Removing Sticky Rubber from Gadgets 

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

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.

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!!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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... :)

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

7 min is way too long for this. GET TO THE POINT.

A post-Covid solution - hand sanitizer! Worked a treat for me🙂

After removing the stickiness there is possibly a base layer that remains a little sticky. Switch to a scourer sponge and it will come off with a little more effort and isopropyl. This worked for me.

I use acetone in a washcloth and problem solved (washcloth killed, obviously). Of course, don't keep the acetone too much time in one place, because will disolve all the plastic in contact, as all you know. Thanks for sharing !

came looking for a solution to the stickiness on my mp3 player - tried acetone, wd40 and a baking powder paste - nothing worked. i ended up coating all rubber exposed areas in clear nail polish - which created a barrier against the exposed rubber. *thumbs up*

ABS plastic is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. The black part is just the acrylonitrile butadiene rubber without the styrene. Pure styrene is rubbish for strength without the rubber. The rubber by itself reacts with body oils and goes to goo. I dont have the cure, but you can try boraxo powder or talcum to make it less sticky. Otherwise cut and sand...big mess. Self vulcanizing electrical tape over it is grippy and comfy.

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

Same problem with my curling iron handle. I tried the cornstarch and it immediately removed the stickiness... will have to see how long it lasts, but at first glance, it worked for me!

Had exactly same problem with a laser pen and solved ( no pun intended) the problem with denatured alcohol. cheap and effective!

I tried the product 'Goo Gone' on a rubberized USB stick. It didn't remove the coating but after letting it sit on it for about 5 minutes and wiping it off, it took all of the stickiness away. I also some time ago removed the rubberized coating on a motorcycle helmet with lacquer thinner. It was a long laborious task.

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. :)

Good video but I discovered yesterday that any Max Hold Hairspray can cover the rubber and stop it from sticking, you also don’t lose any writing on the rubber parts. You spray it leave a few hours to dry and it stops sticking to your hands! If it wears off, you spray again and you’re done..

I've had good results removing the stickiness from soft-touch rubber grips using a solution of Oxi stain remover. This does not remove the rubber but appears to 'cure' the surface. All I know is it works!!

Baking soda mixed with a little water worked incredibly well to clean my headphones!!! 10/10 would recommend

I've just dug out a stainless steel flask that had a black rubber coating. I tried a couple of methods without much success but acetone on a cotton cloth worked a treat. A quick wipe over and it was like new.

isopropyl alcohol totally works but only for awhile. sadly it would get sticky again overtime. But I wonder if -once I applied the IPA to de-sticky-fy the thing- that I could then cover it with some sort of paint and varnish? Does anyone know what type of paint I could use, and whether it would stop the tackiness from seeping through the paint? By the way I'm a casual plastic model builder so I have some acrylic and lacquer paints at my disposal.

My joystick gone all sticky rubber syndrome... Can't stop giggling at this remark :)

When you say "rubbing alcohol" do you mean "surgical spirit"? I've got loads of isopropyl alcohol, so I can use that, but which is better?

You can use bicarb soda and water to clean sticky rubber. Just be careful to not get it into the electrical components. Make a pretty liquidy paste with bicarb and water, scrub it, and then clean off with a little water. Tape off the parts you don't want water to get into

If you want to put a thin rubber layer on for grippiness, mask off the area and spray it with dip-it aerosol spray, or spray on electrical tape, or what ever they sell where you live that's like I described, it's all made by the same company. It's just like spray painting so make it nice, or you'll make a mess. If you don't like it or mess up a little, you can rub and peel it off, and do it again, only better next time. I used some on a mallet handle years ago and it's still wonderful to use.

My Asus ROG G73JH Laptop top cover and the touch pad area ,has this rubber stuff and it began getting gross in just a couple years. Now it's REALLY gross. I can't wait to try this cleanup .And I have some other power tools that are grossed out too. One is a drill like yours ,but it's RYOBI. It seems like there are a few knock-off's of that drill because I also have a knock-off but it's bit different from yours. i had to do a little modification for the battery to lock in good but it works .

