"China Marker Brands?" Topic

I'm in the USA.

Trying to get some varied colors for China Markers to use with wargaming: Mostly writing on ship sheets for naval games etc, so clear acetate, vinyl and such, mostly.

I have an old berol Baisdell black, which is really good. Doesn't seem like the brand is around anymore?

Checking out products on line, and there's lots of extremes in the reviews. Some of the products people claim are cheap garbage, they break too easily, won't write as claimed, etc.

Anyone have any brands they recommend, and a supplier?

Try wet erase markers instead. Easy to use and lots of colors

I use Sharpies.
Yes.
Hear me out.
They don't smudge, dry in seconds, and don't get all over rulebook and other things like quick-play sheets.

You erase them with a dry-erase marker. Whatever is in dry-erase markers is a solvent for Sharpie permanent markers. As long as you're writing on a non-porus surface, they'll wipe right off with the likes of Expo and others.

-Hal

That trick works on Sharpie as long as you don't let it age too long. I've managed to clear more than one accidentally Sharpie'd white board that way, but if the ink is too old, it doesn't work as well anymore. I also prefer wet erase markers for gaming because I can get water and napkins to erase stuff almost anywhere I game.

I used to use grease pencils, but I stopped because they produced THICK LINES and were hard to erase afterward. I can't recommend any brands, but I do see it's now easy to get them in lots of colors. I have bunches in red and black, with one each in blue and white.

- Ix

@Yellow Admiral
Which brands?

I did purchase a large clear vinyl table cloth to protect game board and mats. Uncertain what will be best for it.

Actually, the one China Marker I have writes an edge just fine – I just keep rotating it as it is always "sharpening" itself as it is used.

Didn't you like the ones on Amazon

link

Grease pencils work well ('Sharpie' is the brand of
grease pencil I use) if you use them with a light
pressure.

A heavy pressure does create a thick line (and possibly
cause breakage) but a light hand gives me a thin line
and won't cause breakage.

FWIW

I use Sharpie permanent markers for model making. Isopropyl alcohol removes it instantaneously from plastic and metal. Haven't let it age though.

I use eraseable fine-tip markers for marking up plastic sheet protectors. For example, Vis-a-Vis markers: link

MH

I use vinyl battlemats for my RPG's. I used Vis-A-Vis wet erase markers for many years, but several of the colors leave ghost images, even if I erase them within 10 minutes.

Found a recommendation to use Crayola wet erase markers…

The Crayola red and black markers were left on the vinyl mat, for weeks: came right off, with ease, using water only. I recommend the Crayola markers, above all others, if they work on your surfaces. Cheers!