Hi. Got an unfortunate surprise on my main DOS PC case today. Brown circular markings became imprinted on the top of the case where the rubber feet of a network switch used to rest.
Any idea how to fix this (short of repainting)?
Try scrubbing it with goof off?🤔 I think the paint would survive goof off, may wanna try a small area that isn’t visible first though
Goof off contains acetone and will remove paint if you scrub too much. I would try something gentler first like isopropyl alcohol.
WD40 lifts tarry stuff, but I'd spray some on a rag and rub at them.
Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.
Tried 99% IPA.. the browning got off very very slightly after rubbing rather strongly for several seconds. The tissue came out with gray material on it, so I'm afraid it's starting to take off the case paint.
No obvious discoloration yet, but I'm not continuing with the IPA.. I'll see if WD40 makes any better results.
Meh.. WD40 didn't do anything.. Also tried Goo Gone just in case, but also no difference. Any other suggestions?
Magic Eraser?
Old precedes antique.
You can try UV it can bleach some dyes white over time. But I doubt it will work. Probably turn your plastic yellow.
I think if it was on the surface of the paint one of the things tried should have lifted it. It sounds like it has absorbed into the paint. If the paint is plenty thick and it's just barely into the surface, then cutting back the paint with a metal polish might work, or you could try a whitening toothpaste I guess if you've got that around. On a cotton cloth for either of those, paper towels etc will just disintegrate before much happens.
Unicorn herding operations are proceeding, but all the totes of hens teeth and barrels of rocking horse poop give them plenty of hiding spots.
BitWrangler wrote on 2021-12-30, 05:31:I think if it was on the surface of the paint one of the things tried should have lifted it. It sounds like it has absorbed into the paint. If the paint is plenty thick and it's just barely into the surface, then cutting back the paint with a metal polish might work, or you could try a whitening toothpaste I guess if you've got that around. On a cotton cloth for either of those, paper towels etc will just disintegrate before much happens.
comit, barkerpers friend, baking soda. Will work similar to toothpaste but more agressive
One thing to note, buffing/polishing will leave shiny spots on the matte paint. But that might be preferable to the brown stains.
Sounds kind of silly, but you could try the blue side of a regular rubber to rub off the remains of the brownish rubber feet:
1541 wrote on 2021-12-30, 09:06:Sounds kind of silly, but you could try the blue side of a regular rubber to rub off the remains of the brownish rubber feet:
Rubber.jpg
Those work good cleaning old cpus. This is a good idea. Might work here also.
Tried Magic Eraser, baking soda, and even dishwasher powder detergent. None worked 😐 This thing is really baked in there.. dang.
I don't have any of those red/blue erasers around to try, but I'm becoming quite skeptical at this point.
Still, thanks all for the suggestions so far.. I'm starting to imagine Khaby Lame suggesting something obvious instead of all this. Maybe just cover it up with some decorative cloth and call it a day? 😅
Try UV prob won’t work but what the heck,
Label remover (contains limonene I think) will shift some things. Otherwise I would scrub with a kitchen/bathroom surface cleaner of some kind, though that's likely to work best if it contains some scouring component which may ruin the paint finish slightly.
Alternatively of course, put the network switch back where it was (!) or something similar like a KVM switch or a box of CDs, or cover it with a cloth. When I used to stack my PCs 2-high, I put cut-up cleaning cloths under the feet of the top ones. Probably I had had the same issue as you (long time ago) or was just paranoid about scratching things, but decaying rubber is a big annoyance in so many areas. Recently I found that the matt rubber finish on my best ps/2 keyboard had gone sticky (think it's cleaned up ok with diluted spray disinfectant), as well as a camera lens (likewise some manufacturers give their camera bodies this surface treatment); old film camera light seals decay too, and there is needless internal foam rubber padding in all kinds of things (an old IBM typewriter I obtained was full of foam that turned into sticky black mush when touched for example - presumably for sound muffling despite it being noisy as hell anyway). End of rant 😉
