On Wed, 27 Feb 2013 02:21:50 -0500, micky
wrote:

However, about 4% of my cords, my spare radio and tv knobs,
and the handles of my tools get a think layer of some sort of mold on
them. It's like a grey dust. (Or some other light color, I forget.)

It's not mold. It appears to be mold, but if you look carefully, it
doesn't "grow" in a radial pattern, as you would expect real mold to
grow. I've put the dust under a microscope to be sure. It's plastic
dust. Hit is with some heat, and watch it melt. I get this plastic
"mold" on most of my cheap plastic handle tools. The plastic breaks
down along the surface and sorta crumbles. It's probably caused by
exposure to something in the air, which condenses onto the surface
when wet. Washing the stuff off with any kind of kitchen cleaner
works, for a while.

I've tried a few things to prevent its return. Dipping or spraying
with acrylic coating (clear Krylon) seems to work best. I have one
old plastic handle nut wrench, that I coated only half with acrylic
spray. I can see tiny pits starting on the uncoated side, but the
coated side looks like new. Note that you have to really clean the
plastic with sandpaper and solvent before spraying or it will flake
off. Also, don't worry about the dull finish after sandpapering, as
the clear acrylic will make it shine again. Also, the acrylic
sometimes feels kinda "sticky". I'm not sure what causes that.

Unfortunately, I haven't had any luck preserving rubber and flexible
handles that have the same problem. The acrylic coating just cracks
and falls off. Even worse, I haven't found a fix for the rubberized
paint coating on plastic, that eventually turns to a sticky gooey tar
mess.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558