Outside protective rubber type cover on binoculars has gone tacky and unpleasant suggestions please how to remove this covering

[cagey]

Have tried the usual solvents but nothing worked. I had promised them to my grandchildren

 

[penfold]

My experience with such coatings is that mechanical removal(scraping with plastic scrapers or even thumbnails) followed up by a magical mystery tour through whatever household solvents are to hand to clear whatever ooze and schmutz is left is the only practicable way. Meths or WD40 are generally the winners.

 

[pandos]

Been there done that...even if you get the outer layer off it will continue to deteriorate. Mine are about 20 years old.

I looked into this a few years ago and found lots of birdwatcher sites dealing with the issue...

Yesterday I bought a torch in a surplus shop which was still in it's blister pack but had already began to breaker down...thus not caused by sweaty hands.

I binned my Binos for a pair on Amazon with a built in compass!...

 

[goeasy123]

Petrol

 

[penfold]

Been there done that...even if you get the outer layer off it will continue to deteriorate. Mine are about 20 years old.

The inner surface is invariably plastic or metal; once the sticky mess is removed either leave it bare or use something like Sugru to fashion a new grippy surface. Unless you're Henry Moore or Barbara Hepworth it will probably look a bit homemade but it will be as serviceable as ever it was.

 

[LadyInBed]

If you can't get it off with solvent then douse it with talcum powder.
Even if you do ger it off, then douse it with talcum powder.

 

[Skylark]

My experience with such coatings is that mechanical removal(scraping with plastic scrapers or even thumbnails) followed up by a magical mystery tour through whatever household solvents are to hand to clear whatever ooze and schmutz is left is the only practicable way. Meths or WD40 are generally the winners.

Good advice from someone who’s obviously done it ?
My boat bins succumbed to this terminal ailment a few years ago. I scraped and rubbed using absolutely everything available from within the garage and cleaned the residue using anything available from a well stocked Alchemist hoard.
The common denominator is perseverance. It’s hard work, the result doesn’t look pretty but the sticky mess is no more.

 

[garymalmgren]

I wrapped my sticky binoc rubber hand pieces (?) in tennis racquet handle tape.
Same stuff I wrap around the hand grip part of the tiller.
Choose your colour.

hary

 

[Iliade]

I have found the only stuff to work satisfactorily to be washing up liquid, a few green scrubbing sponges and a liberal application of elbow grease. Armed with these I have managed to get down to the clean shiny substrate.

Petrol - (lighter fluid to be precise) transferred minute quantities of the goo permanently onto my hands. Maybe sticking the offending object in a bucket of the stuff for a few hours may produce a better result.
#11 thinners (cannot id what it is) - nope
Acetone - nope
White spirit - nope

Has anyone tried xylene or toluene?

 

[Robin]

blow torch?

 

[Colvic Watson]

Has anyone tried xylene or toluene?

Nope but an oxyacetylene torch might do it ?

 

[RivalRedwing]

promise your grandchildren a new pair

 

[sfellows]

Can I add an unpleasant suggestion?

 

[Yngmar]

Just cleaning the same kind of sticky mess off our Eton G3 radio. Ethyl alcohol shifts it okay, although unfortunately also takes the printed labels off.

This rotten nonsense coating should IMHO be banned - I've had it go sticky on many things and it's super annoying.

 

[actionoptics]

Have tried the usual solvents but nothing worked. I had promised them to my grandchildren

I have successfully used Sticky Stuff Remover. It is sold to remove the glue left behind when you remove a sticky label.
I have also recovered the important areas, i.e. those that you touch most when handling the binocular, with the
material that is sold to recover camera bodies. You can buy it online. It's either self adhesive or stuck on with
contact adhesive.
It takes time but the result is really good.

 

[bluerm166]

To my surprise I was able to remove the sticky surface on a PAL/TIVOLI portable radio ,which was previously unpleasant to handle ,using 'industrial' wipes.These contain a very small amount of solvent plus some kind of detergent that 'soaps' and seemed in that case to prevent the softened material from adhering to the surface .
The original finish appeared intended to create a rubber effect on an article meant to be usable outdoors,whereas the final surface of the case was a smooth black plastic .It remains the best radio in the house .

(The wipes are never disposed of in the loo )

 

[coveylane]

Just tried everything on my sticky binoculars,,, Rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, WD 40, Brake cleaner, Dawn Soap, Goo Gone.... nothing worked.
I tried NAPA Brake fluid DOT4. It cleaned the goo off a magnifying glass handle first and then what did I have to lose. I tried it on all the goo on the binoculars and it cleaned it off. I can finally use them again. (use nitrile gloves and blue shop towels)

 

[Refueler]

I find various items do this ... VHF knobs ... Gear lever knobs .... all sorts ....

I have cleaned successfully with Hand Spray Ethanol ... and a good cloth .. its a bit like removing sticking plaster goo .... patience ...

 

[wonkywinch]

Just cleaning the same kind of sticky mess off our Eton G3 radio. Ethyl alcohol shifts it okay, although unfortunately also takes the printed labels off.

This rotten nonsense coating should IMHO be banned - I've had it go sticky on many things and it's super annoying.

TV & other remote controls are a big culprit as are the radio knobs on many models of Porsche. So much so, there are a host of You Tube videos on how to clean them. eg

 

[Porthandbuoy]

Alcohol gel hand steriliser works. Just dab it on, leave for a few minutes and wipe off. You'll need lots of kitchen roll though.