Cure for plastic handle white fungus?

[Mechanical Noise]

My 70s era Xcelite nut drivers had it real bad. The Craftsman screwdrivers had it but not so bad. It polishes off and I don't worry about it.

My drivers are stored in dark, dry boxes and storage isn't an issue. It just happens.

It just seems to be a characteristic of how the plastic ages and I'm sure different batches of the plastic are aging differently. They are still working just as good as when they were new.

 

[Ton ton]

I think most get what's going on here, but a few don't, and that's ok, they can play too. For those who don't, if I may.....

This is Garage Journal. We do not throw away tools. We keep tools. Tools are good. We get more tools. No tool is left behind. No one can have too many tools.

This is Garage Journal. We fix things. If tools have a residue, we can fix that. If tools have a smell, we can fix that.

This is Garage Journal. There is no such thing as too many screwdrivers. I can't fathom anyone in here even entertaining such a thought, let alone allowing that thought to materialize into a sentence.

It does not matter on the floor.
It does not matter out of doors.
It does not matter in the tray.
It does not matter barn or bay.
It does not matter on the truck.
It does not matter what your luck.
It does not matter night or day.
It does not matter nay fay way.
It does not matter bench or box.
It does not matter, Goldilocks.

Your education now complete.
More tools to find so hit the street.

Well said.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

Well said.

X10 ^^^^^[emoji3]

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[visionguru]

Anyone found a cure for screwdriver or nutdrivers plastic handles turning white?
Mostly Xcelite and Craftsman. Xcelite set was so bad I got a new replacement. Apparently something in plastic formula used maybe 70s-90s?
About a year ago online I saw fixes, one was painting with acetone which seemed to work...but didn't last.
I have an Xcelite 99 series set the yellow handles cruddy.
Thanks any ideas.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

I'd do the following:
(1) clean with acetone.
(2) sand with 1000 grit sand paper to remove anything loose on the surface.
(3) spray with adhesion promoter (home depot), otherwise, the paint won't stick well.
(4) spray with enamel clear coat (home depot)

 

[DadsTools]

I'd do the following:
(1) clean with acetone.
(2) sand with 1000 grit sand paper to remove anything loose on the surface.
(3) spray with adhesion promoter (home depot), otherwise, the paint won't stick well.
(4) spray with enamel clear coat (home depot)

If the finish is durable, this will work too. The only way to stop it from off-gassing is to encapsulate it. That will kill the waxy coat from forming too. Cleaning alone will not permanently fix it.

We have the same problem in old plastic fishing lures from the 40s-50s that used Tenite. Tough as nails, could bounce it against rocks and docks when casting and wouldn't shatter like the real early plastics. But some can stink up a tackle box and they can develop that waxy coating too.

 

[Sevenhills1952]

I read about acetone online about a year ago and tried it on a few handles with mixed results. It crazed plastic so brushing left streaks. Dipping was the best and they looked perfect at first, later white returned. One looks new. Even light sanding would remove lettering.
Thanks for all ideas.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[shannos]

I cleaned mine. Easy. Sprayed with Penetrating Oil. Scrubbed a bit with a scuff pad, and wiped down with paper towel. All better now. And the worst two looked like they'd been oversprayed with white latex paint.

 

[JoeyD295]

Found this discussion while researching the origins of the white coating that is appearing on many screwdriver handles I own. I read through everything that has been posted here and think I have some information to add to this thread. I am a retired design engineer that worked for a major tool company for 24 years from '75 to '99. The handles that are developing a white waxy coating are in fact made from cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). The reason that Xcelite, Craftsman and some other brands used CAB instead of the traditional cellulose acetate (CA) has to do with the process used to make screwdriver handles.
CA handles are made using the extrusion process. That process involves melting the CA pellets in an extrusion machine which then pushes the molten plastic thru a die and then into a water bath to cool the extrusion. The die is shaped like the cross section of the handle and the extrusion rods are then put into an automatic lathe that turns the final shape into the extruded rod, then cuts it off. After that it goes thru a polishing bath of solvents that puts the final shiny appear on them. So if you're a screwdriver manufacturer using CA your factory is full of extruders, water baths and polishing equipment. Around the 1980's the manufacturers of CAB raw material (can't remember who the major players were - Dupont maybe) started calling on screwdriver manufacturers and their sales pitch was that CAB is injection molded not extruded. So using CAB you could injection mold handles which come out of the mold completely finished. No turning, no polishing needed. You could have a 48 cavity mold and get 48 completely finished handles every cycle of the mold machine. The main drawbacks to CAB was that CAB is more susceptible to degradation from some hydrocarbons and of course the awful smell. Some manfacturers thought the tradeoffs were manageable and they converted their factories and their handles to CAB. The manufacturer I worked for was so heavily invested in extrusion equipment that we did not make the conversion. I don't think anyone knew back then that the CAB molded handles would develop the white coating that we see today, but at some point and for a lot of reasons the CAB fad faded and CA came back into favor. As to what that white coating actually is, I don't know for sure. I suspect it's plasticizer leeching out but there may be mold growth involved as well. I have 100's of CAB handles that are turning white but I noted that the worst examples were stored in a high humidity so that would bolster the theory that its mold growth. If I was still working I would send the white coated sample out for a complete chemical analysis and we would know for sure.

 

[bcschief]

A suggestion out of left field items you would use on your body to fight a fungal infection, Tea tree oil, Vics vapor rub I think Epson salts a google search would be where I would start.

 

[BrandonV]

I have 100's of CAB handles that are turning white but I noted that the worst examples were stored in a high humidity so that would bolster the theory that its mold growth.

