Frequently Asked Questions – Touch-Up Markers

Our low-odour formula is free of toluol and MEK; hazardous chemicals found in other markers. The Trade Secret alcohol-resin blend won’t shift colour when exposed to light. As well, these are not pump markers that tend to leave difficult-to-remove circles/halos on a finish. The fine tip point lets you carry out fine line repairs or grain simulations and the broad bevelled portion of the marker tip is great for larger repair areas.

Yes. The Touch-up Markers can be used months or even years after the damage has occurred. Applying the markers on top of other Trade Secret products is perfectly fine. For best results, make sure that the surface is clean and dry.

Ensure the area you are going to repair is clean and dry. Apply the marker and chase quickly with a clean cloth to remove excess colour. If the colour is not dark enough, multiple applications will darken the repair. Allow to dry.

Yes. Crystal Clear Finish dries semi-gloss. Important: Finish must be completely dry (24 hours). Proceed cautiously, examine the surface after a few rubs. Repeat if necessary. Buffing with a clean cloth will bring the sheen up and light scuff sanding with 280+ grit sandpaper can be used to reduce the lustre.

In some cases the grain of the wood is so tight that the stain in the marker cannot adhere to the wood. This occurs occasionally with cherry and woods imported from outside North America. If this is the case, please contact to wood repair specialist in your area.

We are often asked what makes our Touch-Up Markers better than the competition. Well, to begin with our markers use an alcohol/resin base. This allows better adhesion of the stain to many different surfaces, including bare wood, finished woods and even plastic laminates. As well, they don’t need to be top coated to be resistant. Our competitor’s products are often liquid stains in a shell with a pump dispenser (often leaving difficult to remove rings on your furniture), whereas ours are capillary markers which offer uniform product application without pooling of the liquid. Our Touch-Up Markers are also labelled with easy-to-identify colour indicator bands allowing you to choose the right colour every time. Our competitor’s markers have obscure colour names (what is “colonial” anyway?). Furthermore, our markers offer 9 colour shades per package as each marker offers up to 3 different shades. Our competitions markers offer only 1.