Removing Sticky Rubber from Gadgets

Use Isopropyl alcohol to remove the sticky rubber residue on old computer peripherals and other gadgets. The once smooth grippy surface reverts over time to its natural liquid state, much like it was when it came out of the rubber tree. I don't have a solution which leaves the rubber coating in place - if you've got any ideas, please add them to the comments.

A blog post on reversion:

[AbdulAbulbulAmir]

Let's face it. The only cure for old age, is plenty of alcohol.

[trdi]

I actually just tried the baby powder method (talcum powder) and it works, against all expectations. No need to remove the rubber. Apparently talcum is used in production of rubber gloves as well, against stickiness.

[Taxidermista_de_Phobos]

Three magic words: 99% isopropyl alcohol. I've just removed *all* the f*ing sticky rubber from an old Dell Latitude E6430 laptop. The finish is amazing, super smooth surface, not a single trace of rubber. But get yourself 1 litre of alcohol, 1 kg of microfiber cloth and 3 tons of patience. Also some soft fingernail scratching soaked in alcohol helps a lot to get the process started. Thank you very much for your video!!

[bonzaihb]

Just a hint: do not use Acetone, tried that on my MP3 player some years ago and it went completely wrong: removed the rubber, but also dissolved the plastic below it, as you mentioned... meh.

[singleplayer]

Thanks for the video, I have just tried to do this differently and it worked like a charm. Use the Turtle Wax Bug And Tar Remover, a car body polishing product from Turtle Wax. The stickiness cleans up in seconds WHILE LEAVING THE RUBBER COATING ON. Works 100%.
You could also use a similar product. Alcohol rubs the coating off the surface while this only removes the stickiness while leaving the coating ON so it looks and feels like new.
Edit:
Four years later, the car reader I treated this way still looks like new, so this really works!

[RobertoColi]

This is not a matter of cleaning. The sticky is the plastic material that due to something on the air, changed its molecular structure, and sterted to melt. When you touch it you are touching broken plastic polymers (with no warranty that the material is poisoning the skin) and there is nothing to clean; it the outmost layer that is melting, and if you remove it, the next layer will melt. As told, volcanization can be a good idea.
I had my old car steering with the rubber finishers that were melting. I partially solved sprying it with Vinavil glue.

[charliedobbie]

4:35 Wow, is that one of the first cans of WD-40 ever produced? :-D

[sublimationman]

There is a product I use to use called rubber rejuvenator for pinball machines and it use to be used on turntables for the drive belts. It removes the top layer of rubber leaving a fresh layer behind and as well it oils the rubber a little making it less brittle.

[BenInSeattle]

To un-sticky the rubber after reversion, you'd have to revulcanize it, which I'm not sure is possible. As a test, I tried using the heat gun (on my surface mount rework station). Although it seemed to work at first, the rubber quickly reverted to being sticky. Perhaps I needed to add sulfur?

[danrushing]

I've had the problem with Nikon cameras from the 90's and have used acrylic floor wax after cleaning with iso-alcohol. This has worked good for me. The process leaves the rubber finish and cures the stickiness on the Nikon camera coatings. It's sure worth a try for your sticky rubber.

[craigandresen]

Thanks for this video. I had an old universal remote with the sticky problem. The isopropyl alcohol worked best for me too, and I tried a bunch of other things first such as laundry detergent, automobile tar remover, glass cleaner, etc. Nothing could clean it up. The IPA basically removes the rubber coating which for me was great.

[doktoruzo]

The curse of the sticky rubber syndrome. It's a pest. Hate it.
That tin of WD40 you used was from 1969

[wandabout]

Great stuff. I used the Isopropyl Alcohol method on a 20-year old camera grip that had gone sticky and it worked really well. No more sticky nastiness! Thanks.

[twocvbloke]

My solution; Soak the parts in twin tub washing powder solution, it de-stickifies them and retains the original look, works for a lot of sticky plastics including sticky wires and sticky IBM/Lenovo laptops... :)

[cfytcf]

Depending on the rubber type, cornstarch powder works wonders - removing all stickiness and restoring it to a new condition. I learned this from... other items.

[Orillaincanada]

I loved your video! Just tried the isopropyl alcohol method on the handle of my old egg-beater (which totally had the sticky rubber syndrome! I just didn't know it had a name until now LOL) and it worked!!! No more sticky dark stains on my fingers. Thank you so much. :)

[UpLateGeek]

You can also dilute acetone with isopropanol if you want something more aggressive than isopropanol, but less so than acetone.

[KingdomEnfilade]

This is nuts, I have the exact same controller and same problem and just typed in ‘sticky film on old rubber’ and this was the first video that showed up

[philippdase]

Just got my old black widow joystick out of the attic and went to find a video to show me how to remove the sticky rubber stuff. Amazed that I found yours straight away. I found that surgical spirit works great (and all the lettering stayed too!!). Thanks for the video

[toxicgraphix]

A lot of times it's just a thin coating of a clear gunk that was sprayed on to make it feel rubbery. Over time it decomposes and gets sticky. IPA and a bunch of rags will usually clean it off.