Pencil marks

[codswallop]

Can anybody please tell me an easy way of removing pencil lines that are drawn onto softwood?? Other than with sandpaper!! Thanks!!!

[ChuckFickens]

have you tried a rubber? (errr, as in an eraser, not a...... well never mind:))

[codswallop]

No I haven't tried "one of those things" but I think that the marks will be too deep on a lot of the lines to beable to get into the "groove" to remove the graphite.I'll give it a try though,thanks for the quick reply!!!

[buildersmate]

If you have a groove caused by the pressure of the point, you are gonna have to use sandpaper - to flatten the surface back flat - otherwise the black mark may disappear but a 'line' will remain.

[codswallop]

I really wanted to get rid of the black lines prior to varnishing.I never thought that a pencil mark would take such an effort to remove,Aah well back to the sandpaper.
ps I was hoping that someone would know of a "liquid" remover that wouldn't spread the graphite all over the wood surface!! Thanks for all your replies!!!

[Wak]

If you haven't already started with the sandpaper, try wetting the grooves with plain water using an eye dropper or small artist's brush. The water should make the wood fibres swell to bring the groove up level with the original surface.
Then try the eraser to remove the graphite.
Test it on one groove first to see if it helps.