Removing Cube Mold Lines
From Dana Baggett, "I recently purchased a factory refurbished Cube. And I acquired a new plastic shell under warranty because the 'refurbished' one had a faulty latch. Of course the new one came with the now infamous 'mold lines.' So, I decided to see what I could find out about removing them.
"Much has been written about these mold lines aka scratches or cracks, but little about how to remove them. Buried in a thread of comments about long-term experience with the Cube on xlr8yourmac.com, I found a reader praising his experience with a product called 210 Plus Plastic Scratch Remover from Sumner Laboratories, Inc., Boston MA. With the help of Sherlock, I found a source and bought a 15 oz. bottle along with a companion product called 210 Plastic Cleaner/Polish packaged in a 14 oz. aerosol can from an airplane supply house in Akron, OH, for about $30 with shipping. More about sources in a minute.
"Today I decided to see whether the mold lines can be removed with these products. First, I tried the 210 Plus scratch remover on a scrap piece of plastic that looked like Lucite(R). The product is a water-based white, rather chalky thick liquid. It seemed promising and it didn't scuff the finish. So, I took the plunge and started polishing my Cube. The product is a very mild abrasive and it took a long time to see any effect on the mold lines. But, it does work. The mold lines did just about disappear, a function of the amount of time - hours - you want to spend at it.
"I finished the task by using the 210 spray plastic cleaner/polish which is a petroleum distillates based product that claims to be anti-static and anti-fog. "Cleans, polishes and leaves a protective coating..." My Cube is now gleaming.
"A few thoughts. The quantity I bought is more appropriate for cleaning airplane windshields - a fleet of them. I have enough scratch remover and polish for a 1,000 Cubes! Since I bought mine, Sherlock found another source to be tulsaenterprises.com which offers a 7 oz can of 210 @ $5.50 plus shipping and a 7.5 oz bottle of 210 Plus scratch remover for $6.50 plus shipping. Incidentally, this is a motorcycle supply house. Both airplanes and motorcycles use plastic windshields.
"In shipping from Ohio via UPS Ground, my bottle of 210 Plus arrived frozen into slush. The squeeze bottle says "Keep from freezing." A call to Sumner Laboratories was promptly returned. I was reassured that the product is still safe to use after it has been frozen although it may thicken somewhat as a consequence. The primary reason for the caution is a concern that freezing will crack the #2 plastic bottle and thus leak the contents once they regain a liquid state. My bottle did not crack.
"In my search for an appropriate polish, I found other products that may also do a good job. I just haven't seen any mention of their use on a Cube. I found several reports of household products not appropriate for use on plastic, including window cleaners that contain alcohol or ammonia as they apparently can soften the surface."
"Much has been written about these mold lines aka scratches or cracks, but little about how to remove them. Buried in a thread of comments about long-term experience with the Cube on xlr8yourmac.com, I found a reader praising his experience with a product called 210 Plus Plastic Scratch Remover from Sumner Laboratories, Inc., Boston MA. With the help of Sherlock, I found a source and bought a 15 oz. bottle along with a companion product called 210 Plastic Cleaner/Polish packaged in a 14 oz. aerosol can from an airplane supply house in Akron, OH, for about $30 with shipping. More about sources in a minute.
"Today I decided to see whether the mold lines can be removed with these products. First, I tried the 210 Plus scratch remover on a scrap piece of plastic that looked like Lucite(R). The product is a water-based white, rather chalky thick liquid. It seemed promising and it didn't scuff the finish. So, I took the plunge and started polishing my Cube. The product is a very mild abrasive and it took a long time to see any effect on the mold lines. But, it does work. The mold lines did just about disappear, a function of the amount of time - hours - you want to spend at it.
"I finished the task by using the 210 spray plastic cleaner/polish which is a petroleum distillates based product that claims to be anti-static and anti-fog. "Cleans, polishes and leaves a protective coating..." My Cube is now gleaming.
"A few thoughts. The quantity I bought is more appropriate for cleaning airplane windshields - a fleet of them. I have enough scratch remover and polish for a 1,000 Cubes! Since I bought mine, Sherlock found another source to be tulsaenterprises.com which offers a 7 oz can of 210 @ $5.50 plus shipping and a 7.5 oz bottle of 210 Plus scratch remover for $6.50 plus shipping. Incidentally, this is a motorcycle supply house. Both airplanes and motorcycles use plastic windshields.
"In shipping from Ohio via UPS Ground, my bottle of 210 Plus arrived frozen into slush. The squeeze bottle says "Keep from freezing." A call to Sumner Laboratories was promptly returned. I was reassured that the product is still safe to use after it has been frozen although it may thicken somewhat as a consequence. The primary reason for the caution is a concern that freezing will crack the #2 plastic bottle and thus leak the contents once they regain a liquid state. My bottle did not crack.
"In my search for an appropriate polish, I found other products that may also do a good job. I just haven't seen any mention of their use on a Cube. I found several reports of household products not appropriate for use on plastic, including window cleaners that contain alcohol or ammonia as they apparently can soften the surface."
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