Posted on 10/08/2005 1:38:48 PM PDT by hindsfeetnhighplaces
Hello fellow freepers. I have somewhat of a conundrum. My ever inquisitive 5 year old put silly putty on the TV remote and it won't come off!! My husband will NOT be amused. LOL. It could be worse. At least he hasn't thought to stick a PBJ sand. in the VCR--yet. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas on how to get the silly putty off of the remote I would appreciate the help. I did a web search. It appears WD40 will disolve it but I am not sure what that would to to the remote itself. Any ideas?
Did you try more silly putty? I think the stuff sticks to itself.
We have some in the carpet that's been there 10 years!
Trip to town for a new universal remote.... and get it programmed quick ;~D
Put it in the freezer and then pick it off. Works with gum and it might work with this. If it doesn't, let it thaw and go to plan B..... Which is buy your husband a 64 inch plasma TV and it'll come with a new remote.... LOL.
Can you freeze it a little while, then it may crack and break?
yes, it just gets more putty on the remote.
I will try that.
LOL, thankfully no it doesn't. You just can't see what is on the buttons.
that would work except for two things: 1. this remote belongs to the cable company and 2. I don't have any $$$$ at the moment.
eh - the cable company will never want the remote back, or the box for that matter.
But the money part is a problem.
I hate to sound negative, but I doubt real silly putty will stick to a remote. Silly putty is a release agent and in my experience lacks adhesive properties.
Are you sure it's not Play Dough?
It is definately silly putty though we did buy it at the dollar store. I can't remember if it is the actual silly putty brand or if it is made by the dollar store. The remote buttons are a soft rubber and that is what the putty stuck to. I have got it freezing in the freezer to see if I can crack it off.
Actually that should be a two-part housing and comes apart easily, if held together by screws. If the labels are printed on one half it may be easy to clean it once it's dissembled.
Good idea, I will try that after I take it out of the freezer.
Fly out the door and go get a universal remote and program it. Then when Desi comes home and asks, "What's with this?", pretend you don't speak English. Be cooking meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
I must say, it doesn't sound like silly putty to me either. If it's play dough then that would be harder to get off. I'd go with chipping it off after it's been frozen.
See if the remote can be taken apart. It's tricky, but look along the seam and there should be a little place to pop it apart with a butter knife (so as not to scratch it too much). Be careful not to crack it, but it does require some force. The key pad will come out by itself and you can work on cleaning it without worry of ruining the inside workings.
Silly putty is very prone to neutron embrittlement. You may be able to leave the remote in the closest fast burst reactor for a few minutes and get it off. If you have a Californium source you could get the same effect, but it would take a lot longer. There may be some single event upset events with the electronics in the remote, but it is possible that some annealing under heat could remedy these.
LOL, that might work..exept my husband notices if I have dusted and the knick knacks are moved 1/8 of an inch from their previous position.(thankfully having 2 little boys has helped him mellow out some)
WD-40 won't harm the remote any more then the oils in your fingers tips will.
However if you use it, spray it onto a paper towel instead of directly on to the remote.
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