Gooey Scopes and Rangefinders

[jps2486]

I have a Tasco red dot sight and a Nikon rangefinder. Both are rubber covered and now have become gooey and sticky on the outer surface. I've tried cleaning them with alcohol and Simple Green detergent, but nothing seems to get them clean. The tacky surfaces seem to attract dirt and are not nice to the touch. Anyone have that problem and how did you resolve it? Thanks.

 

[Ranchibi]

Same here...have a older Nikon golf laser rangefinder...did the gooey thing too, tried alcohol and adhesive remover....nope, still GOOEY....

 

[Gerry52]

Bummer when rubber coating starts breaking down into petroleum by products, gooey mess. If anyone knows of a product that will inhibit that deterioration (or clean it up) I'd like to know about it.

 

[bigHUN]

I was inheriting my two sons point and shot cameras for decades, for a same reason. I still have one of the latest film DSLR from late 90's. Nothing new. That thin layer of rubber (coating) is disintegrating - end of life. My folks from camera forums telling these stories since 80's. Only way to scrape of all to a bare plastic/metal and leave it like that, or, craft yourself from leather a new dress on parts you will be in contact.

 

[nervoustrig]

Anyone have that problem and how did you resolve it?

I managed to remove the sticky from the grip of a belt sander with mineral spirits and paper towels. It was tedious but now I can use it without the OCD impulse to go wash my hands with hot water.

I’ve also dusted such surfaces with baby powder for temporary relief.

 

[JimD]

It is probably the coating breaking down but sometimes my stuff gets goey because of grime from my hands. Like my steering wheel. It doesn't come off easy, I normally have to scrape most of it off with something fairly soft and then scrub it with a cleaner. The plastic cheek piece on my P35s sometimes gets this sort of grime on it too.

 

[Ranchibi]

View attachment 415970
I managed to remove the sticky from the grip of a belt sander with mineral spirits and paper towels. It was tedious but now I can use it without the OCD impulse to go wash my hands with hot water.

I’ve also dusted such surfaces with baby powder for temporary relief.

The baby powder option was on my mind to...LOL! I actually sent mine in to Nikon and they replaced the outer shell...got gooey again in no time...