How To Remove and Clean Sticky Plastic from Zoom Recorders

TL;DR: Use 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to remove and clean the sticky plastic stuff.
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The opinions expressed in this video were not influenced by or paid for by any outside individual or company. I only use and test products I buy myself with my own money unless otherwise noted.

[JohnCookAudoVideo]

It worked! Cheap 70% alcohol fixed the stickiness

I have been using acetone for years with poor results. The 70% isopropyl is a miracle! Thanks for posting!

[LilStand]

He ain't lying, alcohol is the best. 91% worked like a charm but be careful with the scrub. Even if you take some of the coating out, it's still better than not being able to hold the recorder.

[lundsweden]

I just did this today, I removed the gunk with armor all, a couple of cheap microfibre cloths and about an hour or so of polishing. Result is very good, I have smooth plastic now, no stickiness (mine was truely disgusting to touch beforehand, made my hands sticky- eewww!)

[PhilTrudell]

Thank you for this great info. I used ethanol which is like a denatured alcohol and it worked perfectly.

[liminal]

I would strongly advise using the proverbial *lint-free cloth* (NOT paper towels including blue shop towels). I had to rub pretty hard to get the sticky/tacky layer off. Some parts took extra work and multiple passes but but the alcohol worked for me.

[Ma_X]

Just discovered that my H1 suffers this. Now it's in the ultrasonic bath with some chemicals (plastic enclosure only). I don't know if it will help. Kind of strange that so common problem isn't solved by producer yet. I'm frustrated badly.
*Acetone dissolves ABS and some other plastics used for plastic enclosures so it's not a good idea to use it for cleaning for them. Some transparent parts can be ruined completely with it.
**Oh, ultrasonic bath helped! I used isopropanol (99.99%) solution about 30-40% by volume with water and added about 20 ml of liquid soap and about 50 ml of hypochlorite-based liquid for sanitary. Temperature was about 65 deg C. Time -- 30 min.

[ArtsAscendent]

I hope Zoom manufacturers feel embarrassed.

[ChusmaChusme]

70% isopropyl alcohol is the sweet spot. 50% you gotta scrub a lot. 90% you gotta be careful scrubbing so it doesn't discolor. Also use a microfiber clothing in the video. Much easier to scrub.

[framedge]

The alcohol did the trick! Thanks for this. Before using it my H4N was unusable.

[wizardkoch]

Thank you so much. The alcohol worked great for me.

[alanwildeone]

The easy way is hand sanitizer, 60% alcohol content is perfect 10 minutes, the microfiber cloth helps

[RawanLancaster]

I tried acetone and it took of the rubber and a plastic surface is seen and not sticky but it is a tablet so is it good to keep on it or it is okay to leave the revealed plastic

[Aranimda]

Isopropyl alcohol will remove a layer of degrading rubberized plastic stickiness. Of the entire thing is degraded, this will not work.
On a laptop with a sticky palm rest, I could not clean it with isopropyl alcohol, but a tiny layer of ArmorAll Protectant stopped the stickiness here.

[walter.bellini]

Thank you for the Video
But this is not Rubbing Alcohol and is pure Isopropyl Alcohol
There is a slight difference between them as the Rubbing Alcohol has water added to it, so it is not as pure as Isopropyl Alcohol
If you were using Rubbing Alcohol, it would actually say that on the bottle's label
NEVER use Acetone on any type of plastic it will ruin it, period
Thank you

[timborg]

Got the classic sticky rubber-like plastic but isopropyl 70% did not do anything. Not even tape or blue-tac can remove the dust anymore!

[AriRR]

99% isopropyl alcohol and rub with microfiber cloths

[SubeliaBeaute]

Omg i regret buying it cause cant use it with this stupid sticky surface 😭