Artistic misadventures of a 2 year old!

[AmyH]

This morning my wonderfully artistic daughter decided that she didn't want to wait for some paper to colour a rainbow. While I was getting some for her, she saw a huge canvas (my living room wall!) and decided that would be the best place to draw!
There is now crayon all over the wall and I am struggling to take it off, without the paint coming off too.
Anybody got any tips?
Also, where would I buy paint in hong kong to re-paint the wall if I can't remove the crayon?

 

[erina320]

Toothpaste (not gel) used gently will take pen off, maybe it'll work for crayon too.

 

[carang]

paint is available all over the place. but before you go for it...google crayon removal.

i've found that wall paint in hk is cheap. just a little bit of water and it all comes off! so, when we repainted, i bought the more expensive paint so that it doesn't come off with the wipe of a wet cloth.

 

[AmyH]

The paint that was used in this apartment was definitely the cheap one! google is telling me to try a hair dryer and some dish washing liquid so I will give that a go and see how we get on! will also give tooth paste a go!
Carang, when you say paint is available all over the place, are there any major DIY stores here? There used to be a B and Q in megabox but as far as I know that closed down. Any similar stores?

 

[carang]

No. You need to get it from a hardware shop.
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[howardcoombs]

I would do something a bit unorthodox :
Leave it alone and make it her wall. She is going to do it anyway so resist the urge to fix it and let her paint the place to her hearts content. Make sure she knows that is the only wall she should do it with...

When time comes to move out, you can then fix it up.

 

[elle]

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser usually does the trick for wall crayon marks (although it works better for single lines that whole pictures). I've bought them at A&M and Gateway in the past, but they aren't always in stock so call first.

http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/house-cleaning-tips.do

http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/magic-eraser.do

 

[howardcoombs]

I meant to say : She is going to do it again anyway, because thats what kids do...

 

[elle]

I meant to say : She is going to do it again anyway, because thats what kids do...

But leaving it there would seem to imply to the kid that it is okay to do it again and letting her mark one wall but not others could be confusing and just encourage more marked walls, especially if the child is quite young. I would (and have) dealt with this problem by cleaning it and closely supervising kid with crayons/ markers/ paint and saying "no" anytime she goes near the wall (or any other unapproved for decoration surface) with art materials. She pretty much knows now that its not okay.

 

[Newbie_hk]

In Japan Home or homeware shops, they sell this white sponge that takes off everything gently. It works like a very very fine buffing sponge that you use to polish/shine your fingernails. You just slice off a bit of the sponge, wet it then gently rub it on the wall. Sorry I don't have the name as it is in Japanese but it is widely sold there. I swear by it & I use it all the time when an odd marker or scratch leave a mark our walls.