On Feb 27, 11:29*am, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
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 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558begin_of_the_skype_highlighting*831-336-2558*FREE

Your explanation makes more semse than "mold". The OP did not say
what type of handles or tools were/were not affected, or if the tools
were in a dark airless corner or out in plain sight, etc, so we really
need more information.