Cleaning printing off cables

Acetone? Petrol? Or spray paint the cable?

Bill

I doubt you will. I'm sure the ink solvent will soften and mix with the PVC.

There are PVC paints/stains you can get suitable for colouring cables that may covert he black. Of course normally non-white.

Be careful with acetone, it might melt the cable. test it on a spare bit. Paint might work, depending on how hot the area is going to get I suppose. Some of the liquid paper that typists used to use can work, but beware as it contains acetone. Brian

Yes I think many were acrylic based. Back in the old days of wiring looms the company I worked for bought white cable and had a machine with spirally striped it with up to three colours. Brian

Methylated spirits will usually get it off. Anything too aggressive will also short the lifetime of the cable insulation. Not such a problem these days as the heat embrittlement that occurs with hot filament bulbs.

White sleeving?

A gentler abraisive? Cif/Jif or whatever its called? Brasso or Silvo? Toothpaste?

Dave

Write off the purchase and buy some more. If possible, just go to a local shed like B&Q where you can see the flex and cut off a length.

Or go to an electrical wholesaler, or Screwfix, or Toolsatan.

Cheers

Dave R

"The basic make-up of UV-curable inks consists of four components:

monomers, oligomers, pigments, and photoinitiators.

The monomers provide a building block of the ink, and can contribute certain properties such as softness/hardness of the ink when cured. Monomers also help control ink viscosity, which is essential to jetting reliability.

The oligomers in the ink formulation consist of reactive resins and uniquely formulated adhesive components for printing on a wide range of different substrates.

The pigments provide the color.

When the photoinitiators are exposed to UV light, the oligomers and monomers cross-link or polymerize. So unlike aqueous or water-based inks, no heat or air drying is required for curing. But even the photoinitiators need to be tuned to a specific wavelength of UV light. "

Just a guess. That's the Timex of inks - shockproof and waterproof.

I have a cable sample here, of a different kind of cable than the OP, but the inkjet print style is the same. And that ink is just as robust as the cable insulation, and it's not going anywhere.

If you find a solvent for the ink, the cable insulation will likely dissolve too.

Paul

Thanks, I think you might be right... after some surface cleaning it looks like it's soaked in.

This was ordered from Farnell BTW - never expected that white cable would have indelible printing along almost every inch :(

Theo

That's unfortunate. I suppose if you want domestic flex it is best to order it from an electrical wholesaler or DIY shop. Such as