What I've used to clean parts in extreme circumstances is good ol' carburetor cleaner that comes in a spray can at your local auto parts store. Berryman's B-12 or Gumout. Careful though because it can eat through clearcoats if too much is used. Test it on a side area if you're not sure. But it truly is the atom bomb of stain removers all around the house & garage. It'll cut through the old grease on chainrings, derailleurs, etc. in no time. Spray, then promptly wipe it off with an old rag or paper towel.
Mark Winkelman
Dallas, Texas USA
> 91% Isopropyl alcohol (90+% rubbing alcohol, IPA, isopropanol) works well
> for removing most black marker markings plus it's less noxious to breath.
>
> Sounds like you have some black marker with a much stronger binding
> material.
>
> Have you tried acetone yet? What about Goo Gone Cleaner or one of the
> citrus based paint removers?
>
> Chas. Colerich
> Oakland, CA USA
>
> R.S. Broderick wrote:
>> Perhaps others have run into this problem before:
>
>> You manage to source an NOS version of a particularly difficult to find
>> vintage bicycle component, only to be confronted with the handiwork of a
>> well intentioned but nevertheless frustratingly short sighted LBS
>> inventory control freak who has at one point seen fit to brand your new
>> found treasure with some meaningless scrawl using the likes of a common
>> felt pen. In the case of something along the lines of a clear anodized
>> aluminum alloy chain ring (...i.e. my particular circumstance), I have in
>> the past taken a simple rag doused in lacquer thinner and wiped the
>> offending visage clean. And in those confounding circumstances where the
>> cad was silly enough to have used a "permanent" type marker, I have found
>> that those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers do wonders at chain ring tattoo
>> removal of this sort.
>> ... HOWEVER ...
>>
>> This time I have run up against an indelible black marker the likes of
>> which must have its origins in the the French cosmetic industry (...which
>> might actually make sense, to the extent that the Stronglight chain ring
>> itself only just arrived here stateside Par Avion courtesy of the French
>> postal authorities). So, either the French have actually perfected a
>> method of permanent eyeliner application for the haute couture
>> mademoiselle and reconstituted same in pernicious pen form, or the ink in
>> question is merely a more mundane sort that has had some thirty years to
>> allow itself to permanently stain this chain ring in a manner beyond that
>> which I have ever previously encountered.
>> In either case, before I grab my handy can of Aircraft Paint Remover in a
>> final attempt at exorcising the unwanted coloration while risking
>> ruination of the anodized clear coat in the process, I thought that I
>> might solicit the collective wisdom of the CR List membership as to any
>> other non invasive yet effective measures that one might contemplate
>> (...and no, using a felt pen to finish the job of converting my bis chain
>> ring into a noir ter is NOT an option).
>>
>> Robert "such stains on chains beget mainly my disdain" Broderick
>>
>> ...the "Chronically Cloudy Clime" of Oregon
>>
>> Portland, USA
>
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