Erasing logos/texts printed on plastic encasings

[SK2013]

Hi all,

new here, old time follower of the website though, I'm working on a project which I will share here & open source everywhere as soon as I am satisfied with it, and said project (granted, I admit, for measly esthetical issues) requires me to remove those useless logos & prints usb accessories factories print on almost all of their stuff.

You know the cheapo "Hypr Sped USB 2.0" or "Cetified USB denice" kind of prints, full of mistakes, badly aligned etc...Aweful for an aesthete such as myself, and before you ask, no I don't use Apple products!

I'm sorry this isn't (yet) a very sexy nor exciting thread but if anyone could help me out I'd be so grateful ; so far I've tried using nail polish remover, paintbrush cleaner, WD40 clone and alcohol, and none had any effect. Actually I can tell by the blackening of the cloth I used to rub that they most probably DID kind of work on the plastic case, but certainly not on the silverish logo prints.

As a matter of fact on a sidenote, I have been buying & trying a few of those accessories (mainly hubs) & will make a post here so people basically don't buy them, and I'm not talking esthetics here but baaaaaaaaad electronics. Anyway more to come about that tomorrow.

Does anyone know of some miracleBRU that would quit the paint without dissolving the plastic?

Your concern is much appreciated, quite a nice community going on here!

Thanks!

S.K.

[Osgeld]

try rubbing it with a paste of table salt and a little bit of water, or mild solvant

[UAirLtd]

I've had success using sugar too, the sugar crystals are just hard enough to scrape away the paint, but not hard enough to scratch the casing. But I'm not sure if we're talking about the same kind of print on the same kind of plastic, so test on an inconspicuous area first to see if it will scratch the plastic.

[GaspingSpark]

If salt/sugar doesn't work you could try a more aggressive polishing compound like Jeweller's rouge.

I looked at some of the screen printing inks for plastics and they are often 2-part base+hardener compositions. They're probably an enamel or epoxy formulation.

The ink might be harder than the base plastic.

See: http://www.inkcups.com/inks-thinners/sc ... fault.aspx

Here's a line from their marketing blurb describing one of their inks:

J3's great opacity, abrasion resistance and superior resistance to chemicals such as alcohol, acids and alkali make it a great vinyl and plastic printing ink for industrial applications.

It looks like they have gone out of their way to make your job difficult. Hopefully the cheap gizmos used a cheap ink.

[SK2013]

Hi all,

thanks for your tips, here's a phonepic of the horror I wish to erase, complete with spelling mistake, the black part is cheap/standard plastic casing. I will try to rub it with coarse salts & a bit of water but I doubt the result will be nice. Jeweller's rouge is some kind of sand paper?



Thanks again!

[samster2.0]

I've had luck with painted logos on metal surfaces by using rubbing alcohol and a lot (A LOT) of rubbing.
You might consider something like a Dremel with a polishing wheel on LOW speed. High speed may melt or otherwise obliviate the plastic.
Or try some of the BlueMagic metal polish or Brasso.

Anything abrasive and you run the risk of marring the plastic.

[GaspingSpark]

Jeweller's rouge is a *very fine* abrasive (red iron oxide) usually embedded in a waxlike base. You would typically use it by rubbing some on a soft cloth (or a buffing wheel on a tool) and using it to polish the items to a shine. It can be found in hardware stores or auto-parts stores usually near the buffing wheels. It usually looks like a big red rectangular crayon. Often it is packed with several other polishing compounds.

Here's a quick example I found using Google's image search:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... _200334457
Jeweller's rouge is the red one.

The Dremel polishing kits also usually include it in a small plastic can for use with the polishing bits.

[semicolo]

I've heard of red polish before and that it can be used to polish glass, I always wondered where to find some, I'll have a look in my next canadian tire visit.