You must be very careful in selecting an eraser that will remove pencil or ink lines without damaging the surface of the drawing sheet.

A vinyl eraser (fig. 2-2, view A) is ideal for erasing lines drawn on tracing cloth and films. An ordinary double-beveled pencil eraser generally comes in red or in pink color (sometimes called a PINK PEARL). A harder eraser (sometimes called a RUBY RED) (fig. 2-2, view B) is designed for erasing lines in ink. The ART GUM eraser (fig. 2-2, view C), made of soft pliable gum, will not mar or scratch. It is ideally suited for removing pencil or finger marks and smudges.

You can also use a kneaded eraserthe type used by artists. It is a rubber dough, kneadable in your hand, and has the advantage of leaving very little refuse on the drawing sheet.

The so-called STEEL ERASER, shown in figure 2-3, is, of course, actually a scraper. It is used principally for scraping off erroneous ink lines, especially from tracing cloth. The figure shows a short-bladed steel eraser; long-bladed steel erasers are also available. A steel eraser is not generally recommended for use by beginners because it has a tendency to damage the surface of the drawing sheet. Figure 2-4 shows an ELECTRIC ERASER. The control switch is directly under the fingertip;

the body of the machine fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, and the rotating eraser can be directed as accurately as a pencil point. Refills for either ink or pencil erasing are available.

CAUTION: Do not hold the electric eraser steady in one spot, or you may easily wear a hole or damage the surface of the material being erased.

When there are many lines close together and only one needs to be removed or changed, the desired lines may be protected by an erasing shield, as shown in figure 2-5.

Finely pulverized gum eraser particles are available in squeeze bottles or in DRY CLEAN PADS for keeping a drawing clean while you work on it. If a drawing or tracing is sprinkled occasionally with gum eraser particles, triangles, T squares, scales, french curves, and the like, not only tend to stay clean themselves, but also tend to clean the drawing or tracing as they are moved over the surface.

Before a drawing is inked, it is usually prepared by sprinkling on POUNCE (a very fine bone dust) and then rubbing in the pounce with a felt pad on the container. Pounce helps to prevent a freshly inked line from spreading. A draftsmans DUST BRUSH should be used for brushing dust and erasure particles off a drawing.