How To Repair Melted Rubber

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I stumbled beyond a “solution” for the melting/viscous rubber-plastic problem that I’ve been having on my 2001 360. It’south not a fix per se, but I think it’s about as close to a convenient fix as there ever will be.
At least for my 360, I found that seventy% isopropyl alcohol (I chose to utilise B-D brand alcohol pads that you tin find anywhere) volition basically deliquesce abroad the melted/tacky rubber-plastic instantly and go out any good surfacing underneath lonely.

http://world wide web.cvs.com/CVSApp/cvs/gateway/detail?prodid=619809

In my feel, it was quite amazing. When I say instant, I hateful instant. Wipe on, wipe off a couple times and it’southward over. The cracking thing about isopropyl on the melted rubber-plastic is that it lubricates the surface so it’due south easy to wipe off the gunk.

My door handle and release were very tacky and my ashtray encompass was worse… information technology looked like smudged liquid tar. It took about threescore seconds to remove all the tackiness leaving a smoothen tack gratis finish that is property upward a calendar month later on. I’ve also tried this on some knobs that were slightly tacky (worked there also). The only tacky slice that seemed resistant was the panel that has the risk switch and side mirror controls. For whatsoever reason, that piece, while non bad, still remains slightly tacky so this 70% isopropyl booze didn’t bat 100 for me, but I’d give it an A+++ regardless.

Anyhow, on the kickoff shot, I gave a good rubdown on all my tacky/melted interior pieces… I got nearly of what I wanted to washed in a couple minutes. Information technology’s been a month now and I haven’t seen any deterioration so I feel safe in recommending this method at present. From what I’grand seeing, I’1000 guessing that removing the melted gunk is slowing downward/preventing the depolymerization/melting of the skillful prophylactic-plastic underneath.

Thoughts:
i) B-D and high quality swabs are the way to go, they accept thick pads that tin absorb a squeamish corporeality of the goo. If yous go for cheaper store make swabs, they tend to be sparse and papery.
two) If you lot wipe down with the pads and let things air-dry, y'all will probably leave some hazy swirls on some of the pieces. You tin can prevent this past having a clammy 100% lint-free material-similar paper towel ready to quickly wipe the pieces downwardly earlier they air dry from the isopropyl. Exist careful hither... this step might not be worth information technology if you lot don’t have the correct towels. Even though the isopropyl volition be taking the gunk off on the surfaces, there are inevitably going to be tiny crevices and edges where you can’t get at unless you remove the part from the machine. What I’m trying to say here is, if you’re not careful and use normal paper towels, you’re going to have non-tacky surfaces with little lint pieces stuck on the crevices and edges where you couldn’t become good rubbing with the isopropyl pads.
I’d recommend using these fabric-similar newspaper towels or something shut. http://world wide web.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=849320&Ntt=towels&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text

OK, I guess I’ll terminate information technology here with a couple pics. The 2 pics you will encounter are the touchup job pics where I go exercise touchup jobs on the door handle and ashtray encompass 1 month after the initial cleanup. I wish I took pics on the original cleanings 1 month ago, but I did this isopropyl thing more on a whim and was surprised/amazed at how it was working. Basically, it was in a dark parking lot before going to dinner, I had about 3 minutes and brought down a bunch of pads and information technology worked on everything information technology touched. I did it in the dark then it wasn’t an ideal situation to do a consummate task.

Picture1:
For the door handle “BEFORE” pic, notice the left edge where it took it down to the metal just left lonely the surrounding good safety-plastic. Also discover the door handle cup area circled on the correct side, see the hazy mess at the bottom. That hazy mess is actually the goo/tacky substance that initially covered the whole door handle/release lever. 1 month ago, on the initial cleanup, I didn’t pay attention to cleaning out the bottom expanse of the door handle cup so information technology left a good opportunity for a before and afterward picture today.

