Removing Crayon from Trades?

mirage13 · January 22nd, 2006, 12:32

Can someone please give me some advice on how to remove the white crayon I used to fill my gun's trades, without damaging the slide or barrel?

Thanks,
Mir

Skruface · January 22nd, 2006, 12:50

really hot (boiling) water to liquify the wax in the crayon?

mirage13 · January 22nd, 2006, 13:03

I just tried several things on an old plastic TM slide...

Mr Clean Magic Eraser - is apparently just a very very fine abrasive, it ended up sanding off a very fine layer of the slide and trades. Don't even bother trying this. (Essentially, it ruined the appearance of the slide, jsut as 1500 grit wet sand paper would)

HOT tap water & Toothbrush - Nothin

Oxy Clean & Toothbrush - Nope

Goo-Gone & Toothbrush - Notta

Orange Glo & Toothbrush - Removed -some- of the crayon, but you could hardly claim that it works.

Tooth Pick - Worked the best overall, still some crayon left over in the tight corners... It's good, cause the soft wood of the toothpick won't scratch the plastic, even if you TRY. Very time consuming, and still doesn't remove 100% of the crayon.

I'm not going to bother attempting boiling water, I assume this will warp the plastic slide.

Any other bright ideas?

BloodSport · January 22nd, 2006, 13:24

What about the MR.Clean Magic eraser? - Unless thats what you meant by scrubbing pad.

gallantcorey · January 22nd, 2006, 13:26

Maybee just the steam from the boiling water?

mirage13 · January 22nd, 2006, 13:39

Ya Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... that's what I meant by scrubbing pad. I'll edit the first post.

The steam from boiling water... is a higher temperature than the boiling water itself, so I assume it will melt/warp the plastic slide as well.

BloodSport · January 22nd, 2006, 13:45

The wax should melt long before any warpage starts, try holding it in for 5 seconds or so, and wiping the wax off with a dry cloth.

Penguin · January 22nd, 2006, 14:44

I used a toothpick to scrape it out from my M203 trades, worked.. but was quite irritating.

MadMax · January 22nd, 2006, 14:44

I would guess a crayons melting point at around 65C. ABS has a softening point around 90C so you have to be careful with steam which hits 100C.

One method which might work well is to preheat your oven to 65C. Use an accurate alcohol or mercury thermometer instead of the ovens thermostat which is optimized for temps above 150C. Put a 1'x1' board on a middle rack with 3-4 sheets of paper towel.

Turn the coils on for a bit and monitor the temp thru the window in the door. Kill the coils at around 50C as the elements have a fair bit of heat capacity and they do get very hot. let the temperature drift up and put your slide in on the paper towel. Continue to monitor temperature to make sure that it doesn't continue to drift upwards.

Hopefully theres enough very warm air to maintain around 65C to gently melt the wax out and wick into the paper towel. It might help to put a weight inside the slide to keep the face pressed against the paper. A weight inside the slide wouldn't pinch the sides together in case ABS softens enough to warp under the weight of the ballast.

mirage13 · January 22nd, 2006, 15:27

Well, my mother refuses to let me near her oven for anything NFR... (Non Food Related) :sad: Regardless, I really don't think my oven has the capability of-- or rather, I really don't think I have the capability of using my oven to generate a steady 65 degrees :lol:

I attempted melting it out with a hair dryer... If softened it enough to allow for the top layer of crayon to come off when wiped with a piece of paper towel, but it certainly didn't liquify and drip out.

Anyways, the bottom layer of crayon still remains... I could probably pick it out with a toothpick, but it's just an old slide, so I don't care. This whole thing was about me wanting to white my trades in my KSC G26C. Just... the KSC's trades are much more... detailed... very fine. The TM's are pretty fat and bold, in comparison. Seeing as the toothpick barely worked on the TM, I sincerley doubt that I would ever get the crayon out of the KSC's trades, if I ever wanted to.

So it looks like I'm leaving it as is...

BloodSport · January 22nd, 2006, 16:02

You could try a dentist pick, much finer point then a tooth pick.

mirage13 · January 22nd, 2006, 16:08

A dentist pick is metal, and knowing me, I'd probably end up scratching the slide.

*Wishes there was a chemical compound that disolved only wax* :-|

I'm looking for a method with a near-zero chance of damage.

