Is there anything that can be done about it?


Noticed a few items I've got have sort of melted and it is very annoying.
Stuff is irreplaceable in my forgotten neck of the woods on a normal day, now with the pandemic everything has become unique.

Got a folder knife and most dear, a set of earmuffs with microphone. The volume on/off switch wheel stick like someone else s half finished candy.... not pleasant.

Advice and solutions welcome.

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The rubberized coating on an old NV Monocular I have went sticky on me.
I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. The sticky came off and it hasn’t done it since.

Did the same thing with a cheap red dot. Alcohol and elbow grease cleaned it right off.

In many instances the sticky residue you noticed is plasticizer leaching from the rubber itself. After you clean the residue off with alcohol as noted by others, keep an eye out for cracking, etc. The plasticizers help make some materials more rubbery so they may lose some of their elasticity.

Michael

I’ve seen rubber-like anti-slip grips on writing pens go gooey. Nothing can be done about it, I think.

I now use a Cross ball point pen that has a hard, slim, smooth barrel that’s oddly, but wonderfully, grippy.

http://shacknotes.blogspot.com...n-e10-shortwave.html

https://swling.com/blog/2016/0...from-his-grundig-g6/

By: Danny Garris, KJ4FH (Garris Radio & TV) New Bern, NC. 100% Perfected Way To BEST Clean The Sticky Coating Off The Eton E1XM / E1 / E10 / E100 Series Radios. I've tried many ways to clean these radios and many methods!!! The Easiest and Simplest Way without the use of expensive equipment or complete disassembly of the radio cabinet is written up below I did get and use 91% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol and a Large box (750 count $5) of Q-tips. Can use 70% Alcohol to protect paint finish but may require a bit more rubbing and you want to avoid as much rubbing as you can So I used 91% and moved SLOWLY but quickly 1/2" section at a time. Now for an even BETTER but slower way to CLEAN which will HELP reduce Paint & glossy finish from being removed: 1) Spray some Easy Off Oven Cleaner into a small cup and take your Q-tip and apply to 1 or 2 inch sections at a time on the Radio cabinet of Easy Off Oven Cleaner from your cup with your Q-tip at a time. Allow to sit for several seconds or more while working loose the Gunk with your Q-tip. You don't really have to worry about the paint being removed with Easy Off Spray unlike you would with Alcohol. 2) Then wipe off with cloth or a Clean Q-tip and may try reapplying another layer of Easy Off Over Cleaner, and re-wipe. This way your getting a lot of the top layer of Gunk off and making it MUCH easier for the next wipe of Alcohol to completely remove the gunk without a LOT of pressure which is how many times the paint can become removed. Some people have used only the Easy Off Cleaner and No Alcohol but I have found a combination of both to work best, however if you are extremely patient and have ALL weekend you can use the Easy Off Oven Cleaner only and not worry about any paint being removed but I found a pretty good method below. Note: I did try the Purple power spray found at most Auto Dept Stores and compared / Easy Off Oven Cleaner Spray / Alcohol / Purple power / Windex / WD-40 and still found the following Method worked best for me with faster results. Your opinion and results may vary. I am not responsible for your outcome. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Just sharing my experiences. Different climates / Humidity / Paint Finishes / Use / Smoking / Quality of Chemicals / And finally your labor may give each individual different results. 3) use a nearby light to "see" the gunk being removed. I used a magnifying headset to see my work in detail and the light to see the gunk was completely removed. TAKE your TIME!! It's not a race! The more you do this the more confident you will become. Don't be afraid just start somewhere like the bottom or back of the radio and saved the last places for the end when you have become more experienced and confident of your experience and skill and results. I put off doing this for YEARS because I ruined one radio and it looked so awful I have to soak the entire case in alcohol for 24 hours to remove ALL THE PAINT. It looked nice after but some of the lettering got removed and the clear plastic display window got damaged and I had to replace - Not an experience I wanted to repeat!! Now after I have done a few, it's actually fun and relaxing but does take time however the results are worthy and the value of your good working Radio has now hit the roof!!! Before Anyone Asks me..... NO, I WILL NOT DO ANYONE'S RADIO!!!! I do not