Cleaning my laptop

malbui

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malbui
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
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Trivial question for the experts.

I have an old laptop, a Dell Latitude E7440, that I keep in my chalet. It’s running Ubuntu 20.04 like a champ. But bits of the case are starting to feel like slightly sticky rubber. Any suggestions for the right product to clean this effectively?
 
Sticky rubber can be a really nasty problem. In many cases it can be cured by diligent (very diligent) cleaning with alcohol and a rag. The issue, though, is that it might take many many applications and a lot of pressure to go through the sticky layers. I did this on a couple of cameras recently that were not all that bad, but it still took many rubs and many changes of rag. I have a little tablet that had the same problem on the back, and ended up using a razor blade and scraping most of the coating off before finishing with alcohol, and the result was ugly and scratchy, but useable.

There are various internet sites with recommendations on this, but the only cure I've found that actually works seems to be laborious multiple rubbings with alcohol. If there are others that actually work, I'll be happy to know about them. I still have a little slide scanner that is so badly sticky and recalcitrant that I've basically given it up.
 
malbui said:
Trivial question for the experts.

I have an old laptop, a Dell Latitude E7440, that I keep in my chalet. It’s running Ubuntu 20.04 like a champ. But bits of the case are starting to feel like slightly sticky rubber. Any suggestions for the right product to clean this effectively?
Click to expand...

I've just been through this with my iRex iLliad...

Methylated spirits and Q tips (little wisps of cotton on plastic sticks) solved the problem for me.

(USA readers may call methylated spirits 'denatured alcohol')
 
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That's interesting. I've tried cleaning an old iphone speaker dock with the same problems with isopropyl and a cloth with mixed results and was wondering if there was some miracle product out there. Lots of effort for not great results.
 
novaphile said:
I've just been through this with my iRex iLliad...

Methylated spirits and Q tips (little wisps of cotton on plastic sticks) solved the problem for me.

(USA readers may call methylated spirits 'denatured alcohol')
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of using meths. I'll gave that a try.
 
I'm not recommending anything in particular, but here's a related story. A friend and I each bought expensive lightsaber replicas, the kind that make noise when you swoosh them around and clash with them (battery operated). His stayed on a special display rack and was rarely touched if at all. I took mine to many events and they were handled quite a bit.

A few years later I visited him and went to pick up his toy off the rack, and the rubber parts of the hilt were all that gross gummy stuff. But mine had held up over those years and still has years later. I've found the same deterioration with my old unused computer mice. But the ones I use daily, even if pretty old, hold up pretty well.

I wonder if it has anything to do with oils in the skin? Would an application of something rather oily like aloe lotion work to restore the material?
 
You could try a brand of goo remover. They're based on oils such as eucalyptus oil. They really work getting sticky stuff off glass or plastic.
 
alfaniner said:
I'm not recommending anything in particular, but here's a related story. A friend and I each bought expensive lightsaber replicas, the kind that make noise when you swoosh them around and clash with them (battery operated). His stayed on a special display rack and was rarely touched if at all. I took mine to many events and they were handled quite a bit.

A few years later I visited him and went to pick up his toy off the rack, and the rubber parts of the hilt were all that gross gummy stuff. But mine had held up over those years and still has years later. I've found the same deterioration with my old unused computer mice. But the ones I use daily, even if pretty old, hold up pretty well.

I wonder if it has anything to do with oils in the skin? Would an application of something rather oily like aloe lotion work to restore the material?
Click to expand...

My limited understanding of the issue, is that it is silicone reverting to its natural state, because it wasn't heated correctly during the manufacturing process.

It affects all kinds of 'rubberised' things and even affects the internals of things like remote controls. (If they have the floppy keyboard)

In any one batch of parts you can have varying failure rates.
 
Orphia Nay said:
You could try a brand of goo remover. They're based on oils such as eucalyptus oil. They really work getting sticky stuff off glass or plastic.
Click to expand...

I had great results with this, especially getting all the crap out of my kids laptop.


Betron Keyboard Cleaner, Cleaning Gel Universal Dust Cleaner for PC Tablet Laptop Keyboards, Car Vents, Cameras, Printers, Calculators https://amzn.eu/d/gbNff0C
 
If you're not concerned about appearance, you could apply talcum powder to the sticky bits. It won't remove the de-polymerized rubber, but it will improve how it feels under your hands.
 
Sticky plastic is a problem on Aston Martins and Ferraris from the late 90s in to the 20s apparently. Check out some car restoration sites.
 
BrettM said:
If you're not concerned about appearance, you could apply talcum powder to the sticky bits. It won't remove the de-polymerized rubber, but it will improve how it feels under your hands.
Click to expand...

Only, of course, if you're also not concerned about cancer, either. ;);)
 
Wudang said:
I had great results with this, especially getting all the crap out of my kids laptop.


Betron Keyboard Cleaner, Cleaning Gel Universal Dust Cleaner for PC Tablet Laptop Keyboards, Car Vents, Cameras, Printers, Calculators https://amzn.eu/d/gbNff0C
Click to expand...

I should point out I don't remember using this for treating sticky rubber, sorry. Just for cleaning in hard to get to spots.
 
Soak the whole thing overnight in a bucket of white vinegar, then run it through the dishwasher. That should get rid of those stubborn grease stains.
 
Lemonine-D is good for getting 'sticky stuff' off, but I've never tested it on rubber (mostly industrial adhesives) I'm pretty sure it would get the degraded silicon off but I'd suggest trying it on an out of the way spot first just to make sure it doesn't melt right through. Or Acetone, same warning, they used acetone on polystyrene for the acid blood in the Alien films. (Why yes, I do 3D print, how did you guess?)
 
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