I bought a new dust cover for my PX-5S and it caused the glossy middle part of the front panel to turn yellow in a few days

[mickkb]

So, long story short, some months ago I bought a new dust cover for my PX-5S. I left it on the instrument for a few days, and when I took it off to play I was horrified to see that the glossy middle part ofthe front panel had turned completely yellow. I am heartbroken as it was in mint condition, but that's life I guess. I am curious though how could this happen so fast and without any prior signs of yellowing anywhere on my instrument whatsoever.

 

I just wanted to share my pain. 🤣

[Mike Martin]

That is terrible, I'm sorry to hear this. What kind of dust cover? 

[mickkb]

Thanks for the response Mike! It is an On-Stage KDA7088B which I got for €25 (about $27).

 

 https://on-stage.com/products/view/13469

 

 

[Brad Saucier]

Oh my. Can you attach a photo of the yellowing?  I'm curious.  

[mickkb]

Sure, I will attach a photo when I get back home on Thursday.

[Jokeyman123]

Yikes! I have 2 of these stretchy covers-not my favorite since these are a bit porous anyway and let some dust in-but never discolored my keyboards-then again I use these on metal finish keyboards never noticed any discoloration. Something in this spandex must react with the plastic. I'd post a review of where you got it-with the vendor, so other PX5s owners will know, but that's me. Not too surprised given some of the chemicals used in products lately, but definitely should not have happened.

 

Here is a picture of a similar stretchy rubbery fabric I purchased a year or two ago to use as a non-slip surface/cover which seemed like a good idea at the time-it is sold as covering for shelves. Why post here? This is nasty stuff-it has "etched" its way into almost every plastic i had resting it against-completely ruined the finish on several of my plastic cased modules and computers, and I've had to scrape it off shelves, horrible product should be banned from the market. Posted as a warning here, and thinking it may have the same chemical composition as these spandex covers, but with an even more damaging result. I kept a piece just to remind me not to put it near anything plastic-or anything else as it melts itself into a goo on just about anything.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Jokeyman123

[mickkb]

Here are the photos as promised. As you can see, only the surfaces in contact with the cover have been affected. And keep in mind that the yellowing happened in a matter of a couple of days. 

 

I guess the whole process is irreversible and there is nothing to be done now, so I will have to live with it. At least all the damage is purely cosmetic , and I still have and can enjoy such a great instrument! 🙂

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by mickkb

[Brad Saucier]

Well, that's sadness.  The top panel is a painted plastic, a subtle metallic pearl type paint.  I wonder if there's a product out there for restoring yellowed plastics like this.  

[Jokeyman123]

I am not speaking professionally, let me be clear-I am posting this with a huge  "caveat". And the areas on this PX seem pretty large so my solution might not be appropriate.

 

I researched this yellowed plastic problem several years ago online-but it was for smaller objects-specifically for the yellowed "chicklet" buttons on an RM1X and several Roland digital recorders that had yellowed buttons-but yellowed from age, not a reaction to another possible chemical contact. And it worked but is not easy.

 

I purchased a small bottle of peroxide-the type used for people's hair-it had a jellied consistency, not a liquid-so could be applied carefully with a brush without dripping into/onto anything else-and it had to sit on these parts long enough to work. But here's the catch.

 

By itself, it did not work-but based upon someone else's demonstrations, I located the module(s)-with the peroxide on the affected parts-in direct strong sunlight-and amazingly, it worked-took all the yellow off the keys. There may be a way to simulate the natural sunlight, but I did not try. And again-I only did this for smaller localized parts-not a larger surface such as the PX5S. I also masked off the parts just to make sure none of this peroxide ran into anything else surrounding it. And the peroxide has to be in the right percentage solution-and as a gel coat-it needs to adhere to the surface as a gel, and has to stay reasonably "wet" to work. If it dries out it also will not work. I needed to let it sit for a good 8 hours or so (summer was best!) for this to "take". It did not damage the plastic-but then I can't know what the finish is on the PX5S, there is a danger this process could damage the finish-so again just passing on the experience I have had although I'm not sure, if it was my PX, that I would go through this since it is such a large area, might have to chalk it up to leaving it as it is. I would post (I will post) a warning in the comments section of wherever I bought my covers-that this could be a possible problem-I'm sure I got these from a vendor on you know where that starts with an "A".

[mickkb]

Thanks, I have read of this method, but I don't think I am capable of disassembling and then successfully reassembling my PX in order to be able to do this. 😅

 

I guess in the future (even though I love the design of my PX) I won't be buying anything white again, just in case. I will be sticking with black - or maybe red if I ever get rich. 🤑

Edited December 26, 2023 by mickkb