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Plastic cases that go sticky
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5U4GB:

--- Quote from: Zero999 on February 23, 2024, 08:26:29 pm ---If cleaning with alcohol (most should be fairly plastic safe) and detergent doesn't work, then you could try covering it with a lacquer, to encapsulate it.

--- End quote ---

I wonder if Penetrol would work for this?  It's sold as a flow additive for oil-based paints but if used by itself it penetrates into whatever it's applied to and then when left for a week or so it forms a hard varnish-like surface.  Petrolheads swear by it for protecting rusty surfaces from further rusting, I've used it on rust-prone workshop tools to prevent the rust in the first place.
5U4GB:

--- Quote from: 807 on February 24, 2024, 12:23:46 pm ---On a similar note, it was mentioned in a previous post about rubber feet. I have a few Racal Dana 1998 frequency counters. A couple of them have metal standoffs at the back to protect the connectors. The standoffs have (or had) black rubber bumpers on them. When I was rearranging my test gear a few months ago, I took the counter off the shelf & stood it up on the floor. When I went to pick it up, it had stuck to the carpet! All 4 bumpers had turned into a gooey mess, like thick tar. Some of it had even run down the back of the counter.

--- End quote ---

Ugh, I've got some late-90s electric equipment that's done the same thing, it looks like the original material the feet were made from was chocolate mousse.

And some slightly exotic gear from the mid-90s where the manufacturer discovered, some time after they shipped it, that the adhesive on the labels they used would break down over time and eat through the metal enclosure.  Last I heard they had stacks of them in a climate-controlled warehouse somewhere.
Zero999:

--- Quote from: 5U4GB on February 25, 2024, 01:05:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: Zero999 on February 23, 2024, 08:26:29 pm ---If cleaning with alcohol (most should be fairly plastic safe) and detergent doesn't work, then you could try covering it with a lacquer, to encapsulate it.

--- End quote ---

I wonder if Penetrol would work for this?  It's sold as a flow additive for oil-based paints but if used by itself it penetrates into whatever it's applied to and then when left for a week or so it forms a hard varnish-like surface.  Petrolheads swear by it for protecting rusty surfaces from further rusting, I've used it on rust-prone workshop tools to prevent the rust in the first place.

--- End quote ---
I have no idea. I've never heard of it, until now. Going from what I found using Google, it might attach some plastics, but can't be sure either way.
rdl:
I wouldn't use Penetrol as a cleaner. That's not what it's for. It's some kind of modifier for oil-based paints. It contains only 70% volatile by volume (which appears to be mostly petroleum distillates) that means a large part of it is some kind of solid, or non-evaporating material.
Zero999:

--- Quote from: rdl on February 25, 2024, 05:24:59 pm ---I wouldn't use Penetrol as a cleaner. That's not what it's for. It's some kind of modifier for oil-based paints. It contains only 70% volatile by volume (which appears to be mostly petroleum distillates) that means a large part of it is some kind of solid, or non-evaporating material.

--- End quote ---
I think that's the ides: the solid, non-evaporating material will remain on the surface, sealing in the goo. The trouble is the other stuff might attack the plastic.

I was thinking of a spray on lacquer which will dry very quickly and the solvents should evaporate before having chance to damage the plastic.
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