Before erasing objects that use brushes or vector effects, select them and choose Object > Expand Appearance. Now the eraser will erase what you want without re-applying the brush or effect attributes to the path. You can do the same thing for stroked objects by choosing Object > Expand.

written by David Macy
“These tips originally appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of Layers: The How-To Magazine for Everything Adobe.”