--- title: Retro Gear And The Mystery Of Cables Melting Into Cases... description: Plasticizer migration is the real cause behind cable-shaped indents found on retro computer cases. PVC cable insulation contains plasticizers that slowly... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/retro-gear-and-the-mystery-of-cables-melting-into-cases-while-in-storage-tv4edqnnm twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Retro Gear And The Mystery Of Cables Melting Into Cases While In Storage | daily.dev og:description: Plasticizer migration is the real cause behind cable-shaped indents found on retro computer cases. PVC cable insulation contains plasticizers that slowly... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/retro-gear-and-the-mystery-of-cables-melting-into-cases-while-in-storage-tv4edqnnm og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/tV4eDqNnm.png og:image:alt: Retro Gear And The Mystery Of Cables Melting Into Cases While In Storage og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Retro Gear And The Mystery Of Cables Melting Into Cases While In Storage **[Hackaday](https://daily.dev/sources/hackaday)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Plasticizer migration is the real cause behind cable-shaped indents found on retro computer cases. PVC cable insulation contains plasticizers that slowly migrate into adjacent ABS plastic when cables are wrapped tightly around devices during storage. This leaves visible impressions and makes the PVC brittle over time. To prevent damage, avoid wrapping PVC cables around devices, keep them physically separated from ABS plastics, and store in cool environments. The problem is especially common with 1980s gear made before phthalate-free and more stable plasticizer formulations were developed. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Repairing Brittle Plastic Retro Computer Cases](https://daily.dev/posts/repairing-brittle-plastic-retro-computer-cases-6uvolu1b1) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [How Gold Plastic Syndrome Is Killing Toys And Game Consoles](https://daily.dev/posts/how-gold-plastic-syndrome-is-killing-toys-and-game-consoles-9ujcq6ujd) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Clean Enclosures, No Printing Necessary](https://daily.dev/posts/clean-enclosures-no-printing-necessary-lniqqwoi5) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your 3D prints are failing because you're using the wrong material, and PLA is the culprit](https://daily.dev/posts/your-3d-prints-are-failing-because-you-re-using-the-wrong-material-and-pla-is-the-culprit-f2hwobruy) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Flat Ethernet cables become e-waste the moment they break, and I'm swearing them off for good](https://daily.dev/posts/flat-ethernet-cables-become-e-waste-the-moment-they-break-and-i-m-swearing-them-off-for-good-fxjbzy31a) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#retrocomputing](https://daily.dev/tags/retrocomputing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/retro-gear-and-the-mystery-of-cables-melting-into-cases-while-in-storage-tv4edqnnm) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Retro Gear And The Mystery Of Cables Melting Into Cases While In Storage","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/retro-gear-and-the-mystery-of-cables-melting-into-cases-while-in-storage-tv4edqnnm","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/retro-gear-and-the-mystery-of-cables-melting-into-cases-while-in-storage-tv4edqnnm"},"datePublished":"2026-06-30T20:25:32.316Z","dateModified":"2026-06-30T20:35:37.269Z","description":"Plasticizer migration is the real cause behind cable-shaped indents found on retro computer cases. 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