Hi, I've got a 520 ST shorty here that someone has in the past cello-taped what I assume must have been an FKEYS strip to the case. There are two yellow bands which would have been sticky residue at one point but it has been allowed to harden to a dark yellow hard substance.
I've tried warm and hot water and it has no effect. I am nervous to use PCB cleaner or anything too strong as it might change the colour of the plastic (and not work).
Anyone had experience of this before?
I might try a soft plastic pry tool if no-one can suggest a solvent.
Suggestions on how to remove cellotape residue from case?
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alexh
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Suggestions on how to remove cellotape residue from case?
Senior Principal ASIC Engineer - SystemVerilog, VHDL
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ST,STf,STfm,STe,MegaST,MegaSTe,Falcon060
A500+,A600,A4000/060,CD32,CDTV
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: Suggestions on how to remove cellotape residue from case?
Try WD40 (Penetrating oil), I used it to remove the glue from a BBC B keyboard surround and it was surprisingly good. I've also used Electrolube and it's equally good. Neither seem to adversely affect plastic either.alexh wrote: 01 Aug 2025 15:57 Hi, I've got a 520 ST shorty here that someone has in the past cello-taped what I assume must have been an FKEYS strip to the case. There are two yellow bands which would have been sticky residue at one point but it has been allowed to harden to a dark yellow hard substance.
I've tried warm and hot water and it has no effect. I am nervous to use PCB cleaner or anything too strong as it might change the colour of the plastic (and not work).
Anyone had experience of this before?
I might try a soft plastic pry tool if no-one can suggest a solvent.
Both can be a bit greasy afterwards, but IPA or even soap and water seem to do a good job of cleaning it up.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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Hellraiseruk
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Re: Suggestions on how to remove cellotape residue from case?
Seconded, WD40 is brilliant for removing sticky residue.
JD
JD
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dml
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Re: Suggestions on how to remove cellotape residue from case?
Yep, WD40 or petroleum from a car :p
note: always do a compatibility test on plastics, somewhere invisible, before getting solvents everywhere...
note: always do a compatibility test on plastics, somewhere invisible, before getting solvents everywhere...
d:m:l
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AGT project: https://www.leonik.net/dml/sec_agt.py
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