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Merlin · 25th Mar 2007, 7:35 pm

The whitish staining you get on plastics over time (and on old car paintwork etc) is known as the "bloom". It's genrally the result of an imperfect balance in the constituent ingrediants in the plastic, and one or more of them make their way to the surface over time. It's quite safe to polish the surface again with a mild abrasive (Xebo, Barkeeper's friend, Brasso, T-cut etc), provided the ebonite isn't acting as an insulator or anything.
(My Grandfather was a rubber and plastics research physicist, he's been lecturing me...)

25th Mar 2007, 7:35 pm	#8
Merlin Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK. Posts: 67	Re: Ebonite cleaning / preserving The whitish staining you get on plastics over time (and on old car paintwork etc) is known as the "bloom". It's genrally the result of an imperfect balance in the constituent ingrediants in the plastic, and one or more of them make their way to the surface over time. It's quite safe to polish the surface again with a mild abrasive (Xebo, Barkeeper's friend, Brasso, T-cut etc), provided the ebonite isn't acting as an insulator or anything. (My Grandfather was a rubber and plastics research physicist, he's been lecturing me...)