Whiteboard Ghosting: What You Need to Know

For anyone using a product with whiteboard functionality – ghosting can be a potential problem. People go to great lengths to keep their whiteboards free of ghosting and struggle through trying to find what will work, what won’t work and what could potentially damage their whiteboard surface.

What is Whiteboard Ghosting?

Ghosting is when the surface of a whiteboard/ whiteboard wall won’t fully erase, leaving behind stains and stray marks which can make your whiteboard look dirty or make it hard to read.

Causes of Whiteboard Ghosting

Ghosting can occur for a number of reasons some of which you can read below. It should be noted that traditional whiteboards usually have a limited life span in which you can avoid any ghosting.

• Using low quality, cheap whiteboards
• Repeated heavy use of whiteboards
• Leaving marks on a whiteboard for extended periods
• Erasing markers while they are still wet
• Some types of whiteboards are more susceptible than others to ghosting

Avoiding Whiteboard Ghosting

• Use high quality markers and cleaning sprays
• Clean with Smart Sponge
• Replace your choice of eraser when it gets dirty
• Use a pro cleaner every so often – note not suitable for daily usage

One solution to avoiding ghosting altogether is abandoning traditional whiteboards and instead coating your wall with a high quality whiteboard paint: Smart Wall Paint.

Smart Wall Paint and Whiteboard Ghosting

Smart Wall Paint is a high quality whiteboard paint which does not ghost. It has no harsh or cheap chemicals. It abides by all regulations of EU standards and is a low VOC product. These factors help it prevent factors such as poor erasability.

However ghosting can also be a repercussion of how you apply or maintain a product, so below are some tips for maintaining your Smart Whiteboard Wall.

1: Make sure that your whiteboard paint has been correctly installed, following the application guide provided, to help ensure no ghosting will occur.

2: Do not stretch the paint: Smart Wall Paint is sold by the area the customer is looking to cover, not litres. Using the paint on a larger area than the tin allows can have negative effects on the product’s erasability.

3: For the first month of use, while the paint is still curing do not leave markers on the wall over night. This will give the product time to cure.

4: Do not use Smarter Surfaces Permanent Ink Remover on a daily basis as it can damage the surface. This product is for stubborn stains and you should thus use it irregularly.

5: Do not use alcohol to clean the surface as continued use of alcohol on SWP may deteriorate the integrity of your surface and reduce the performance.

Smarter Surfaces also have a range of high quality dry erase wallcoverings available which are guaranteed ghosting-free.

The whiteboard accessories you use are very important in keeping your whiteboard surface in good condition. To save you the hassle of having to search through the number of brands of markers available, you can check out the markers we sell on our website which are high quality so are ideal to be used with whiteboard paint.

In conclusion, your whiteboard surfaces does need some care to maintain a pristine finish but by following the steps above, you should be fine!

Have you any questions regarding our products? Call us on the relevant number below:
UK: +44 (0)2035 145395  Global: +353 1 4126200