Alphabet Inpirations ZALR04 cleaning problem

Perhaps I'm using the wrong technique - I'm open to suggestions.

To clean up a painted item after being lasered, I usually just use a slightly damp cloth and lightly wipe the smoke off. This one has a matte finish that is absorbing the damp and instead of having a nice clean white, I'm ending up with a dirty shadow around the letters. I didn't have this problem with this blank in the past, but recently got a new batch - shrink-wrapped with no box. A dry rag doesn't work, and even just a slight dampness causes the smearing. Any suggestions? Is there a problem with this batch of blanks?

We use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad. Dampen the pad with water, wring it out, and go over the area GENTLY. A couple of passes should clean up the shadows. Just be careful not to press to hard with the Eraser --- it will start to take off the finish.

Hope this helps.

Follow up to my first post. Checking the finish on an older blank (that we had misplaced in the move and found after Christmas) and the newer ones, I notice that the finish on the new product is considerably different. The original blank had a smooth clean coat of off-white paint that did not smear. The newer blank has a matte finish that absorbs moisture! Therefore, cleaning it with a damp cloth of any kind doesn't completely remove the smoke, and there is a dirty shadow created on the end result. Not very attractive, I'm afraid. I'm very gentle and use a paper towel spritzed with water to clean. This would appear to be a material problem.

We use the microfiber clothes, I soak one with water, wring out the water and only wipe one space, move the cloth to a clean space, wipe again and so forth. Its the wiping with the dust ingrained in the cloth that pushes it into the paper underneath. we also turn up the speed so there is a bit less dust, doesn't engrave as deep, but looks the same