"Rubber" on camera body has gone "sticky"

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davemurgtroyd

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Not a digital camera but no other appropriate section I could find, ome of my old film SLRs (10 slrs in total all working, together with just over 40 others - 35mm, 120, 127 and 110) a Sigma A300 all singing all dancing. It was put away about 18 months ago and on getting it out just before christmas I discovered the "rubber" covering on the body has deteriated and gone "sticky". Have tried alcohol to clean it but not effective. Does anyone have any ideas on how to cure this or is it a case of removing covering and replacing with new neoprene or similar?
 
No direct experience but speaking from a chemistry point of view I doubt that it's a residue that has settled on the surface and can be cleaned off. It'll be that the "rubber" has reacted with the atmosphere and changed composition. Possibly exacerbated by sunlight or ozone.
 
Definitely not a residue and doubt sunlight or ozone related - it has been stored in a camera bag in a cupboard. Thinking about it I have actually seen similar happen to the "rubber" covering on the battery cover on a Sky HD remote.
 
davemurgtroyd said:
Definitely not a residue and doubt sunlight or ozone related - it has been stored in a camera bag in a cupboard. Thinking about it I have actually seen similar happen to the "rubber" covering on the battery cover on a Sky HD remote.
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yeah, the cover of my old Sky+ remote too has gone all sticky and yucky.
I can't think of a cure for it - it's the surface that has changed chemically, so there's little to do (other than a good layer of clear epoxy varnish?)
 
It happens with certain old shoes as well (including expesive ones).
Found mystery black pieces of dirt everywhere in the house: the soles of my shoes were decomposing!
 
Put in cold water for an hour, then wipe down with surgical spirit.
 
hvdh said:
It happens with certain old shoes as well (including expesive ones).
Found mystery black pieces of dirt everywhere in the house: the soles of my shoes were decomposing!
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I've had that happen. Was visiting a factory which required safety footware so dug out my boots from my chemical industry days. Took a few steps and thought; 'These soles feel really cushioned.' Then I slipped sideways because half the heel had broken up. Amusing and embarrassing. Thought back and realised they were 20 years old, though.

Don't time fly when you're having fun?
 
Yes, I have had that happen to pair of shoes that I keep for weddings, funerals and job interviews.

A few years ago I was at a funeral and I noticed that the outside edges of the soles and heels were being deposited on the carpet. Fortunately the centre sections were made of leather so I didn't end up walking on my socks. Despite there being almost no wear on the leather the rubber around them had disintegrated. Sadly I couldn't afford leather soles and heels so when they were repaired I had to go for all rubber.

Degradation in this manner is very age related. As in so many things in life...
 
And another one:

I was clearing out the darkest recesses of my Man Cave just before Christmas and came upon two pairs of scarcely worn Safety Shoes which had been reposing in an unseen corner for the last ten years - they had to be handled with newspaper owing to their gooey state. Fortunately they were stored within a plastic crate so the debris hadn't contaminated anywhere else.

We have, gentlemen, a syndrome.


Fortunately, my 30 year old Mess Boots are still in pristine nick after their annual bulling. You just can't beat Gieves & Hawkes.
 
st1 said:
Erh - you mean the entire camera housing?
You sure that will not impact the performance of the SLR mechanism? :)
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Sky remote battery compartments (or anything else that you like rubbing surgical spirit on)
 
It's the camera that is being asked about. All the other items are diversions.
 
This is a breakdown of the rubber it's self, this due to the composition of the rubber used, they add stuff to make it softer to keep the camera from slipping out of your hands.

Normal daily use keeps the stickiness at bay due to handling and oils from your skin, but after a long term storage in open air (or in a camera bag) it can develop a sticky skin.

One possible solution is to use some "Goo-Gone" on it, then clean it off with some Windex and a cloth towel, but test it on a small area first to see that it does not totally destroy the rubber sleeve.

The best solution is to see if there is a replacement cover for this camera.

And if your going to store it again for a long time then wrap it in a soft dish towel and store it in a zip-lock baggy, if you have some the put one of those moisture absorbing packs into the bag, then suck the air out of it before closing it up, this may keep it from happening again.
 
Will try Goo Gone - interesting pricing on Amazon UK for it £3.12 for 29ml or £3.52 for 236 ml
 
Lazarus said:
We have, gentlemen, a syndrome.
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It's well known, it's called "Made in china" syndrome, where things prematurely fall apart due to crappy materials used by cheapskate manufacturers... :)
 
Milamber said:
When you suck the air out of the bag we all want to see the pictures:-rofl2
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I divorced my "Bag" a long time ago, but if given a chance I would suck the air out of her, and yes I would post it on YouTube, but only after I leave the planet....



"Friday night, 8 and one half drinks so far"
 
2cvbloke said:
It's well known, it's called "Made in china" syndrome, where things prematurely fall apart due to crappy materials used by cheapskate manufacturers... :)
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It's actually "Design obsolescence" ...If the stuff you as a manufacture build didn't fall apart in a few years you would soon be out of a job, things are designed to fall apart in a certain time frame, if they didn't then the market would be flooded with old stuff, and you can't sell new stuff.

I designed a five year life span in our equipment, after the end of the five years it would fall out of the rack and go belly up, no amount of CPR or pouring vast amount of cash into it would bring it back, you had to buy a new one.
 
And after a few more the title says "Rubber on camera body".....That's one big Trojan...
 
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