Early 50's Motorola w/UHF on N.O. CL

[bgadow]

I've played with various cleaners trying to find something that will simply dissolve it; in each case I've had to scrape it off with some sort of tool. Seems to be a mold; the knobs always look great underneath. I have seen a few that had a more serious problem, as if the plastic had rotted or something. (similiar to the yoke covers on many fifties sets.)

[Phil Nelson]

Some kinds of early plastic were soy-based and attract a bacteria that attacks the plastic. The same sort of thing happens to the plastic covers on Predicta TVs.

There is no miracle goo that will magically stop this stuff and prevent it from coming back forever. People use various things on Predicta covers, such as buffing them off with Novus polish and then applying a coat of hard wax. I don't think there's any permanent remedy, but at least you can make it look better for a few years.

Phil Nelson