On 27 Feb 2013 20:56:29 GMT, Brian Berg wrote:
On Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:40:54 -0800, wrote:
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.
Wow. The real Jeff Liebermann (two n's and i-before-e) on alt.home.repair.
That's only because I crossposted to alt.home.repair and
sci.electronics.repair. If you want more of him, you have to go
to the second ng.
I've long wished there was an easy way to tell which ng someone is
posting from. I once put in my .sig, "probably posting from nnnnn",
"probably" because I also read the other group directly sometimes, but
it disappeared with a liater installation of Agent.
I'm impressed. You're the expert in the SC mountains for wireless radio.
Wow, I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't crossposted.
Glad to have you here.
I am VERY FAMILIAR with this persistent "white stuff".
I have no idea WHAT it is - but I have it too.
It's either a chemical coating or it's a mold-like growth.
It does seem to be hugely persistent, in that if you don't scrape it
away, it will last (seemingly unchanged) forever.
Interestingly, I don't have to scrape mine off. I can brush it off
with my finger, or a paper towel iirc. Of course that doesn't apply
when it's in a crevice or crack.
I remember segregating my white-coated tools a while ago, but I no
longer do that once I manually scraped them (mostly) clean.
I seem to remember that the white stuff "infected" other tools, but,
it's no longer doing that (after twenty years). But, that white stuff
you see in this photo is easily twenty years old!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...g/12297573.jpg
It had coated that screwdriver handle with a white persistent but
powdery on the outside surface coating just like the picture the OP
posted over he
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/drivel/plastic-rot.jpg
I considered throwing the screwdrivers away, but, my sense of
tool preservation had me soak that screwdriver maybe 15 years ago
in all sorts of horrid solvents (acetone, bleach, acid, etc.) in
my attempts to clean it off.
If anyone actually KNOWS what this white stuff is, I'd be curious!