Predicta Screen Cover Going Bad

[Indian Head]

Can anyone tell me if they have experienced this? I have several Predictas and one (a 21" Holiday) has a picture tube screen cover that appears to be deteriorating. It is very cloudy or foggy with a look like it is turning white instead of clear, to the point you can barely see through it. Furthermore, once removed, the inside of the cover smells terrible, something like either very good cheese or very old socks. Any ideas?

Thanks,
John

[Dave S]

Mine all have the smell to one degree or another, it smells like barf! But fortunately not the haze or mold. I've heard that this is due to an irreversable decomposition of the plastic material. There have been various suggestions over the years as to how to clean the screen with plastic polish, bleach or various cleaners, or encapsulate the smell in polish or Armor-all, but as far as I know there is no consensus on this. I've learned to live with it, if not love it!

[Dave S]

This only affects the 21" sets with the soft plastic screen cover. But at least they rarely crack. The 17" sets with the hard plastic never smell, but they suffer their indignities visibly.

[azguy1878]

I have the same problem with my holiday...only the color on mine is turning darker and it smells like puke!

[kx250rider]

The best that I have done is to use regular #7 car polish on inside & outside of the screen, then coat it with old fashioned yellow car wax (Harley Wax, Classic Wax, Mother's, or other real yellow wax that doesn't have other stuff in it). This will last for at least a year or 2, maybe longer and you do it again.

The good thing is that the coating that causes the cloudy and stink is on the surface only, and does not penetrate the plastic. So once you polish it off the surface, it's clear. Dr. Dan says there are bacteria which grow and feed on the soy in the plastic. This is a widespread problem in many soybean plastics, such as old TV knobs and screwdriver handles. Notice the stink in your toolbox, and in a closet where you keep boxes of knobs? It isn't a pair of wet skateboard shoes but it smells like them.

Charles

[Phil Nelson]

Sounds like another opportunity for someone who would like to make a few bucks selling repros!

[Ken G]

Hi i am on my second 21`` predicta and have the same problem with the smell . The screen cleaned up good so far . As i have things apart i noticed the gold trim piece that wraps around the whole screen smells the worst . As things air out apart i will know more .
After a good cleaning and polishing i was thinking about some type of clear coat that wont harm the plastic to seal in the smell without ruining the looks of it either .

[Phil Nelson]

For the record, this guy used sandpaper and polishing compounds (on a buffing wheel!) on his cover.

http://www.nappepin.com/predicta/predicta.htm

Sounds harsh to me. I guess he had deep scratches, which does not appear to be your problem.

I can testify that hand polishing with Novus won't do any harm. I used it on a little shallow boo-boo that the seller said had resulted from someone accidentally brushing it with a cigarette. A few years later, that spot, and the rest of the cover, look fine.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

[Tubejunke]

This is likely the same thing as you see on the headlight covers of aging automobiles from the plastic/junk era. You can go to your local auto parts store and ask for the product that clears this up. I forget the name. It was either by Maguires or RainX I think. It comes in a kind of disposable pouch that hangs from a peg on the display. I have never seen a can or bottle of the stuff.

I would say that like most other supposed "good as new" products the effect is only temporary. Like ArmorAll or the stuff that makes black plastic bumpers black again. They all wear off after a couple of months. I wonder if silicone spray would help the Predictas screen? Or WD-40 for that matter. Anything that would add a bit of moisture that wont evaporate.

[bgadow]

There are several makes of that headlamp revitalizer on the market. I can't remember the brand I used but it worked well on the headlamps at least. Odd, it smelled just like Fruity Pebbles! I'm not sure if I would trust spraying it with some type of oil...I guess we need to find someone who is a plastics expert. I know some folks in the business, but not very well.

[Tubejunke]

Hey! We might have the answer to the whole thing with the "fruity pebbles" smell in the headlamp polish. A clear screen and no puke smell...