So, several years ago I got this awesome jumbo and then made the horrible mistake of leaving it in my car on a hot day. It came in this nice black box but in the heat of the car the ink/paint/stain or whatever is on the box MELTED onto the Free-D portion of the tree!!! I was horrified!!! And it wasn't just a spec, it was a big black spot about an inch long and quarter of an inch high!
I had asked a few times on the boards if anyone had any ideas on what I could do but came up empty. So, in a box it sat.
I was going through some of my jumbos today when I took a look at it and finally tried to do something about it. First I tried scrubbing it with soap and water - nothing. I briefly considered painting it but decided that wouldn't work. I then though maybe I could find another one that was damaged in some other way and I could change out the Free-D element but then figured that the chances of that would be slim and it would still be fairly costly.
So.....as a last resort......I shaved it!!! Yes, I litterally shaved it off! I first tried a knife and a potato peeler but those weren't working too well but I got enough off to see that the ink didn't go very deep. So I went and got a cheap ol' BIC razor and shaved off the damaged portion!
Note - I would only recommend this as a last resort. It did leave behind scratches and a sheen there the rest of the Free-D element is matt in finish. It is still a damaged pin but at least now it is presentable!!! 1000% better than the giant black spot!!!
I had asked a few times on the boards if anyone had any ideas on what I could do but came up empty. So, in a box it sat.
I was going through some of my jumbos today when I took a look at it and finally tried to do something about it. First I tried scrubbing it with soap and water - nothing. I briefly considered painting it but decided that wouldn't work. I then though maybe I could find another one that was damaged in some other way and I could change out the Free-D element but then figured that the chances of that would be slim and it would still be fairly costly.
So.....as a last resort......I shaved it!!! Yes, I litterally shaved it off! I first tried a knife and a potato peeler but those weren't working too well but I got enough off to see that the ink didn't go very deep. So I went and got a cheap ol' BIC razor and shaved off the damaged portion!
Note - I would only recommend this as a last resort. It did leave behind scratches and a sheen there the rest of the Free-D element is matt in finish. It is still a damaged pin but at least now it is presentable!!! 1000% better than the giant black spot!!!