Removing duct tape residue.

From: Tothwolf <tothwolf_at_concentric.net>
Date: Fri May 16 21:54:00 2003

On Thu, 15 May 2003, Joe wrote:
> At 06:38 PM 5/15/03 -0500, Toth wrote:
>
> > The textured paint I have with sharpie on it has a very light texture.
> > The problem seems to be that the paint is "soft", or some kind of
> > scratch resistant paint, and the sharpie was pulled down into tiny
> > pores in the paint. I've been wondering if I'd be better off just
> > repainting the covers, as they aren't very large. I just don't know
> > where I'd get that kind of paint, or how it needs to be cured.
>
> Check with automotive paint suppliers. They have every color under the
> rainbow and now that most of the new cars are being made of plastic they
> carry paint that's designed for use on plastic. Paint made for metal
> finishes never does work well on plastic. It's not flexible enough and
> it usually flakes and peels. You'd probably have to buy a minimum of a
> quart of paint so the cost might be prohibitive. You'd also need a GOOD
> compressor and spray gun and a place to spray so it's a big investment.

The covers that are marked up with sharpie are metal. The paint is kind of
soft and gives a little. I've not seen it used much. The covers are for
some SCSI drive chassis. I have both a compressor and spray gun, though
the compressor is a little too small for larger projects.

> The problem is that most computer stuff seems to use a peeble finish and
> not a smooth finish. You need to sand the surface in order to get the
> paint to stick but if you do you lose the peeble finish. If you don't
> sand then the new paint flakes off and in addition the new paint fills a
> lot of peeble finish anyway. You might be able to bead blast it to
> roughen the surface without losing the finish but now you need more
> equipment!

I guess you could say these have a pebble finish. The texture is pretty
fine and you don't notice it right away. I have a bead blasting cabinet,
but the metal underneath the paint is smooth. I guess the texture is only
part of the paint.

> I see on TV that they now have lasers that can burn off dark spots like
> freckles and tatoos without burning the lighter color skin around them.
> I wonder if something like that could be used to burn off dark marker
> stains without damaging the lighter surrounding area. Yeah I know that
> kind of equipment is expensive but I wonder if it would work. If so
> there are some of us that could build their own lasers or modify
> existing ones. Just an idea.

Thats an idea. That type of equipment turns up at local auctions every
year or two too. The last time that kind of gear turned up, one guy picked
up all 3 laser units for a total of $5.00 simply because no one else
wanted to haul them off. They do tend to be kind of bulky. He later told
me they worked fine, though one needs a supply of liquid helium or liquid
nitrogen to operate. Oh, and they use *lots* of electricity...

-Toth
Received on Fri May 16 2003 - 21:54:00 BST