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Old 9th Apr 2019, 8:15 pm   #1
Colin Boggis
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Smile Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

An update on this issue. Having bought an Elan ll for next to nothing, and finding it to perform extremely well I was faced with that awful sticky finish to which all manner of debris was stuck. All the solutions I came across did not work at all well, but I have resolved the issue now. There are 2 possible solutions: One is to remove the debris using methylated spirit and once clean, spray over with clear lacquer. The other, more effective but labour intensive, is to clean off the finish using bakelite polish and meths mixed together. It takes a while ( about 2 hours on my radio) with several applications and much "elbow grease" but does work well leaving a polished plastic cabinet. Just the job for a rainy day!
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Old 9th Apr 2019, 8:38 pm   #2
AC/HL
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

A previous thread on the subject: https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=125530
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Old 9th Apr 2019, 8:47 pm   #3
Colin Boggis
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

Here's some pictures showing how glossy the cabinet is after cleaning using my method.
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Old 9th Apr 2019, 8:49 pm   #4
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

I picked up a Tascam multitrack a while ago that had the rubberised finish. It was quite dirty so I soaked the case in some warm water and a sprinkle of washing powder for an hour or so. It not only removed the dirt but also the rubber finish and all of the legends. Ended up scrapped. Oops!

Kev
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Old 9th Apr 2019, 9:03 pm   #5
Radio1950
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

I used methylated spirits on my PURE DAB radio.
Cleaned up very well.

Use lots of metho.
And I mean lots. Have your cleaning rag dripping wet.
Do it all in multiple stages, as your rag gets very mucky.

When cleaning is finished, rub all over with very light oil, or lanolin, and clean off, to restore some gloss and to obscure the cleaning process residue.
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 8:54 am   #6
barrymagrec
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

The sticky finish paint is a real problem. A friend has a 15 year old otherwise entirely serviceable Volvo where most of the switches and handles are sticky, I have a pair of ROH opera glasses that I can`t bear to hold.

What sort of testing. if any, was done on this finish?
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 10:26 am   #7
G8HQP Dave
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

I was sorting through my stock of components recently and found two rotary switches whose plastic shafts had become sticky. Not sure if they did this on their own, or by interaction with the plastic bag they had sat in for some years.
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 1:01 pm   #8
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

I once had a computer mouse that went all sticky.
They are so cheap that it was chucked in the bin after a replacement was bought.
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 1:10 pm   #9
ekjdm14
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrymagrec View Post
The sticky finish paint is a real problem. A friend has a 15 year old otherwise entirely serviceable Volvo where most of the switches and handles are sticky, I have a pair of ROH opera glasses that I can`t bear to hold.

What sort of testing. if any, was done on this finish?
Must be the Swedish plastics not bearing up to the heat of the UK It's a problem for us too, although to a lesser extent it's becoming worse. I have already stripped the climate & radio controls of their softened coating with hot soapy water (while the head unit was out for repair, so not entirely off topic!).

Horrible stuff. If you catch it just wrong when you, for example, go to pick up a radio it buries itself under your nails & leaves chunks out of it. It's better off gone & the Elan looks good all polished up and shiny.
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 3:13 pm   #10
Mike. Watterson
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

Talc worked on a sticky rubber finish hairdrier.
I now know to never buy anything with a "rubberised" finish. They always go sticky and some are not removable with detergent, meths, white spirit or acetone. Talc at least stabilises it.
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Old 10th Apr 2019, 11:25 pm   #11
ben
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

This bldy stuff must rank alongside Philips drive belts as the most annoying messy compound ever!
In the last few months I have had to clean it off a lenovo-IBM laptop where it had actually gone gooey/tarry and gone all over my hands as I picked the thing up, a remote control, and a CD player.

Whoever came up with the idea of using it as a 'finish' to be applied all over consumer goods needs birching!
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Old 14th Apr 2019, 9:13 am   #12
Bookman
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

Bought one brand new in what seems like eon's ago. If I recall correctly it took around 2 - 3 years before I noticed how sticky the surface had become. I did in fact contact Pure who simply and quickly provided a no quibble replacement item; albeit, not of the same value.
The main concern however was the increase in time to 20 seconds for the item to start playing after switching on that was reported at the same time!
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Old 14th Apr 2019, 10:07 am   #13
Lloyd 1985
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

I’ve got another cheat method for sorting out this snotty horrible finish, use vinyl wrap for cars!! Straight over the top of the finish, can be in any colour or texture you wish, saves having to clean it off too... doesn’t do anything for printed on legends though! I’ve just done a Dell Venue 11 pro tablet back cover with it, which uses this rubber finish, it hadn’t gone snotty yet, but it did have a massive scuff where a security marking had been scrubbed off, covered the entire back with carbon fibre effect vinyl. If it’s really far gone and slimy you might benefit from removing it before applying the vinyl, just to stop it sliding off.

The highly polished Pure radio does look quite good!

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Old 15th Apr 2019, 6:15 pm   #14
Philips210
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Default Re: Curing sticky rubber finish on PURE DAB radios

Hi

I had this problem on an old IBM Thinkpad (600X). It was mainly a problem on the lower casing which took considerable time to remove using white spirit. The result was a shiny black plastic surface and no more problems.

I've also seen this on Sky remote control unit battery covers and some that were stored in less than ideal conditions exhibited thick mould growth. Maybe grease from the skin has an effect on the composition of this rubbery finish. The excess mould growth is more than likely attributable to the grease/grime on the surface anyway.

Regards,
Symon
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