Armorall for sticky rubber coating

Pieter12 · Sep 14, 2021

I know there have been discussions about removing sticky rubber coatings from equipment. Not what I want to do, since the entire camera is coated. Talc has been suggested but I am leery of it getting inside the camera. Also, detergent followed by baking soda--once again, not sure I want to use something that would need to be rinsed off in some way.

Would Armorall or other coating soak in to the rubber enough to make it not sticky? If applied carefully and rubbed in thoroughly, it might not be too slick, if at all. Has anyone tried this?

Auer · Sep 14, 2021

Nothing really works if the rubber is getting sticky, it's basically de-vulcanizing (returning to its natural state).

I have a Nikon N70 that had the sticky back issue, I just removed all the rubber.

Horatio · Sep 14, 2021

I used isopropyl alcohol for my sticky F100 and N80 cameras. It worked great. Just use sparingly. One of my F100s had been aggressively “treated” to the point of chalk white coloration. A very light application of Armorall restored it. It is not slick at all.

Auer · Sep 15, 2021

Horatio said:
I used isopropyl alcohol for my sticky F100 and N80 cameras. It worked great. Just use sparingly. One of my F100s had been aggressively “treated” to the point of chalk white coloration. A very light application of Armorall restored it. It is not slick at all.

I used IA as well, but it actually will remove rubber of course.
Eventually as you keep removing a sticky layer after layer you end up with all of the rubber gone.
For my N70 I just rubbed it all off from the start. The plastic is not too slippery and if needed I could put on some grip tape.

Horatio · Sep 15, 2021

Auer said:
I used IA as well, but it actually will remove rubber of course.
Eventually as you keep removing a sticky layer after layer you end up with all of the rubber gone.
For my N70 I just rubbed it all off from the start. The plastic is not too slippery and if needed I could put on some grip tape.

Well, I did say sparingly!

Auer · Sep 15, 2021

Horatio said:
Well, I did say sparingly!

Oh I know, I wasnt suggesting you went to town or anything.
Just pointing out that in order for the rubber to get to the non sticky part you indeed have to remove some of the stick.

reddesert · Sep 15, 2021

I had some success with Nikon N90 type sticky-back syndrome, with lightly polishing the grips with alcohol and a cotton rag. Not enough to really remove material (I didn't get a significant amount of black stuff on the rag). Then I aired the camera out for a while - I live in a dry environment.

I'm not really convinced that Armor All would help. I think it essentially applies a silicone coating, but I doubt it's going to take away the parts of the rubber mixture that are causing the stickiness.

Helge · Sep 15, 2021

Horatio said:
I used isopropyl alcohol for my sticky F100 and N80 cameras. It worked great. Just use sparingly. One of my F100s had been aggressively “treated” to the point of chalk white coloration. A very light application of Armorall restored it. It is not slick at all.

+1
IA is the cure. You just need to put the time into getting it all off. It’s five of six fresh rags from what I remember from an F/N80.
It feels more or less like new afterwards.
No sign of it returning. Treated it with some 303 Aerospace Protectant carefully brushed on afterwards.

Pieter12 · Sep 15, 2021

reddesert said:
I had some success with Nikon N90 type sticky-back syndrome, with lightly polishing the grips with alcohol and a cotton rag. Not enough to really remove material (I didn't get a significant amount of black stuff on the rag). Then I aired the camera out for a while - I live in a dry environment.

I'm not really convinced that Armor All would help. I think it essentially applies a silicone coating, but I doubt it's going to take away the parts of the rubber mixture that are causing the stickiness.

My theory is that it would somehow coat or combine with the sticky layer. I don't want to remove anything, the camera is pretty much entirely coated with rubber and there are markings printed directly on the coating.

Helge · Sep 15, 2021

Pieter12 said:
My theory is that it would somehow coat or combine with the sticky layer. I don't want to remove anything, the camera is pretty much entirely coated with rubber and there are markings printed directly on the coating.

Fuck the markings. Get that shit off!

Horatio · Sep 15, 2021

Helge said:
Fuck the markings. Get that shit off!

Pieter12 · Sep 15, 2021

The markings are not cosmetic or logos. The indicate functions. I am also concerned that if I remove the rubber entirely, tolerances may be off and possible light leaks introduced--there are moving parts involved.

Helge · Sep 15, 2021

Pieter12 said:
The markings are not cosmetic or logos. The indicate functions. I am also concerned that if I remove the rubber entirely, tolerances may be off and possible light leaks introduced--there are moving parts involved.

I have an F90X. You can live without the print. Take a photo of the decals or get one on Google.
Faaar better than having a sticky camera. I couldn’t live with that.

warden · Sep 15, 2021

Pieter12 said:
I know there have been discussions about removing sticky rubber coatings from equipment. Not what I want to do, since the entire camera is coated. Talc has been suggested but I am leery of it getting inside the camera. Also, detergent followed by baking soda--once again, not sure I want to use something that would need to be rinsed off in some way.

Would Armorall or other coating soak in to the rubber enough to make it not sticky? If applied carefully and rubbed in thoroughly, it might not be too slick, if at all. Has anyone tried this?

I experimented with alcohol for my incredibly sticky D70, with hardly any luck. I switched to Goof Off, which has acetone, xylene, methanol, and who knows what else. The sticky stuff came off in a big hurry, but the panel that covers the memory card is apparently painted plastic and some of that paint was removed, and I see a little white plastic peeking through the black exterior. (Goof Off is also a paint remover.) Overall I'm quite pleased with the results and aside from the little rear panel you wouldn't know the camera ever had a problem.

Helge · Sep 15, 2021

warden said:
I experimented with alcohol for my incredibly sticky D70, with hardly any luck. I switched to Goof Off, which has acetone, xylene, methanol, and who knows what else. The sticky stuff came off in a big hurry, but the panel that covers the memory card is apparently painted plastic and some of that paint was removed, and I see a little white plastic peeking through the black exterior. (Goof Off is also a paint remover.) Overall I'm quite pleased with the results and aside from the little rear panel you wouldn't know the camera ever had a problem.

You need to wipe for what feels like forever. It’s not a quick job. And it will feel futile at first. And you need to put a bit of muscle into it.
It will turn out practically invisible though.

Larry Cloetta · Sep 15, 2021

Talc works, at least it did for me. No worries about getting it in the camera because you don’t sprinkle it on the camera. You put some on your hands and fingers, shake it off, then handle the camera. The small amount on your fingers transfers to the rubber. Because the rubber is sticky. People saying other things work, then those work too, I’d imagine. The talc or baby powder is going to be easier and quicker than some of the things involving alcohol, rags, and lots of rubbing. Maybe try the talc first, if that doesn’t do it for you, then go to something more involved, you won’t have lost anything. The talc just takes seconds. I’ve used a lot of Armorall on a lot of different synthetic and natural,materials, but personally wouldn’t put it on a camera, and doubt it would do what you want done. But, then again, haven’t tried it.

Armorall for sticky rubber coating

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency