Removing Ballpoint Pen Ink from Table

How do I safely remove ball point pen ink from a oak table? My daughter scribbled on our oak end table. Is there a way I can remove it without removing or harming the finish?

Debbie52 from IL

Answers:

Baking Soda

Thanks so much! I used baking soda with water rubbed in with my finger & then rubbed the wet area with a cloth with vodka on it - it removed my 2 year old's drawing done in felt pen (texter) that had already dried on our timber dining table. (08/27/2006)

By Tony

Baking Soda and Alcohol

We recently purchased a new wooden desk for our son. He decided to draw a picture using a King Size permanent black Sharpie. It bled right through the paper and we didn't know about it until a day or two later. We tried everything we could think of to remove these stains without harming the finish. I have to say that the baking soda + rubbing alcohol did the job. The finish was slightly affected but you can't tell unless you look very hard. I tried dipping cotton swabs into alcohol and then into the baking soda and rubbing. This did okay but it worked even faster when I used my index finger instead of the q-tip. After I was finished I went back over it with furniture polish and it looks great! (11/13/2006)

By J McBride