

Most shuffle cases are silicon or plastic and tend to be a bit see-through. I've got an aluminium one with a clip made by Core Cases which you could also consider. (Obviously this isn't quite the same thing as "uncovered" though!)
 
Cassie said:
It was a papermate pen. I'm not sure what you mean by kind of ink. it was black. and it came out of a pen

I didn't try either. I don't want to mess up my shuffle just cuz I can't see sh*t without my glasses (Which are currently lost)


Do they make Cases for the shuffle that look exactly like an uncovered shuffle?
Click to expand...

I meant whether it was biro ink, or fountain/cartridge pen ink, and that can be permanent type, or non-permanent. Not that I know which would be easier to get off or anything, but I know biro ink can leave a yellowy stain even if you get it off, and that black cartridge pen ink is a bitch to get off anything.

I dunno what to suggest then, as if you don't want to try any of them and you're willing to just cover it up, fair enough. I reckon using something chemically might be a good idea though. These links might help, in spite of being more for soft furnishings:

http://www.fabriclink.com/Stains/Carpet/Ink-fountain.cfm
http://www.pendemonium.com/ink_facts.htm
http://www.woolfurnishings.com/inforoom/stainremoval/infostain3.html

Looking at them, isopropyl alcohol might be a good thing to try.
 
try regular old rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, with a little elbow grease (or not) it gets most things clean and is safe on plastic AFAIK. it's worth a shot.
 
I wouldn't do anything- it's unique, and as long as the ink isn't rubbing off on all your stuff, I wouldn't do anything about it. It's the first iPod to have been made in cow.
 
pdpfilms said:
I wouldn't do anything- it's unique, and as long as the ink isn't rubbing off on all your stuff, I wouldn't do anything about it. It's the first iPod to have been made in cow.
Click to expand...

Ya, you're right. The ink isn't hurting anything, and I gotta admit, it does look cool.:cool:

I'll try the alcohol eventually, because I know I'll get tired of the look. :)
 
Just tell people you got the new iPod shuffle cow edition. Everyone will want one. (EDIT: That would have been funnier if PDPFILMS hadn't already said it...)

If not, I would suggest turpentine/paint thinner, but I'm betting that is not safe on plastic/electronics in general so try the alcohol first.
 
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