[rescue] Oh my gosh, an on-topic question! ;^)

[James Lockwood]

On Tue, 18 Feb 2003, Lionel Peterson wrote:

> What is the concensus on suitable cleaners for plastic cases - I have
> some Sun monitors and systems with extraneous markings/dirt/scuffs that
> I'd like to clean up... Clean scratches look 100% better than dirty
> ones, and markings of "scrap" on a U2 case are just wrong.

1,1,2-trichloroethylene (trichloroethene).  Commonly found as whiteboard
cleaner.  It will take the surface finish off of plastic if it soaks, so
just wipe and then rewipe with ethanol.

Plain denatured alcohol works, but not as well.  Dichlor or THF would melt
or soften the case plastic too quickly.  Chloroform would work but may be
less available.  Liquid butane is actually dandy for pulling off ink but
most plastics don't take well to the thermal shock.

-James [my personal fave is bead blasting with tiny CO2 pellets]