Stupidity and toothpaste

[Roberthofmeyr]

I fell for this stupid hack on using toothpaste to clean keyboard notes. Susequently, the black notes and metal on my A100 has a matt finish with some whiteish residue. I’ve tried to remove it withwater, but to no avail. Any suggestions or advice will be welcomed. 😬

[Tonewheel]

Rob,

If it is a deposit that is left behind (most likely), then it's a matter of dissolving and lifting it. if water doesn't work, Windex might, if you leave it on long enough to dissolve the paste.

The challenge here is not getting any fluid down between the keys.

You could try this first on the metal in an area that is less visible.

Lemon juice and vinegar might also work. Do not use acetone!

I would wait a few more days to see if any other forum members chime in, and if not, try the above.

Good luck,

Dave

[PGR]

try a soft cloth and windex? They are plastic so don't use anything abrasive or that has a solvent in it. If your really bent on cleaning them you can without removing the manuals lift the manual up and remove the keys soak them with soap and water and dry them really well before you put them back in. I have also used jewel's rouge applied to a cloth abrasive wheel on a bench grinder to polish each key brings them to a shine but warning ..if you do a few you will want to do the whole manual !

[ShadyJoe]

Use the same toothpaste on it again. This should loosen it. After cleaning it as well as you can with the toothpaste attack it with some water to get any remaining residue. Use extra rounds of scrubbing with a damp cloth to insure there are no remnants.

I've used similar naval jelly to remove dried naval jelly and I've used gel paint stripper to remove the dried remains of it. I don't know why removing toothpaste wouldn't do the same thing.

[Admin]

The residue is likely not coming off because it's embedded in tiny scratches and pits that were either there to begin with or you created with the abrasive contained in the toothpaste. You might want to try a plastic polish, such as the kind use to restore the plastic lenses on headlights. It should smooth out the surface while removing the toothpaste residue.

I've use a product called Scratch Out, which is used to remove microscopic scratches on clear coat auto finishes and to polish headlight lenses, to successfully polish black plastic, although not on keyboards.

[Jyvoipabo]

Disassemble all keys.
And bring them at a polisher.
JP

[Bobmann]

I fell for this stupid hack on using toothpaste to clean keyboard notes. Susequently, the black notes and metal on my A100 has a matt finish with some whiteish residue. I’ve tried to remove it withwater, but to no avail. Any suggestions or advice will be welcomed. 

It is very important that you know what kind of plastic that your keys are made from.
If you use the wrong method to clean or polish, you will destroy them.

One of 2 things has happened here:

The keys were a thermoset but very oxidized and had a rough surface. The abrasive in the toothpaste was not agressive enough to smooth the surface, so it embedded in the pores resulting in the residue.
Or
The keys are thermoplastic, and the abrasive in the toothpaste was too aggressive resulting in scratches where the paste left a residue.

Look at this:

There is a 99.9% certainty that the white keys on your A100 are a thermoset type plastic and are pretty durable and resistant to most chemicals.

There is a 50% chance that the black keys can be either type. There is also a chance that there mixed types on either keyboard.
NOTE that this only applies to the playing keys; the reverse colored keys on the presets are probably all thermoset material, both the black and white ones.

Until you are sure of the plastic, DO NOT attempt to polish with any sort off buffing wheel, as you will certainly melt the key if you try to buff a thermoplastic one.

If you are not going to remove the keys, I suggest that you try some sort of plastic polish, found at most auto supply stores or the automotive section of big box stores. This polish is used for headlights, motorcycle helmet face shields, etc.

As far as the metal part, an automotice cleaner/wax will probably fix it.
I routinely use a clear coat safe rubbing compound (I use McGuier's Ultimate Compound) first, followed with the wax. This has been successful in restoring many front rails and painted surfaces to like new condition.

Not to be Captain Obvious here, but one lesson that I hope was learned was to try on a single key or small inconspicuous place first to see what the results are before proceeding on the entire organ.:->

Bob