Nikon F100, what is up with the sticky leather!!

[cooltouch]

Not really feasible. The entire camera gets sticky. Something that can get into the small spaces is ideal. That's why I like using talcum powder. All purpose flour works too.

 

[AgX]

My brother in law is the production superintendent at a well-known US based manufacturer of durable plastic goods. Once when I asked him about it, he told me that the phenomenon is known as "plasticizer migration." It is where a component of the plastic begins to separate from the material and make its way to the surface, and this component is what feels sticky or, in other cases, oily. He told me that the condition can be prevented, typically with the use of more UV resistant materials, but that this adds to the price and that often the customers will balk at the additional cost. Isn't that the way it always goes?

With plastizer migration you indeed get a sticky or oily surface, but you can wipe off the plastizer, and the plastic itself will remain as before or got hardened.
The phenomenon of the sticky rubberized surface seems to have a different cause.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Lighter fluid, or naphtha. Liberally douse the camera with it and apply a match.
Seriously though, you can't fix it - it's not leather either but some synthetic rubber like compound. The only cure is to remove it and replace with something else.

 

[naeroscatu]

I have to check my F100, have not look at it in a while. If replacement of the same kind is available I wonder how long it will take until the same problem occurs again then is it worth buying a replacement?

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Plastic, not leather and plastic deteriorates. Rub down with MEK outside, wind at your back. I have had lawn furniture and golf bags do this. Like I said Plastic

 

[darkroommike]

I just had to fix the grip on my D80 today for the same thing, no so sticky but the rubber had expanded and would no longer properly fit, I peeled it off, trimmed it down a bit and remounted the piece with some 3M ATG glue. It's a failing of all these synthetics. Recently I had the shutter bumper on an EOS 10 shutter turn to black goop and had to clean that mess up, too. And have lost count of the number of cameras I've owned with bad light seals and mirror bumpers.

 

[ryushinkan]

I have researched it and figured out how to clean it but what is the reason for it. I was just given an F100 unused for a few years and it had a corroded batter compartment and the leather was sticky as hell. I went to check my own F100 a couple of years unused and discovered it is getting stick too. Nasty.

Cleaned my F100 and F90 with lighter fluid and then used Mr Sheen furniture wax to polish the surface - no problems since, spray wax on a lens cloth then rub in ...

 

[Scott Micciche]

Both our F100 and N80 had this issue and I used some pH 2.0 leather spray, designed to reduce stickiness on real leather, like steering wheels. It has worked for a few years now. This is what I used:

http://www.leatherdoctor.com/acidifier-2-0/

 

[cooltouch]

I've owned several N80s over the past couple of years, and I've kept one of 'em. I just used what I had handy -- talcum powder. I just dusted my hands with it then just "handled" the camera all over. Almost two years and counting and my N80 shows no sign of getting sticky again.

 

[Scott Micciche]

I've owned several N80s over the past couple of years, and I've kept one of 'em. I just used what I had handy -- talcum powder. I just dusted my hands with it then just "handled" the camera all over. Almost two years and counting and my N80 shows no sign of getting sticky again.

I'm going to try this if/when it gets sticky again. Great tip!

 

[KS Man]

I solved this problem on my wife's N80 by using non-acetone fingernail polish remover. Just use a clean cotton cloth wetted with some of the remover and rub with slight pressure. Let dry about five minutes and repeat. After about four times the surface will not be super sticky, just a very slight sticky feel when you grasp the camera.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Isopropyl alcohol cleans off the stickiness too.

 

[250swb]

I bought an F100 a week or two ago, it was mint except for the sticky back. I started with isopropyl and it wasn't working so switched to white spirit which did the trick. It left the rubber looking a little cloudy so I wiped the whole camera down in IPA to finish it off and this worked perfectly, all the plastic and rubber was back to factory finish.

The goo comes off like it's a specific coating on the rubber/plastic and not leaching out from the rubber/plastic as it's a similar goo on both the rubber back and edges to the read door and the different type of plastic of the rear control dial. Having both types of rubber/plastic break down at the same time seems coincidental to me and I wonder if it isn't a separate protective clear coating that Nikon applied, maybe a UV protector, that has turned to goo and it's not the usual 'plasticiser migration' which typically destroys plastic and rubber completely? When you clean that goo off you are left with gooey rubber underneath, not the pristine rubber on the back of an F100 (mine at least).