By the way, I tried boiling water in a kettle and steaming&wiping for 5 secs, 10 secs, 20 secs, nothing worked well... Afterwards, I poured the boiling water directly onto the slide for about 10 secs, then wiped, same results... pretty much nothing...

D_oo_S · January 22nd, 2006, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirage13

A dentist pick is metal, and knowing me, I'd probably end up scratching the slide.

*Wishes there was a chemical compound that disolved only wax* :-|

I'm looking for a method with a near-zero chance of damage.

By the way, I tried boiling water in a kettle and steaming&wiping for 5 secs, 10 secs, 20 secs, nothing worked well... Afterwards, I poured the boiling water directly onto the slide for about 10 secs, then wiped, same results... pretty much nothing...

I have a dentist pick that has a rubber piece on the top to get in those hard to reach places.

TheToastmaster · January 23rd, 2006, 15:13

If you're looking to remove the crayon from inside the trades, I've used dressmaker pins to do that. Any plain old pin will do, it will actually work better if the wax is cold, not hot, since it becomes harder and brittle then and will come out in pieces.
If you're looking to get the wax off of the slide of the gun around the trades, leaving it inside the trades, I've used both Kleenex and those cosmetic cotton pads that are pretty common to have in the bathroom if there are any women where you live. Just rub the slide down right over the trades where you want to remove the wax. Worked for me on both a TM glock, and P7 (both of these have very a fairly fine lined finish that took the crayon well around the trades, and the cotton/tissue cleaned it out without issues). Just rub it down with something soft until the wax wipes off around the trades.

Kimbo · January 23rd, 2006, 19:25

how about getting one of those waterpick toothbrushes, the ones that use little blasts of water to pick between your teeth. Filler up with super hot water and use it like a high pressure washer to remove the wax.

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January 22nd, 2006, 12:32	#1
mirage13 Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toronto	Removing Crayon from Trades? Can someone please give me some advice on how to remove the white crayon I used to fill my gun's trades, without damaging the slide or barrel? Thanks, Mir __________________ "And that's how, with a few minor modifications, you can turn one ordinary gun, into five guns." - Moe Sizlack

January 22nd, 2006, 13:03	#3
mirage13 Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toronto	I just tried several things on an old plastic TM slide... Mr Clean Magic Eraser - is apparently just a very very fine abrasive, it ended up sanding off a very fine layer of the slide and trades. Don't even bother trying this. (Essentially, it ruined the appearance of the slide, jsut as 1500 grit wet sand paper would) HOT tap water & Toothbrush - Nothin Oxy Clean & Toothbrush - Nope Goo-Gone & Toothbrush - Notta Orange Glo & Toothbrush - Removed -some- of the crayon, but you could hardly claim that it works. Tooth Pick - Worked the best overall, still some crayon left over in the tight corners... It's good, cause the soft wood of the toothpick won't scratch the plastic, even if you TRY. Very time consuming, and still doesn't remove 100% of the crayon. I'm not going to bother attempting boiling water, I assume this will warp the plastic slide. Any other bright ideas? __________________ "And that's how, with a few minor modifications, you can turn one ordinary gun, into five guns." - Moe Sizlack

January 22nd, 2006, 13:24	#4
BloodSport Traveling Man Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	What about the MR.Clean Magic eraser? - Unless thats what you meant by scrubbing pad. __________________ Saskatchewan Age Verifier! Contact for more Info.

January 22nd, 2006, 13:26	#5
gallantcorey Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Limoges, Ontario	Maybee just the steam from the boiling water? __________________ “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” - Sir Robert Peel

January 22nd, 2006, 13:39	#6
mirage13 Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toronto	Ya Mr. Clean Magic Eraser... that's what I meant by scrubbing pad. I'll edit the first post. The steam from boiling water... is a higher temperature than the boiling water itself, so I assume it will melt/warp the plastic slide as well. __________________ "And that's how, with a few minor modifications, you can turn one ordinary gun, into five guns." - Moe Sizlack

January 22nd, 2006, 13:45	#7
BloodSport Traveling Man Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	The wax should melt long before any warpage starts, try holding it in for 5 seconds or so, and wiping the wax off with a dry cloth. __________________ Saskatchewan Age Verifier! Contact for more Info.

