On Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:06:50 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:18:34 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
wrote:


Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:37:33 -0700 (PDT), Robert Macy
wrote:

stick with the STIFF toothbrushes, they have rounded bristles and
don't seem to scratch much

Have you tried to actually buy a stiff tooth brush recently?

You want a typewriter or detailing brush. HF sells a set of three:
Nylon, brass & stainless steel that are quite handy around the shop.
They go on sale for 99 cents for the set of three, from time to time.

I tried a variety of brushes with what seems to be the most effective
solvent, Homax Oops. The stiff plastic brushes were ineffective. The
stiff brass and stainless wires brushes tended to scratch the plastic
surface, so I stopped before I destroyed the case.

I'm having some success with sodium percarbonate (OxiClean) and
hydrogen peroxide 3% bleaches. They're not removing the rubberish
goo, but are doing a fair job of lightening the color, making the case
more presentable.

I was also able to remove some of the goo using sticky packing tape.
The theory was that the glue would stick to the goo better than the
plastic. It removed some, but most of the goo is too thoroughly
embedded in the plastic.

I'm going to give up shortly, and swap plastic parts with my identical
office printer to make the customer happy. It's also time to start
working on my taxes.

Laser ablation! Of course, not something one would have sitting around
in the average garage workshop ...

--
Rich Webb Norfolk, VA