have the time. Barely had time to do my own as it sat for years until I could finally get around to it. But before I did mine I used several CHEAP Eton E100 Radios which had same sticky coating. You can buy these as cheap as $20 non-working and try this method I have written up here. That's what I did. I bought 2 Eton E100 Radios CHEAP and after I cleaned them up I sold them for much more! They were easy to do and only took one evening. Some could do it in 2 hours, but I went VERY SLOW and careful.... using it as a test subject before cleaning my own Eton E1XM so mine took 4 to 5 hours but the Eton E100 test Radio looked like brand-new and nice shiny finish and No Paint removal. You can jump on it FASt and spray the whole radio down with EASY OFF Oven Cleaner but I preferred to go slow and steady and take my time getting better and better at it as I go along and my confidence greatly increased!!!! Now I'm no longer afraid to clean one but keep in mine SLOW and STEADy is the best course. People make goof ups in the finish and paint when they rush it. The slower you go the better.... Even if it takes 40 hours... Your Radio will look better than anyone else's because you took your time. You cleaned the nooks and crannies and keep the finish shiny by not using took much alcohol. 4) Reapply Easy Off Over Cleaner, then wipe and dry. Then go back over with the alcohol. The trick is your NOT using as much alcohol or elbow grease USING the alcohol because the Easy Off Over Cleaner is helping greatly to remove and breakup the gunk, I admit I have personal better results with JUST alcohol and Q-tips but almost everytime I have an area that paint gets removed. Doing the same radio in same weak spot using the Easy Off Oven Cleaner mostly and lightly going over with final cleaning using alcohol has been VERY GOOD AT NOT REMOVING ANY PAINT and also keeps the base SHINE still intact whereas before on just alcohol only it seems to look duller as it is more stronger and removes some of the shine as well. 5) Lastly I may use a little windex, I look for any small areas of gunk still left using a bright nearby light. I use LOTS and LOTS of Q-tips!!! Keeping a CLEAN Q-tip always at use. I will use a Q-tip for a little while then toss away and grab another. A large box of 750 count for $5 at Walmart works fine. 6) Once that section of the radio looks good and clean and shiney I will go over it once again with a little WD-40 which gives it a little shine. I go very very slowly and take my time. Listen to some TV or music and work thru the evening. Once you get done you will have a very nice 100% Clean Radio with NO Paint removed and it will Look Fantastic and like new!!
No need to disassemble the radio. Just take your time and do a little small section at a time until you get more confident. Try not to get OVER confident and do too large of a space. You can do Larger sections with the Easy Off Oven Cleaner and NOT harm the paint, but it is when you use the Alcohol and try to do too large a section and use too much pressure trying to do a fast job. IT IS A JOB THAT CAN BE DONE BY ANYONE just be very patient and do sections at a time with care and use the alcohol carefully as it can remove paint whereas the Easy Off over cleaner does not. So I use heavy on the Easy Off Oven Cleaner and Light on the Alcohol on my Q-tips. Constantly using Clean Q-tips as I go. You will see the gunk Wipe or peel right off with your Q-tip and see the base shine underneath. Try not to use too much alcohol on the shiny base once the gunk is removed. Use a few passes to completely remove all Gunk then use a dry Q-tip to polish, then use a little alcohol to get small areas of gunk off, once all clean go over with a little windex then dry, then use a little WD-40 and buff out and the radio cabinet looks amazing!! ========================================

Many times these coatings are on automotive trim and especially switches and knobs. But I have seen it on just about anything. Oven cleaner seems a little risky as some of this switchgear is pretty freaky expensive. I will have to try that on some other stuff though.

The easiest, most thorough and quick way to get rid of this mess is using the cheapest window cleaner you can find. Think great value brand at Chi-com-mart. All the cheapest stuff is ammonia based. Ammonia by itself does work just not as well. You need something stronger than regular paper towels so I use the blue 'shop' towels. You need to be able to switch to cleaner parts of the rag and then discard/replace it which is why not a regular rag. Otherwise it just transports what you clean to another spot eventually. Even so, the surfaces you thought were clean will have some missed spots. Be sure to check a few minutes later as they will show once dried.