Upholstery and Fabrics - Ink stain on cloth upholstery!

HELP!! My pen broke and a drop of ink landed in the seat in my car! How do I get the ink out without it smearing and making a bigger mess?

Most upholsterers will have a stain remover which
will handle an ink pen stain.

Do they sell this stuff to the public or will I have to have them clean the stain?

hairspray! yep, good ol' hairspray. Don't know where I heard of it, but I had a drop of blue ink land on my cream colour loveseat and hairspray -the type that comes in a pump bottle- did the trick (I think it has something to do with alcohol content). Anyhow, here's the technique:

Spray enough to saturate the fabric where the stain is. Blot with a high abosorbancy cloth. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat....the stain should fade away if you're lucky.

I heard the hair spray trick too but I couldn't remember what it was used to clean! :rolleyes: :p

Thanks guys! I might give them both a try! ;)

Upholstery manufacturers tend not to recommend using hairspray for ink removal. Because many of the hairsprays tend to contain lacquer and other ingredients that may compound your cleaning problems, it is best to blot with rubbing alcohol or other solvent such as dry cleaning fluid. Use a white cloth and blot from outside the stain toward the middle.

hmmm, plain old alcohol?

alcohol. I would make the assumption that that's what makes the hairspray trick work.