My curling wand has a huge amount if sticky film all over it, and of course I have dogs so it got coated in dog hair. Used acetone nail polish remover, rubbed it in good and it's coming off! Takes time but it's working, not sure if my curling wand will work the same afterwards tho lol

I've found that the vigorous scrubbing itself is more essential than the choice of solvent or cleaning agent. Disassembly really helps, because then you can simply scrub the parts in a sink full of hot soapy water. Afterwards, a quick coat of suitable paint (e.g. Krylon) helps to cover over any residual spots, and tidy up the gadget's appearance. I had an 'Eton' (a.k.a. Asian 'Grundig') portable SW radio that was the most difficult. Had to take it to pieces to get the case halves into the sink. Also a Dremmel tool. And next is a heat gun.

wondering what could remove the rubber without leaving a stain.. trying to remove them off a white headset

Thin silicone RTV with naptha.. charcoal lighter fluid.. and apply to degrading rubber and rub it in. Maybe apply a second coat after the first vulcanizes. Just a thought

Isopropyl alcohol worked for my mousepad. Thanks!!

I rubbed talc powder on the sticky rubber. It worked pretty well! What is it anyway?

I dont think its a real tree rubber (latex) but more probably some soft plastic / chemical rubber with softener. The softener doesn't stay into the compound but leaks out together with a degradation of the soft plastic over years. I think there is hardly any way of curing this pest - so its best to get rid of it with isoprophylic alcohol, you could also try terpentine or nitro-dilution.

I do't think is is reversion. Reversion describes the the status of cure of rubber when it has reached it's optimum cure and then over cured. When this happens the physical properties regress and in serious cases the material can become sticky .This is much more of an issue in natural rubber, not so much in synthetics. It is far more likely that the stickiness is either a chemical attack from a substance that has been transferred to the surface that has reacted with the rubber, or alternatively it could be plasticiser or wax leaching from the material, this is called bloom. The staining might be discoloured plasticiser that has absorbed dirt from hands. Someone who nows what they are doing can fairly easily test the rubber (if it actually is rubber, it may be a plastic) and determine what it is made from, you can then chose a compatible solvent to remove the plasticiser. ( different rubbers are softened with different plasticisers). Sorry that that doesn't give you a clear answer, but that is how it is. a retired polymer chemist :)

As it is so sticky would it be possible to cover the area is some sort of thin material like cloth? What about even trying to paint with some suitable paint?

I have a Logitech mouse that had that problem. I just used one of these hand sanitizers that everyone has copious amounts of nowadays. It removed the stickiness without removing the rubber finish, it seems almost like new. No stickiness and now nice and grippy.

Thank you for this! Really helped me clean my new mouse that got sticky from being stored in the shop too long lol

I tried Clorox Wipes on some Headsets that kills 99.9 % of germs , The ones that come in a round can, The Rubber stayed in tact and the sticky was GONE! Try it! Worked for me.

the rubber/plastic compound over molded will leach plasticizers into the room over time. Like how old plastic parts exposed to heat become brittle. My suggestion is to prevent this cancer eating away your tools before it happens. Things like rubber tyre shine/armourall/vinyl rejuvenator that are used in the automotive industry will help (most of your cars exterior trims are rubber overmolded onto stainless steel).

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

My car's dashboard had the same issue, such a huge job. Put the latex gloves on and cleaned it up with *Metho & paper-towels, worked well* . i think i used over 1 Litre of metho, i had the towels near-dripping, it evaporates way too fast. In hindsight i wish i'd put the metho into a spray bottle, to spray directly onto the dash then wipe away (regularly adding more spray as it dries). It would have been more efficient with the metho. Such a big area to clean!

I'm to, some time ago, try different methods to solve sticky rubber problem.. One method works well but after a month same thing again in upper layer.. Then i understand that rubber doing this because it's age.. I removed it with paper knife piece by piece and then clean off remains with some solvent and smoothing plastic with sand paper. One idea i had - to seal up upper layer with epoxy, but in my case, i didn't try it out because that time, what i spent, when first time try to deal with it..

