How to Refill Non-refillable Dry Erase Markers With an Pilot V Board Marker Refill Kit

Refilling non-refillable dry erase markers

Non-refillable dry erase markers can easily accept the ink from cartridges intended for refillable dry erase markers. Simply submerging the tip in the ink will allow the tip of the marker to soak up the ink (15-30 minutes). No disassembly of the marker is required. The difficult part is extracting the ink from the cartridge, finding a suitable container for the filling process, and recapping the cartridge for storage.

If your dry erase marker is only just beginning to show signs of drying out, try one of the below methods first:

1. Store the marker at a declined angle. Markers that are just beginning to show signs of drying up can be extended significantly with a little help from gravity to help the ink flow towards the tip.
2. Alcohol. Dab the marker tip very lightly in alcohol or nail polish remover. Then run the marker over paper or a dry erase board to coax the ink into the marker tip. This WILL dilute the ink for several days or until you have used the marker enough to work through any remaining alcohol.
3. Helicopter method. Attach the marker to a string with the tip pointing outwards and swing overhead or sideways for about 20 seconds. It is much easier to notch two holes in a plastic cup and run the string (or twine or yarn) through the two holes then place the marker tip-down in the cup, then swing it this way.

If your dry erase marker is very dry then continue on to the steps below.

• Dry erase marker
• Ink refill cartridge
• Shotglass
• Pin for sewing (Quilting pin, T-pin, or Ball-point)
• hammer
• Pliers
• Shell/tube from an old pen
• Superglue
• Packing tape

Here I am using a refill cartridge for the Pilot V Board Master refill pack. Notice the nipple in the center of the cartridge; that's where we will pierce the cartridge to remove the ink.

Here I use a ball-point pen from a sewing kit to pierce the cartridge nipple. Hold the pin in place with pliers and tap with the hammer.

After piercing the nipple with the sewing pin, repeat this step using a sewing needle. This will make the hole slightly larger.

Here the entire cap detached from the cartridge while I was hammering. This will make it even easier to pour the ink, but will require additional steps to prevent the ink from evaporating during storage.

If making a mess isn't a problem, you could possibly drill out the cartridge instead. Haven't tried that yet.

Squeeze on the cartridge to pour out the ink. Fill a shot glass with the ink or a similarly narrow tube-like fixture. An empty pen tube/shell may work. Here, I have used some scissors to cut up an old cologne sample spray bottle. It is sufficiently small that I can avoid wasting too much ink.

Hang the dry erase marker so that the tip is just slightly submerged beneath the surface of the ink.

Wait 15-30 minutes for the marker to soak up the ink.

Remove the marker from the ink and clean up any overspill. These pictures demonstrate a before and after. You can see that the ink level is several millimeters lower after just 20 minutes.

Seal off the hole in the cartridge nipple with a dab of superglue.

Here, since the entire cap came off, I have cut up a piece of packing tape and placed it over the cartridge. I cut slits around the edge and then used a lighter to heat up the tape enough that I could ply the tape to make a good seal around the edges. Flip the cartridge upside down and if no ink comes out then you have made a good seal. The cartridge is now ready for storage until your next refill.

It would be much easier to use pourable ink for the refills rather than salvaging ink cartridges, but the pourable inks I have tried have not had very good quality compared to the Pilots.

The cartridges I used are the Pilot V Board Master refills.

Below is an Amazon link. I am not affiliated with Amazon or Pilot and do not receive any compensation from them.

Pilot V Board Master Assorted Color