How do you clean these yellow scales????

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:21 pm

I worked on restoring this Case Mini Trapper last weekend but when I got to the scales.... well, I got stumped. This STAIN on the scales looks like somebody with oily hands has using it and didn't wipe it off. Well, no matter what I tried,,,, I couldn't get this stain to BUDGE.
Anybody know of something I could try to get this stain off?
I wouldn't worry about it too much but the scale on the other side is CLEAN. It wasn't stained like this one.

Before....

Up to now.....

What do y'all think?

Mike

jerryd6818 · Post by **jerryd6818** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:27 pm

What have you tried so far?

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:44 pm

I tried some "Go Jo" on a rag. Since this hand cleaner has an abrasive in it, I figured it might work.... No luck.

I stopped short of sand paper... figured I had better check in here first to see if anyone has come across this before.

Mike

jerryd6818 · Post by **jerryd6818** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 1:59 pm

I'm going to shut my tater trap and wait for the experts to weigh in, because if Go-Jo or Mothers Mag don't do the trick I'm plumb out of ideas and would just leave it as is. Good luck.

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:04 pm

jerryd6818 wrote:I'm going to shut my tater trap and wait for the experts to weigh in, because if Go-Jo or Mothers Mag don't do the trick I'm plumb out of ideas and would just leave it as is. Good luck.

I was afraid of that.... (not your tater trap)...
I am just so OCD... I want the scales to match.... either both stained or both clean....LOL.

supratentorial · Post by **supratentorial** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:09 pm

I never needed to clean Delrin with anything more than Dawn detergent. If you want to stick with mild abrasives, you might try a Mr Clean Magic Eraser. Delrin has good chemical resistance so you could try alcohol or acetone. Supposedly it even has excellent resistance to xylene but I've never tested it. Wear nitrile (not latex) gloves if you use xylene. It will evaporate fast from knife but you don't want to get any on your skin. Here's a chemical compatibility chart from the web...

https://www.calpaclab.com/acetal-polyox ... ity-chart/

americanedgetech · Post by **americanedgetech** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:14 pm

You can try Kerosene...
I use it to soak hand prints out of oxidized gell coat on boats. I'll place a rag dampened with it over the stain to soak it out so in your Case (ha) try soaking the knife for an hour. Then a product called Awesome (it is a degreaser) will pull the kerosene out.

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:17 pm

Good tips....
I wondered if there was a chemical answer to my problem.
It seems this stain is down deep in the material (maybe... I don't know). I was beginning to think I might have to remove the top (stained) layer of the delrin with sandpaper. I didn't want to be that aggressive until I had exhausted all other options.

fergusontd · Post by **fergusontd** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:03 pm

My opinion is leave the handles like they are, makes for an interesting scale color. ftd

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:11 pm

fergusontd wrote: My opinion is leave the handles like they are, makes for an interesting scale color. ftd

Well, I would if both sides matched..... It's just weird when you have one nice yellow side and then .....THIS.... LOL.
Every time I reach in my pocket and pull it out to use it, I would see the stained side.
Maybe.... I need the stuff the carpetbagger was selling..... it's only 10 cents.

: carpetbagger.jpg (15.18 KiB) Viewed 4194 times

XX Case XX · Post by **XX Case XX** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:43 pm

Meridian_Mike wrote:Maybe.... I need the stuff the carpetbagger was selling..... it's only 10 cents.

Now that's funny...

___________
Mike

XX Case XX · Post by **XX Case XX** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:46 pm

Mike, this has nothing to do with your knife, but now I'm wondering where that term "Carpetbagger" came from?

__________
Mike

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 3:57 pm

According to what I can remember from elementary school, one of my teachers told us that there was these "Yankees" that came down here after the "war of northern aggression" that were here to help with reconstruction. They usually brought their belongings for their stay in a "carpet bag" which was a colorful cloth bag that southerners thought looked like "carpet". So.... they were named "carpetbaggers".

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:00 pm

This is a carpetbag...

I think the term may also apply to a scallywag.... LOL.

XX Case XX · Post by **XX Case XX** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:00 pm

Interesting. Thanks Mike.

____________
Mike

TripleF · Post by **TripleF** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:19 pm

Got any Bar Keeper's Friend?

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 7:26 pm

TripleF wrote:Got any Bar Keeper's Friend?

I think I might have some. My wife usually keeps some under the sink.
I'll give that a try.

americanedgetech · Post by **americanedgetech** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:54 pm

Those "Bags" were actually made from thread bare carpets. They were still tough enough to take traveling (such as it was).

Carpet baggers were generally associated with the lower classes... in the early 1900's. By then the fashion/fad had changed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_bag

XX Case XX · Post by **XX Case XX** » Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:53 pm

americanedgetech wrote:Those "Bags" were actually made from thread bare carpets. They were still tough enough to take traveling (such as it was).

Carpet baggers were generally associated with the lower classes... in the early 1900's. By then the fashion/fad had changed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_bag

You know what's funny Ken? I clicked on that link and at the top it says: "For Political Term, see "Carpetbagger"...

_____________
Mike

americanedgetech · Post by **americanedgetech** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:54 am

That goes right back to the "Snake Oil Salesman".

rea1eye · Post by **rea1eye** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:19 am

I am thinking this stain goes pretty deep. You may need to eventually need to
use sand paper if the other surface abrasives do not work.

Let us know what it takes and how it turns out. Others will probably run across the
same problem eventually,

Bob

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:56 am

10-4... I will update everyone after I get a good shot at those scales with all these ideas this weekend.

Mike

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 1:09 pm

Well, yesterday I got a chance to get in my shop and work on this nasty scale again. I thought about all that was said and I decided to get some more Gojo and put it on a piece of 1000 grit sandpaper. The sandpaper seemed to hold the Gojo better than a rag. I worked on this side for about 30 to 45 minutes and I suppose the results are acceptable. I am sure the stain is in really deep in some areas and will never come out. You can still see some stain at the bolsters and around the shield.
Here she is.....

During clean-up....

After a while of scrubbing.....

My knife next to my Bro-in-laws Case after I cleaned up both.....

Thanks for your help everyone!!
Mike

muskrat man · Post by **muskrat man** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:10 pm

That's a sight better than what it was before

Meridian_Mike · Post by **Meridian_Mike** » Mon Dec 18, 2017 4:15 pm

muskrat man wrote:That's a sight better than what it was before

Yep, I just couldn't stand knowing that one scale was clean and the other was a mess. I HAD to do something....LOL.
Anyway, that stain was deeply embedded but now I know what needs to be done to help the situation.
Mike

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How do you clean these yellow scales????

How do you clean these yellow scales????

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