I've stopped using goo gone (Still have a case of it though), http://www.amazon.com/Best-Test-Sudent-Rubber-Cement-Thinner...  works so much better, and for the bulk of people, that 32oz is a lifetime supply.

Brake Fluid is the best answer.

I'm glad I got this method in regular use here, as it is so effective and doesn't mar carts. As for formula, I've been using the same 12oz bottle of cheap Pennzoil Dot 4 and 3 Super Heavy Duty for the last 5+ years with no ill effects. Just like with any cleaner, you should spot test it first. And yes I use a magic eraser as the lifting cloth. It soaks up the fluid way quicker and helps pull the ink out of the texture. Give it a try and you'll see.

better even is lighter fluid and a bit of fire--take the marker clean off. pretty much anything with fluid in the name really: lighter fluid, windshield wiper fluid

99% isopropyl is my go-to. Failing that, I'll use some of the cheap store brand DOT3 brake fluid on it. Last resort, hit it with the magic eraser, but rub lightly and make sure you keep the surface and the eraser wet. Never ever use it dry on plastics, that's asking for trouble.

Anyone know how to remove gold/silver paint marker from carts? None of the above work on it at all, that stuff is super resilient. I am tempted to try brake cleaner on it, but brake cleaner EATS through plastic, so I'm pretty paranoid about using it.

think i've had luck sometimes coloring over the gold marker in sharpie then cleaning the sharpie with iso

I took a gamble on a scribbled on Gradius eBay cart and it's the bad ink that won't remove with Sharpie.

I've noticed Sharpie ink tends to come right off with 91% rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs, even weeks after application. I've actuallly doodled on crappy games with Sharpie and removed it easily. Yet some old carts I get with writing or kids names on them come off easily, and for some rubbing alcohol or even mineral spirits don't work. NEVER use acetone as it will melt plastics. I'm no expert on permanent marker formulations, but it appears some markers are more permanent than others. I get the impression some markers back in the day used a different formulation that was more persisten than now. Pull the cap off a Marks-A-Lot and the fumes would fill the room. Markedly more pronounced than modern Sharpies.

Was there some different marker formulation back in the day that was more permanent, or does the ink become indelible with time?

Really though Sharpies are the only markers I use anymore. And the piece of mind knowing I can remove them off any non-porous surface with cotton swabs and alcohol. If anyone knows of a formulation that will get rid of these vintage mystery markers, I'd like to know. The ones I've ever used are isopropyl, denatured SLX alcohol, mineral spirits, acetone. Again, acetone will remove anything but also melts plastic so useless.

I also have a Tengen Tetris with yellow paint pen numbers on it, but I suspect anything that will remove varnish will attack the cart plastic. Someone above mentioned silver marker. Gold and Silver Sharpie tend to melt with alcohol however they seem to use a completely different forulation than the art pens that you shake or push a primer button.

I'm not convinced with the DOT brake fluid. Seems there's a lot of trade secrets and mystery additives in it that may or may not be consistent or attack plastics. If we knew what the top ingredients of the DOT fluid were, the pure reagent form without additives would likely work better. There's literally 20 or 30 different industrial solvents in the metal cans at my local Lowes store, and that's not counting countless lubricants. Most of the solvents are pure chemical and will either attack the plastic, or not. They will either dissolve the ink, or not. But I am almost throroughly convinced that these mystery markers from the 80s and early 90s have a different formulation to modern Sharpie. Probably a lot more toxic too.

I think this is the best option, that stuff works like magic.
 

What's the best method to remove stickers that are on top of labels?

Related to that, why do people insist on putting those there? So annoying.

Bestine, stuff's magic.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Test-Sudent-Rubber-Cement-Thinner...

It's not the cheapest, but 32oz is a lifetime supply for most people.  Except for a few things (Like the silver on gameboy carts), it's safe to use on anything.  It doesn't remove glue so much as makes it not sticky; soak a sticker with it, you can remove the sticker, and in a few moments it dries, and is sticky again.  It's used a lot for scrap booking.

You can get simlar stuff at walmart, but there you get like 5 oz for $10+
 

(1) Very carefully.

(2) Store employees who don't give a shit.

Back during my sports collecting days, we used to use rubbing alcohol to get sharpie off of stuff.

Not sure if it would work, but you could try it.

Yes it works great on Sharpie. It's these other mystery markers which I can't remove for the life of me.

 

There's two major types of perm marker ink.  You can find blending pens for both kinds (Blending pens = dry erase), bestine works on the ones that resist IPO 90%.  A magic erasre is great for removing the ink as it kind of lifts it off (Think of a magic eraser more like a bunch of razor blades scraping across the surface, not as sand paper)

 

IS there info online about the formulation of the alcohol resistant ink? That might clue what type of solvent to use. As long as it's not Xylene or Acetone or something that eats plastic, then it should just wipe off.

Magic erasers are abrasive and I don't want to scuff the plastics. The DOT brake fluid supposedly removes it but it probably has a lot of additives that might be harmful.

yea, I can't find the post, but I did have some notes over at thecoverproject.  What you do is look up a products MSDS sheet, it'll list what chemicals are used.  For example, sharpie:
https://www.cla.purdue.edu/polsci/documents/safetydocs/msdad...
 
As for the magic eraser, don't put too much stock into them being abrasive, scroll up and look at the pics I have of a CD case.  The right side is a worse case, and the camera can't pick it up.  That was with a lot more pressure than I should have used, was DRY (Wet magic erases do even less damage), and on a CD jewel case.  I'm betting my tongue would scratch a CD jewel case, everythign scratches them.

and HOLY FUCK WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE I HAVE A BAG OF COKE IN THAT PIC.  On a damned CD case that looks like a razor was drug acrossed it.

Well that explains why isopropyl (or any alcohol) works so well to remove it. It's seriously easy to clean up. Could someone name an example of an alcohol resistant mystery marker so I can look up it's datasheet?

Marks-A-Lot uses N-Propanol so that's alcohol based as well.
http://old.akronschools.com/dotAs...

I'm thinking those old vintage markers that used to stink to high heavens had hasardous solvent compounds that are no longer permitted in consumer products. If the scribbles were done in the late 80s / early 90s, then it well may have contained more powerful solvents containing dyes that may not react to alcohol.