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Cleaning off factory lube

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jcoffin1981:
I am looking for some info on ABS, POM, and PBT reactivity with petroleum distillates and haven't found much.  I've used it before on PBT, but the contact time was brief, and the lighter fluid evaporates VERY quickly.  I will do some more digging. It might be neat experiment to soak some keycaps in lighter fluid for an extended time.  I'm gonna try this.

Leslieann:
PBT is used in automotive connectors and wiring and doesn't typically react to solvents, holds up well to heat and fire.  Best I can tell it doesn't react to petroleum products.

ABS, hot water can cause issues with it softening, boiling water is almost identical to it's TG temp (where it softens), but it can weaken and change shape at temps lower than that... One major problem with ABS is the formula, there are many formulas for it and it can change on a whim. In this case, the amount of Acrylonitrile matters for petroleum, it will struggle without lots and you will usually only find this formulation in specific use cases. If there's no need, manufacturers tend to use the cheapest formulation they can get. After working with it on printers it's one of my least liked plastics to work with these days.

POM is even worse about heat, even the dishwasher can ruin it over time. I have some old black POM handled kitchen knives that look gray there is so many microfractures in them. Similar to ABS, there are several similar formulas and most do not like petroleum products but plays well with alcohol.

Polycarbonate is probably the worst of these to use petroleum products on, tons of things mess up polycarbonate. Ultra violet rays, it's easy to scratch, prone to warping and can lead to problems for people who are in constant contact with it. It's a terrible plastic to use in keyboards.

Sorry, this doesn't answer everything.
Be careful messing with some of these, they can off-gas some pretty nasty stuff.

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