4:36 How old is that WD-40 can?

Try wearing a cotton glove soaked with the Isopropyl it might make the removal more localized. I have a flash light (torch) with the same problem, so thanks for the tip.

Use a mat clear coat that is made for leather to seal and cover it

I used acetone based fingernail polish remover on an old, handheld digital TV set. This worked fine. It didn't destroy the plastic underneath either. Please note that I did have a clear screen protector on the screen. The rubber did migrate to the screen protector, but even the screen protector was cleaned up just fine as well. The labeling was actually imbedded in the plastic below that so the rubber coating had to of been clear or translucent. After, I finished by wiping the TV down with rubbing alcohol to get rid of any residue left over by the fingernail polish remover. I didn't think that vitamin E would be helpful to plastic.

I camera body got this sticky rubber thing, and while wrestling with it I got black stains on my sweatshirt! Tried using iso and it did loosen it a bit, but left a black ring as the solvent spread it out! Chromatography! Not enough, I guess. I also tried lighter fluid and that did not shift the rubber. I shall go back in with more iso after seeing your efforts, thank you. I’ve read that dry cleaning fluid also works. You might find something useful in the stain devil range.

Denatured alcohol works for me, used it on the sticky surface of my Dell laptop.

Julian, vulcanisation. Dust it with powdered sulphur and heat it up with a hot-air gun to stop the stickeyness.

I am going to use hindsight...in the future. "Hey! Tesco! Ya, and all you other guys, too! Stop putting this pseudo rubber crap on our toys and tools!! If you can come up with a formula that doesn't revert back to the Tar Pits of La Brea, fine. Use it. Otherwise, we are OK with wearing grippy gloves or just holding on to smooth plastic. The grippy rubber stuff is nice in the beginning, but it soon becomes much like my married sex life. Old, sticky, and uncomfortable. Back to the Lab, Gentlemen. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, your Consumers.

thanks for identifying the problem i was researching :), didn't even know what SRS was, but several of my appliances started suffering from it

If you don't mind a matte finish, I've had good results with soapy water and a scouring pad.

I wonder what sneaker restoration channels use for that

Have you tried ArmorAll or a similar automotive plastic cleaner/stabilizer?

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) react with oils mostly, but also interact with bacteria on hands

I rub ice cubes on the rubber which makes it stiff and most of the time it comes off in one piece.

for some reason foamy oven cleaner works really well- much better than any other alcohol, acetone, nail polish remover, WD40, CBR... I could find- even brake cleaner works poorly (wich I use for EVERYTHING) but standard oven cleaner does the job

why exactly does this happen?

If it's any consolation, I have a 27 year old Ford Escort that's now doing this - where the plastic isn't crumbling to dust as part of Ford's 'end of life auto-recycle' thinking...

That's why I absolutely hated the last summer! Besides not being able to sleep for 9 months straight, all rubber stuff in my apartment has deteriorated beyond recognition...

What about 70% IPA for removing stickiness from rubber that must not be removed?

Great Video Julian .. Sanitizer worked like a magic in a 3 secs rub with kitchen tissue paper 👍

I tried alcohol but didnt work. The only thing i found that works somewhat is silicon spray. Let it soak in wipe off. Repeat several times. You need a lint free rag.

people recommend WD40 for all sorts of things, but I've never found it to be good at anything that folks recommend it for

In the past I’ve avoided the problem by wrapping with tennis racket tape, or for areas where I couldn’t go around, gaffer tape and plan to buy a new tool at some point. Will be interested to see if you can find a good solution.

I'm still looking for the cure where I can still keep the rubber. Mine is on my graphic tablet pen, so I need the rubber otherwise it bruises my finger because of the way I hold it (plus using it for hours). Without rubber is difficult :/

I tried every solvent I could think of (usually without success), I scanned the remarks quickly, but could not see anyone suggest petrol/gasoline, worked well for me.

