I was in the garage fiddling with stuff and I put water in a vinegar jug so I wanted to mark the plastic jug to indicate it now has water.
I looked around my bench for a marker and finally found an old Carter's Permanent Black Felt Marker. The tip was dried out and hadrley made any kind of a mark at all.
I was too lazy to go in the house to get a new one... so I looked around at everything in view that might help refresh the dried out tip.
Then I saw a small hand-pump bottle of OFF insect body spray. So I sprayed a little on the marker tip and tried it out.
Voila !
Eureka ! .. holy smokes... whatever.
Wow!
It was like a NEW marker.
Who knew?

I usually dunk them in lacquer thinner because it is within the same reach as the can of markers. Works but not that good.

I AM saving some that have dried. I want to extract some of the color with toluene and blend that with clear plastic cement to make a tinted sealer for screws in some radios. Like the Zenith green sealer...

Interesting, a marker that repels insects... You might be on to something Peter.. Especially if it was for kids and could wash off... Washable body tatoos that repel bugs... Hurry, see your copyright attorney NOW...

Try some citronella oil

Chas

Yeah... lol
you could just write "All bugs stay away" and they would obey.

I sometimes get results by dipping the marker in IPA

Edit update:
... I checked a day later... and it was getting gummed up again.. so... maybe it was just empty or whatever..
Forget my trick except for one last spurt out of it I guess.

India Pale Ale? I get results by dipping that into me!
Cheers,
Roger

If this is a large size marker (bigger than Sharpie) I take the back off and drop in some isopropyl alcohol. Let it soak through and it will work for much more than one day. WARNING - be careful not to use too much alcohol. If you do, the next time you take the cap off to use it you will have ink all over everything including yourself.

Good idea... thanks.
Didn't know the back end comes off.

For the markers not having a removable end, I've sometimes drilled a small hole thru the end with a drill bit just large enough to then poke a small hypo needle thru to squirt in several drops of the IPA (Iso-Propyl Alcohol; I suppose maybe India Pale Ale might work too?...see above). Then plug the hole with a spot of glue, or hot glue from the glue gun.

Fred

I take the cap out of the opposite end of the tip and put a few drops of isopropyl alcohol on the fiber bundle inside. Not enough to saturate it, just barely moisten it.

MEK from a rag works too. Blot it onto the marker and it starts working again. Do this at work alot.

cool

I store them tip down, like storing wine so the cork is always wet.

RRM