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T23 LID Fixer-Upper

T20-T23 Series and T30. NOT for T25-Retro.
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RealBlackStuff
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T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#1 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:31 pm

I have a T23 which had a terribly ugly lid.
It was scratched and sticky, and when I tried to clean it with a MagicEraser + Isopropyl Alcohol it only got worse. :(
After scratching my head a few times, I figured I got the solution!
I grabbed an (expired) credit card and used that to scrape all the rubber paint off.
After trying different ways, I found the best one was pushing the card at an angle of ca. 30 degrees away from me.
Nice rubber fluff was coming off in no time.
After most of the rubber was removed, I used a paper towel whetted with Isopropyl Alcohol to clean off the rest.
The result?
I'd say magnifico!

Judge for yourself: http://imgur.com/a/sDtfw
Scroll down there to see all the pix.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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brchan
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#2 Post by brchan » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:46 pm

Good info. So does the lid have no rubber finish? I might try this on my T23 since it has the same sticky lid.
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RealBlackStuff
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Aug 19, 2016 1:59 pm

The rubber was only in the paint.
The lid itself is some dull/shiny and strong ABS-plastic mix or similar.
Best of all: it doesn't leave any finger prints!
All in all it took me about a 1/2 hour to do the job.

Kasm279
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#4 Post by Kasm279 » Sun Aug 21, 2016 1:49 am

Nice, now it almost looks like a 570E! I wonder why it's so common for the rubber to turn to goo on the T23.
Main: Latitude E6430
Working ThinkPads: IBM 5155, 755C, 755CX, 760ED, 380Z, 600E (x3), i1420, 570E, X20, T23, T30 x3, T43, Z61t, T60p
WIP: 701c (Broken OS), 600 (LCD), PS/2 L40SX (HDD), 570 (No lid), X31 (HDD, LCD), R51 (HDD), Z60t (HDD), X60 (HDD), T400 (LCD), T43p (?)
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Saucey
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#5 Post by Saucey » Sun Aug 21, 2016 1:03 pm

That doesn't look half bad, might try that on my one my T2x units.
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T3f4l
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#6 Post by T3f4l » Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:33 pm

Awesome I'll do this to my t22 when I strip it to fit the sxga screen
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#7 Post by atagunov » Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:35 am

One question: does the credit card not scratch the plastics on the lid at all?..
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RealBlackStuff
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#8 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Aug 28, 2020 9:11 am

I doubt they can even cause scratches, unless you use too much pressure and an El Cheapo credit card like Amexco Platinum. :twisted:
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
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H-Atkinson
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#9 Post by H-Atkinson » Wed Sep 16, 2020 2:44 am

Had a T43p with a similar situation (magic eraser made it worse, sticky, flaking on edges). Ended up taking the old coating off with coarse sandpaper and then plastidipping it. Not perfect, but IMO was better than the bare metal IMO.
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cadillacmike68
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#10 Post by cadillacmike68 » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:53 am

This is a common problem on all T20 series. I might do it to mine.
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Re: T23 LID Fixer-Upper

#11 Post by b1ack0p » Fri Sep 18, 2020 11:49 pm

Never clean the lid with isopropyl alcohol that causes rubber paint come off. I got my lesson when i tried isopropyl alcohol on my T60 lid. I always clean the lid a little wet+dish soap scotchbride dish sponge soft yellow side. This way it cleans the lid very well even better than magic eraser.

I use magic eraser and dish sponges green side for shiny plastics such as keyboard bezel or palmrest.
my ThinkCollection: X20, X31, X40, X601s, X61, X230, T23, T42, T60

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