HILOK Posted February 11, 2019 Posted February 11, 2019 Hi everyone, has anyone seen this already, or has a hint to what happened? - I got a B8 grip from ebay, which turned white after storage for about 5 years. Now it is covered with white sticky powdery stuff. It can be rubbed off, but I would like to know what it is. I am thinking fungus, which is odd, because it was stored in a dry place inside a plastic box with other cockpit parts that don't show any signs of fungus whatsoever... Thanks HiLok
Zius Posted February 11, 2019 Posted February 11, 2019 Just a guess: the black paint was worn off, the underlying aluminium has oxidised. Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3
debolestis Posted February 11, 2019 Posted February 11, 2019 Paint that looks rubbery when mixed with something like dishwashing soap did something simillar on one of my grips. Isopropil alcohol and cloth will do the job. - Debolestis' Shapeways store - Debolestis' Facebook page - Suncom SFS and Talon restoration and mods - Cougar replacement gimbal
HILOK Posted February 11, 2019 Author Posted February 11, 2019 thanks, guys! @debolestis: i didn't use any soap so far... @zius: interesting thought, will investigate...
HILOK Posted February 14, 2019 Author Posted February 14, 2019 just a quick update for anybody interested. I got most of it off by rubbing with a piece of dry paper towel. (destilled water didn't work). still wondering where it came from though, and how to prevent it from coming back - the oxidised aluminum theory seems the most probable so far...
Zius Posted February 16, 2019 Posted February 16, 2019 It is certainly an improvement! :thumbup: I don't know how rigorous you want to approach this, but you could polish it was some polishing paste. When you get the aluminium bright again, you could repaint it. All of this would negatively affect the originality of the piece. I don't know if you are concerned about this, or if you should be. I guess it depends on how rare these grips are, what they cost and what you want to do with it. The best from conservation point of view would probably be to leave it alone but just seal it with oil (acid-free), grease or wax to stop further oxidisation. Modules: Bf 109, C-101, CE-II, F-5, Gazelle, Huey, Ka-50, Mi-8, MiG-15, MiG-19, MiG-21, Albatros, Viggen, Mirage 2000, Hornet, Yak-52, FC3
HILOK Posted February 16, 2019 Author Posted February 16, 2019 thanks zius for your recommendations. much appreciated! actually, i don't think these grips are too rare, because they were and most probably still are used in a lot of aircraft incl. rotorcraft. i intend to mod it with debolestis' sets in order to use it on a warthog base : )
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