January 22nd, 2006, 14:44	#8
Penguin Propaganda Minister R.I.P. ???? - 2012 Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Toronto	I used a toothpick to scrape it out from my M203 trades, worked.. but was quite irritating.

January 22nd, 2006, 14:44	#9
MadMax Delierious Designer of Dastardly Detonations Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: in the dark recesses of some metal chip filled machine shop	I would guess a crayons melting point at around 65C. ABS has a softening point around 90C so you have to be careful with steam which hits 100C. One method which might work well is to preheat your oven to 65C. Use an accurate alcohol or mercury thermometer instead of the ovens thermostat which is optimized for temps above 150C. Put a 1'x1' board on a middle rack with 3-4 sheets of paper towel. Turn the coils on for a bit and monitor the temp thru the window in the door. Kill the coils at around 50C as the elements have a fair bit of heat capacity and they do get very hot. let the temperature drift up and put your slide in on the paper towel. Continue to monitor temperature to make sure that it doesn't continue to drift upwards. Hopefully theres enough very warm air to maintain around 65C to gently melt the wax out and wick into the paper towel. It might help to put a weight inside the slide to keep the face pressed against the paper. A weight inside the slide wouldn't pinch the sides together in case ABS softens enough to warp under the weight of the ballast. __________________ Want nearly free GBB gas?

January 22nd, 2006, 15:27	#10
mirage13 Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toronto	Well, my mother refuses to let me near her oven for anything NFR... (Non Food Related) :sad: Regardless, I really don't think my oven has the capability of-- or rather, I really don't think I have the capability of using my oven to generate a steady 65 degrees :lol: I attempted melting it out with a hair dryer... If softened it enough to allow for the top layer of crayon to come off when wiped with a piece of paper towel, but it certainly didn't liquify and drip out. Anyways, the bottom layer of crayon still remains... I could probably pick it out with a toothpick, but it's just an old slide, so I don't care. This whole thing was about me wanting to white my trades in my KSC G26C. Just... the KSC's trades are much more... detailed... very fine. The TM's are pretty fat and bold, in comparison. Seeing as the toothpick barely worked on the TM, I sincerley doubt that I would ever get the crayon out of the KSC's trades, if I ever wanted to. So it looks like I'm leaving it as is... __________________ "And that's how, with a few minor modifications, you can turn one ordinary gun, into five guns." - Moe Sizlack

January 22nd, 2006, 16:02	#11
BloodSport Traveling Man Trader rating Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	You could try a dentist pick, much finer point then a tooth pick. __________________ Saskatchewan Age Verifier! Contact for more Info.

January 22nd, 2006, 16:08	#12
mirage13 Trader rating Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Toronto	A dentist pick is metal, and knowing me, I'd probably end up scratching the slide. Wishes there was a chemical compound that disolved only wax :-\| I'm looking for a method with a near-zero chance of damage. By the way, I tried boiling water in a kettle and steaming&wiping for 5 secs, 10 secs, 20 secs, nothing worked well... Afterwards, I poured the boiling water directly onto the slide for about 10 secs, then wiped, same results... pretty much nothing... __________________ "And that's how, with a few minor modifications, you can turn one ordinary gun, into five guns." - Moe Sizlack

January 23rd, 2006, 15:13	#14
TheToastmaster Trader rating Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Winnipeg. In a hole.	If you're looking to remove the crayon from inside the trades, I've used dressmaker pins to do that. Any plain old pin will do, it will actually work better if the wax is cold, not hot, since it becomes harder and brittle then and will come out in pieces. If you're looking to get the wax off of the slide of the gun around the trades, leaving it inside the trades, I've used both Kleenex and those cosmetic cotton pads that are pretty common to have in the bathroom if there are any women where you live. Just rub the slide down right over the trades where you want to remove the wax. Worked for me on both a TM glock, and P7 (both of these have very a fairly fine lined finish that took the crayon well around the trades, and the cotton/tissue cleaned it out without issues). Just rub it down with something soft until the wax wipes off around the trades. __________________ Toast

January 23rd, 2006, 19:25	#15
Kimbo formerly pivot Trader rating Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Calgary	how about getting one of those waterpick toothbrushes, the ones that use little blasts of water to pick between your teeth. Filler up with super hot water and use it like a high pressure washer to remove the wax.

Removing Crayon from Trades?

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