 

[Helge]

I bought an F100 a week or two ago, it was mint except for the sticky back. I started with isopropyl and it wasn't working so switched to white spirit which did the trick. It left the rubber looking a little cloudy so I wiped the whole camera down in IPA to finish it off and this worked perfectly, all the plastic and rubber was back to factory finish.

The goo comes off like it's a specific coating on the rubber/plastic and not leaching out from the rubber/plastic as it's a similar goo on both the rubber back and edges to the read door and the different type of plastic of the rear control dial. Having both types of rubber/plastic break down at the same time seems coincidental to me and I wonder if it isn't a separate protective clear coating that Nikon applied, maybe a UV protector, that has turned to goo and it's not the usual 'plasticiser migration' which typically destroys plastic and rubber completely? When you clean that goo off you are left with gooey rubber underneath, not the pristine rubber on the back of an F100 (mine at least).

Iso works, or really any denatured alcohol. It’s all about physical work.

Use clean rags and then wipe gently but forcefully.
It takes time.
My F80 took half and hour.

It will come off and it will stay good.

No need for talcum or other dusty, blemishing condiments.

 

[Huss]

This F100 stickiness is a feature not a flaw. It is a safety mechanism to keep the back closed should the latch fail. Those Nikon engineers think of everything!

 

[gone]

Just pretend that your Nikon w/ a sticky back is a Leica. That way, the sticky back could be seen as a special feature, not a problem

I had no idea that Huss had said what he said above me until I posted this and looked at it. Great minds think alike, LOL!

 

[BobD]

I recently bought an N90 at a yard sale. The seller had covered the sticky back with gaffer tape. When I peeled off the tape there was both the original sticky stuff plus the tape residue. Quite a mess. After about an hour of rubbing with Goo Gone and then alcohol, it was all cleaned up.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Sticky cameras stop sticky fingers.

 

[choiliefan]

91 Isopropyl alcohol removes the stickiness better than anything else I've tied.

 

[Sirius Glass]

91 Isopropyl alcohol removes the stickiness better than anything else I've tied.

While ethanol alcohol improves the mood and helps me feel good and relaxed.

The National Safety Council reminds us not to drink when we drive ...

... we could hit a bump and spill the whole thing.​

 

[hap]

Cosina built cameras have the same issue. My Bessa R was not a mess but not great. spent a lot of time to clean it up. Stephen Gandy to use gaffer's tape and forget about it.

 

[Huss]

91 Isopropyl alcohol removes the stickiness better than anything else I've tied.

Yeah what I used on my F100, F80 and F75. Super easy, quick, and then the cameras were fine.

 

[choiliefan]

Steven Gandy should try it...

 

[250swb]

Iso works, or really any denatured alcohol. It’s all about physical work.

Use clean rags and then wipe gently but forcefully.
It takes time.
My F80 took half and hour.

It will come off and it will stay good.

No need for talcum or other dusty, blemishing condiments.

You are very patient and had working. But using white spirit takes about five minutes because while white spirit and IPA are both solvents white spirit doesn't evaporate as quickly so by the time you get back to where you started it has had time to work and further dissolve the goo. I know IPA is a sexy thing because of all it's uses in general camera cleaning, but right up there on the paint shelf in the garage is something better.

 

[BMbikerider]

The covering on the F100 is not actually a covering at all, but the back and what you may think is a covering, are an all in one plastic molding. you would never guess unless you really looked, the lines are so well done. I have just checked this with an old broken F100 back which I have in my 'box of bits' which one day I will throw out.

It is the same with the F80 which is a similar plastic molding and renown for going sticky and possibly the cheaper F60/F70/F75 models sold in UK may have the same problem

My F6 does appear to have a real covering and in any case that has not gone sticky so I am not about to check. The back on F6 is metal, so it would not be easy to mold them as one piece.

The alcohol route is I think the only way to keep it at bay, once it has started.

What causes it? I put it down to facial moisture and grease transferred from you skin when you hold the camera up to look through the viewfinder. Everyone has it, facial grease I mean. This sticks to the back to the back of the camera and how many of us wipe it down afterwards - well we don't know it's there so it is rarely done. Doing so would almost certainly help stop the 'rot'?
I have also noticed on my F80 around the hand grip there is also a trace of the same problem. Not as bad as on the back, but certainly present - finger grease!!!.