After reading many comments, I tried 70% rubbing alcohol & a rag on 2 items & both came out very well! (1) sticky rubber handle on a Mr Coffee "milk frother" that had been in a box, new/unused for 15+ years - after scrubbing with alcohol, the handle surface was down to "hard plastic" like on a stereo or alarm clock. No big deal - not as pretty but I don't mind at all. Before i put batteries in it, i set it out in the warm sun for several hours to dry it well. Now it works great! .... (2) two very sticky umbrella handles- only about 5-6 years old. The alcohol scrub did the trick - handles are more of a hard rubber now but that is fine with me! Both umbrellas fabric is attractive and colorful - now I don't have to buy new stuff. I successfully recycled ♻️ what I already had. Am very happy with results ❤️

i have had great sucess with a product call "Elbow Grease" now available in most Uk discount shops , its a yellow liquid in a spray bottle .. spray and leave it to soak a bit and rub ..

I was watching this while having coffee in my kitchen so when he mentions Talcum Powder I thought I'll try that cause I have corn starch (essentially the same thing) in the cupboard right next to me. It worked a treat on my UHF radios. I wiped it all over then wiped it off with a dish cloth and altho I cant speak to the longevity of the fix it seems to be mint. Took less than a minute too.

how does it happen and can we avoid it!

My PS controller is sticky. Does anyone know how to get rid of this stickiness?

You can buy bottles of stuff for removing sticky residue left when removing stickers and the like. I've used it in combination with isopropanol to get that awful melted rubber of some quite expensive camera lenses.

rubbing in baby powder allows you to scrape off the majority of the coating before using a solvent to clean off the remaining residue.

Hand sanitizer worked for me (62%) and the advantage is if you don't want the more liquid version going where you dont want it.

After rubbing it with alcohol, I had it washed with soap and water. Then I rubbed it with Armor all protectant. It improved its finish.

i guess it depends on the thickness and how bad the issue is but after using some IZOP. Alc. on stuff like this WITHOUT actually removing the rubber coating, it seems fine with that alone, on the few things I have tried it with

I used water soluble eucalyptus oil. Worked a treat - but lots of rubbing. Don't get it on any display screens though.

I'm have no idear but could melting it help?

What does AVE have to say?

I wonder if it's possible to paint over it so it provides a new surface over the rubber.

I just scrolled on to your video. I had a Fighting Game Controller I just bought from eBay brand new but it’s been in the box since 2007. I took it out of the box, the rubber was exactly how yours was. I just rubbed nail polish remover and it worked. Well, so far. Maybe it’ll change later on but so far so good the first 2 hours I been using it. So try Nail Polish Remover.

Just pulled out my old film camera and it was all sticky, saw this video, 30sec with some isopropyl and it's sorted! Thanks!

If appearance is less important, try spreading superglue to coat the entire surface. Use a lint free cloth to avoid adding dust spots from cloth fibres. This also works well for sealing wooden objects exposed to moistuere, eg. knife handles. Hobby stores sell a seeping super-glue, to increase penetration.

Ammonia apparently also works, for anyone seeing this and still needing a solution

Julian - maybe the idea of using cling film was more to cover the sticky, than to remove it...? Seems like that could work. I have a Dremel-type tool that I got second hand, with the sticky problem. I think I just cleaned it and scrubbed as best I could with isopropyl and tried some other cleaners, probably a Simple Green type and maybe tried something else. It got most of the current "blegh" off but I don't use it enough to spend much time bothering about it. Maybe next time I dig it out I'll try something else, and report back.

Another less toxic solvent is eucalyptus oil it's a natural sap oil from Australian Eucalyptus trees . It also strips off that sticky layer when plastic surfaces deteriorate . I saved my $400 RayBan's because the arms were going all sticky even the optometrist could not fix them . Eucalyptus oil fixed it right up . Scrub vigorously with cue tips and soft cloths soaked with the oil and the original smooth surface reappears like magic .

Just tried baking soda and it sticks to sitcky bits and then use Dettol surface wipes and then dry it with paper towel ...... Some things may take few attempts just use paper to catch the excess soda then reapply if needed ..... Few min sticky gone 😅😅