Humidity would make sense. I've never seen this happen to various vintage CAB screwdrivers kept in an unconditioned Phoenix garage.

 

[yhprum]

I soaked mine in pinesol for about one week over a year ago, hasn’t returned yet. I can live with that.

 

[four.cycle]

Private Lugnutz's "Stinkdriver Study" chart

If I'm not mistaken, Don (@d42jeep) has figured out a way to clean these up and deal with the process - my memory is fuzzy on this one - I think he might be clear-coating them.
Don?

I cleaned mine up with household cleaners (Simple Green, Dawn dishwashing liquid) and then waxed them with Mother's Carnauba wax. They were all intended for SALE so there was no way I was going to "coat" them with anything - I'll leave that to the new owners.
(It was a set of Vaco and a set of Craftsman nutdrivers and the smell would literally make me gag - I had to keep them in a gallon zip-lock.)

 

[RTM]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...rs-old-s-o-screwdrivers.527112/#post-10495135

If I'm not mistaken, Don (@d42jeep) has figured out a way to clean these up and deal with the process - my memory is fuzzy on this one - I think he might be clear-coating them.
Don?

I’ve been shellacking mine with clear dewaxed shellac. Reversible with alcohol. I forget what Don is doing.

 

[d42jeep]

I have clear coated driver handles that are disintegrating. The jury is still out on that. The Xcelite stink doesn’t bother me very much. I think Outlaw is using mineral oil on some but I haven’t tried it. I scrape the crust off that forms on some nutdriver handles but it seems to return on some and I scrape it off again with no permanent solution.
-Don

 

[rust in the eye]

I've found an effective solution for my acetate handled screwdrivers, it is called E-bay.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Yes. That tactic is proven to be 100% successful.
Alternatively:
I gave my buddy ALL my stinky Craftsman screwdrivers. Not sure if he uses them or not.
Anything else: either ebay or out to the curb.

Vessel screwdrivers do not stink.

 

[alinc100]

I've had good luck with Ballistol. As I have said in another thread( I can't remember which one) I really should do a video and post the results. It's quick ,Ballistol has an odor all it's own and I can't speak to longevity as of yet. That might be a good project for today.

 

[CoogarXR]

I just use windex and a microfiber cloth. Buff 'em up real nice. I have a couple that haze back up pretty fast, but the rest stay nice for a long time (years).

 

[Ditchdigger]

One of my techs took a month off. When he came back he accused his coworkers of pranking him because his toolbox smelled so bad. I walked past the box, sniffed and asked him if he used the clear handled screwdrivers. He opened the drawer and there were a bunch of Craftys just starting to turn hazy.

His solution involved a garbage can and the Matco truck. It really did the trick.

I found it odd that he was about 5 years into using them and being sealed up for 30 days started the decomposition.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Directed here by @four.cycle and his use of my Stinkdriver Chart...

The white residue is from slow off-gassing in the presence of air and it's only a matter of time until they disintegrate. Cleaning off the residue has zero effect on the off-gassing. Granted, some of the compositions are better than others and, depending on environmental conditions, off-gas so slow, that the first order effects are irrelevant. In other words, just keep cleaning the residue off. But some of the compositions off-gas so bad that they will eventually disintegrate, as Don mentioned, and have second order effects - causing steel tools in proximity to oxidize. That's why I clear coat with rattle can acrylic. It seals them, so there's no air for them to react with. It's a cardinal sin of collectibles, altering a finish, but the alternative is much worse.

I found it odd that he was about 5 years into using them and being sealed up for 30 days started the decomposition.

Not to argue, because it doesn't really matter, and it's a dumb thing to argue about, but I suspect they were always decomposing, slowly, mildly, and being cooped up for 30 days without being used, handled, and wiped off on a semi-regular basis allowed the residue to build up and it trapped the smell that was not as noticeable by the tech when his box and his tools are in regular use.

 

[four.cycle]

That's why I clear coat with rattle can acrylic.

so how'd the "clear acrylic spray" trick work out? did it somewhat "arrest" the process? did it stop the STINK?

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Yes, and yes.

 

[four.cycle]

^ I have some "Oxwall" stuff that is doing that and causing the other pieces in the set to rust.
You and I are on the same page in respect to "alteration", but I think I'm going to grab my can of clear Krylon for these.

 

[WWheeler]

 

[alinc100]

Here's my quick, crappy video.

 

[KnurledNut]

It affects more than screwdrivers.
Here’s a torque wrench I recently made usable again:

 

[ecotec]

I just donate tools that have butyl breakdown.

 

[freeisforme]

Something that's made me wonder as to why this occurs is that most of the Craftsman screwdrivers that I've bought myself and had since the early 80's are all fine so far, but the one's that I got used, which are in a different tool box out in the garage, all keep needing to be cleaned off. Some I've been cleaning off over and over again for the last 30 years yet they never seem any worse for wear after scraping off all the white waxy stuff. Those that get used all the time never seen to do it, nor do those which are discolored from years of use and years of grease. years go I used to wash my tools after every job in the safety clean parts washer, it turned a good many of my original handles a bit yellow and those are the one's that never turn white.
It seems to be temperature or humidity related somehow.
I did noticed something, as crazy as it may sound, all the tool boxes facing the south wall have screwdriver handles turning white all the time, yet those facing the north wall never have.
There are no windows in there, but there is a sump pump and sink on the south wall and a dehumidifier nearest to the boxes facing south.
Cleaning off handles that were in the south facing boxes and returning them to a north facing box seems to prevent them from turning white again. Yet if I put them back where they came from they turn white within the year again. I just haven't figured out why yet.