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Sticky T21

T20-T23 Series and T30. NOT for T25-Retro.
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Rex
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Location: Surrey, England

Sticky T21

#1 Post by Rex » Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:11 am

Happy new year one and all,

I have a couple of ageing T21 laptops which I really like. (in fact, I like the TP keyboard so much that I bought the UltraNav full sized keyboard for my desktop!)

However, the soft touch, rubberised surface of the laptops has become very sticky and horrible to touch. Is there any way to remove this thin coating? Some kind of paint remover?

Thanks

Rex
Take care, take it easy and don't forget to smell the flowers!

Neil
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Re: Sticky T21

#2 Post by Neil » Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:44 am

Collection = T430 - T500 - R400 - X300 - T61 (14" WXGA+) - R61 (15" SXGA+) - T60 - X40 - T43p - T43 - T42p - A30P

RealBlackStuff
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Re: Sticky T21

#3 Post by RealBlackStuff » Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:59 am

Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

Rex
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Location: Surrey, England

Re: Sticky T21

#4 Post by Rex » Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:36 am

Thanks for the links.. I have too many expired credit cards so guess I now have a use for them!

Will try to get some rubbing alcohol but here in the UK, it probably won't be easy; most likely at prohibited substance!
Take care, take it easy and don't forget to smell the flowers!

brchan
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Re: Sticky T21

#5 Post by brchan » Mon Jan 02, 2017 7:46 pm

I will add that the card method will give great results done properly. However, in my case the rubber finish was a bit more stubborn than I thought it would be (it wasn't in too bad of condition, and was only mildly sticky). Took me a few hours and a couple of cards.
Current Thinkpads: W530 (functional classic keyboard mod), X301, T61, T60, T43, A31p, T23, 600X, 770
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53

kfzhu1229
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Re: Sticky T21

#6 Post by kfzhu1229 » Tue Jan 03, 2017 1:21 am

Is there some way to avoid the rubber coating being sticky? I have a T23 which was rested almost all the time and its rubbery shell looks even better than my T530!! Does just merely resting it in peace work?
Dell Lat CP MMX-233 64mb 40gb W2k
600 PII-266 416mb 40gb WXP
T23 PIII 1.13ghz 1gb W7
Precision M4300 X9000 8gb 160gb WUXGA Ultrasharp fp W10
T530i 15.6" i7 16gb fp W10
UXGA:
A30p PIII 1.2 1gb W7 (IDTech)
T43p 2.26 2gb fp W10 (Sharp)
Lat C840 P4-2.5 2gb 60gb W7 (Ultrasharp)

Rex
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Location: Surrey, England

Re: Sticky T21

#7 Post by Rex » Tue Jan 03, 2017 3:57 am

I did buy my TP's as used, many years ago. They were in good condition with no evidence of rubber damage or missuse. I only used them on the desktop desktop until I finally decided that I needed a larger screen and more computing resources.

So for the past X years, they have been in a cupboard, in the normally heated part of the house. When they were put away, the rubber was just fine; when I used one of them a few weeks ago, the rubber was sticky on both of them.

Good storage does not appear to reduce the stickiness happening, or more specifically, a lot of usage has not necessarily caused it. Personally, I think it happens due to c**p manufacturing and a design life expectancy built in. The rubber tyres on my car don't get sticky!
Take care, take it easy and don't forget to smell the flowers!

kfzhu1229
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Re: Sticky T21

#8 Post by kfzhu1229 » Tue Jan 03, 2017 5:49 pm

I would say if you put that in the heated part that may cause the problem. Rather mine was put rest in peace at my high school for most of its life under a cool shelf (minimal thermal cycling) with something on the top that took care of all the dirt so aside from a few scratches on the lid and a crack on the bottom left of its base + palmrest it is flawless
Dell Lat CP MMX-233 64mb 40gb W2k
600 PII-266 416mb 40gb WXP
T23 PIII 1.13ghz 1gb W7
Precision M4300 X9000 8gb 160gb WUXGA Ultrasharp fp W10
T530i 15.6" i7 16gb fp W10
UXGA:
A30p PIII 1.2 1gb W7 (IDTech)
T43p 2.26 2gb fp W10 (Sharp)
Lat C840 P4-2.5 2gb 60gb W7 (Ultrasharp)

Rex
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Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 5:48 pm
Location: Surrey, England

Re: Sticky T21

#9 Post by Rex » Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:11 am

You may be right but I wouldn't say that it was in a part of the house that was any warmer than any other part of the house. I would only have received the normal warming/cooling cycle that any laptop sitting on a office desk for X years would receive.

Of course, the flaw in that argument is that an office would renew their laptops more frequently than I do. So an office laptop is unlikely to ever experience stickiness occuring unless some oike spills his hot chocolate over it!
Take care, take it easy and don't forget to smell the flowers!

RealBlackStuff
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Re: Sticky T21

#10 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed Jan 04, 2017 8:04 am

I have 4 T23 machines plus a few spare lids.
All of them are stored in a cupboard in my office and have been there for at least 5 years.
Only 1 lid got sticky so far (the one I posted about).
I just checked their origins, the 3 'good' ones were Made in Mexico in 2001 and 2002, the sticky one was Made in China in 2003.
That should answer your question...

Rex
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Posts: 232
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 5:48 pm
Location: Surrey, England

Re: Sticky T21

#11 Post by Rex » Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:03 am

Mine both say 'Made in the UK' which is quite surprising. Bet they got they got the paint from China!
Take care, take it easy and don't forget to smell the flowers!

Kasm279
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Re: Sticky T21

#12 Post by Kasm279 » Mon Jan 09, 2017 2:20 am

I've a T23 that feels slightly grippy to the touch, but if I stack another ThinkPad on top it'll stick slightly. It was manufactured in Mexico.

And if you think the T2x machines have good keyboards, you should try a 600 series.
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 (?)
Dead: i1420 (Mobo, Keyboard)

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