I really don't like it when the foam that was supposed to protect stuff is all crumbly and the stuff inside the package corroded. What's the best toxic chemical for cleaning this or is it even worth it.
Disintegrated foam packing.
- Thread starter jcdammeyer
- Start date
Well so far removing the gunk from plastic I've used both Lighter Fluid and Turpentine. They appear to work the best. On the metal parts Acetone, Lacquer Thinner, MEK and Xylene have only been moderately successful. The metal parts that are plated (likely brass underneath) have a pocketed corrosion that is also green in colour. Very similar to the damaged S100 PC boards from last year. Combination of moisture in the air and likely some other rare gases that over time do their thing.
I think the unit is recoverable as in ti can become operational again but one part that I wire brushes still has a rough pocketed feel to it. And the unit can't be completely disassembled; one flat head screw is very tight if not even peened into place perhaps.
Interesting experiment anyway.
The compass kit was in this carry case for my A3 size drafting board.
I think the unit is recoverable as in ti can become operational again but one part that I wire brushes still has a rough pocketed feel to it. And the unit can't be completely disassembled; one flat head screw is very tight if not even peened into place perhaps.
Interesting experiment anyway.
The compass kit was in this carry case for my A3 size drafting board.
I didn't try it on the plastic pencil lead holder for obvious reasons. And when you think about how sticky this crap was the lighter fluid, just like for bandaid left over glue on the skin worked quite well.
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
yuck.
trash that, send me the money you'd have used to buy cleaner and I'll use that to ship you a much better set...
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
Seriously though, I had two sets. I put them away neatly.
One looked like this:
The other day I found it all dumped in a box in a heap, no sign of the case. This is why I can't have nice things at home. Wife asks me why I get pissed when she cleans up my stuff.
Here are the remnants now:
There are other plastics or cases that also appear to disintegrate over time. You reach into a cupboard and the case comes out feeling sticky. Something about the earlier plastics compared to wood or leather cases.
This case for example may have been some sortr of vinyl but it was so sticky. I managed to clean it with something a few years ago. Fine now. More like a cloth case now. With all the different RF adapters.
These were used with RF units like these:
Haven't used them in years either since this tool does almost everything these do. I fully expect the top and bottom rubberish case sections will eventually also degrade. The 900Mhz whip antenna is no longer flexible. It's broken in a number of places where it flexes. I have the bridge adapter for it too that let's me even find short circuits in cables measuring reflections.
Unfortunately I have no need for that sort of stuff now. I like my CAD system and although the ink cartridges are expensive (9 of them) my EPSON can print 11x17 prints.
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
I despise unstable synthetics that ooze and offgas undetected over the course of years.
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
see you cant even give this stuff away... I have no emotional attachment to it at all. Once I got my first pen plotter such things went in a drawer not to be seen for a decade or more.
I used to have an E sized hp inkjet plotter, but it too became unused with the adoption of PDF output. Now I only have 11x17 printer to print out drawings I need to take into the shop.
Never did own a plotter. Was going to take one off someone's hands a number of years ago. Then decided it was a waste. My printer not only does my drawings but does a beautiful job on photographs with the extra shades of ink.
Please don't pitch them. I'd be happy to give them a home and pay shipping. I had a nice German set once, but gave it to my daughter and she still uses them so I just can't ask for them back. At the rate that I'm learning Fusion I expect I'll be drawing on my drafting board for many years yet to come!
I had an HP Plotter that picked up individual coloured pens off a carousel and printed on a platten zipping the print head around much like a 3D printer. I gave it away 30 years ago or so. It was really cool to watch it make coloured drawings from early CAD programs. Amazing little plotter at the time.
140mower
Don
...... Just back from the strip club, and I have to say I was a little skeptical........ My calipers don't appear to be any different, but the dividers came out great, I guess...... Wife said my assets should divide nicely....
On edit...... I see now, the chemical type...... Budweiser count?
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
I started with an 11x17 pen plotter. My wife hated the noise it made when I printed designs at 7:30 am
The set is yours. I'll add it to the other stuff i've been meaning to mail one day. Well actually I was waiting to be able to include the tachometer.
That would be awesome! No rush at all!
I forgot how noisy those pen plotters were until you just reminded me! They were not very fast either so that racket went on for hours and hours! And if you ran out of ink you had to start over!
TorontoBuilder
Ultra Member
hatches were especially annoying
I got rid of all the gunk. I found I had to used a razor knife to scrape off the green crud. Some of the parts polish up nicely. Some not so much. One place where I sanded down I see what looks like copper so that could be the copper plating on top of brass. My guess is that the chrome plating was ever so slightly porous. And the outgassing from the foam plastic resulted in the copper corrosion hence the green hard crystals.
I think this set could be cleaned up. Just not sure it's worth the trouble.