In the “Later” pic, the goo is gone and the surface is non-tacky like the rest of the door handle. Please note, the AFTER color in the door handle cup is pretty uniform to the middle. The colour deviation you might come across in the picture is more due to the front expanse of loving cup was “wet” with isopropyl at the time of the pic. When dry out, everything was uniform. Also, the yellow window shows some B-D swabs subsequently wiping off the goop.

Motion-picture show 2:

In the “Earlier” pic, focus on the red rectangle in the top right corner of the ashtray. Information technology shows a tarry smudge on a spot I missed on the initial cleanup. On the after pic, it’s gone. As well, in the afterward pic, I did a pretty good job of wiping the slice down after the isopropyl to reduce the overall hazing that you meet in the Earlier pic. However, in the later on shot, in that location’s a little hazing I missed this time around correct in forepart of the catch lip for the ashtray lid.

I’ll make this post here and in the techncal Q&A.. I’d similar to make this post in the 355 expanse too, but I don't want to spam this post everywhere, although this melting issue affects a lot of different models and I remember people who are afflicted volition really want to come across this post. Please pass this info around and please merely post questions to me in the 360 forum. Good luck --- John

P.South. I was surprised to see my JL Audio subwoofer that I keep behind the driver’s had speaker surrounds that crumbled to the touch. I wonder if information technology underwent the same “stress” as the safe-plastic in the interior. JL Audio is an aristocracy brand and I had the sub for 4.5 years. The speaker was blown, but what was interesting is, when I pressed the speaker cone foam surrounds, they crumbled like damp cornbread with a very light touch. I accept to believe this is non normal for a four.5 twelvemonth old JL audio sub. I wonder if this melting outcome has nothing to do with UV nor cleaning chemicals (Which the subwoofer was never exposed to). Maybe it has more to practise with something universal like exhaust gases that filter into the cabin? Ie. maybe people who experience the worst problems either have more leakage or maybe after a drive, they accept their windows rolled up and the engine running for a bit before shutting off. I would tend to believe an explanation like that more now after seeing the subwoofer.
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Rossa Subscribed Owner

Nifty write up. I was told by JL a few years back that the detonation of the foam was due to 3 things UV, humidity and lack of use (sitting).
I'one thousand not so sure I'll exist replacing any more rubberized pieces as their failure rate is awfully loftier. Equally they "tar" I'll be wiping them downward. My rider door is similar tar too, so I'll be giving it the treatment. I already wiped downward the pull handle stays and I believe they look meliorate anyhow. Anyone wanting to buy these cars from the states at some signal volition certainly sympathise and probably capeesh the effort. Knowing what I know at present, I wouldn't care if the entire automobile had been "tar-less" when I bought it.
I had a pair of Infinity abode speakers with the same problem. E'er been within, climate
controlled. Though did go through long periods of not-use afterwards the kids were built-in.
I had a local speaker repair specialist rebuild the foam surrounds for low dollars.
Been good for many years since.
Lou
Ane question.
Doesnt that isopropyl alcohol erases the lettering on the buttons ?
I dying to try this on my spyder 2004 but im wondering if those markings letters symbols etc go away ...
Joao
Apr 27, 2010

2,203

LA

Full Name:

Dave

I was thinking this likewise. Aren't the letters/symbols printed on top of the rubber coating?
I think it does remove the lettering, and the surface texture ends upwards beingness harder than it was originally, but if y'all're dealing with the "tar" level of stickiness, it'south really the OP'southward technique or ownership new ones.
You don't think that stickynomore and stickyrx are an choice too?
(its what many, many owners do)
Aug 13, 2018

1

Full Proper name:

Nicholaus Hale

I highly recommend Talc Pulverisation. The flat areas are very piece of cake for obvious reasons. Application to the vertical areas, peculiarly on the doors took some serious ingenuity. Personally I cut up an old medium thickness and finely knitted sweater and sewed it into a small pouch. I put the talc into the pouch and squeeze closed the open end, and then shook information technology up a bit until the powder was coming out the bottom. It may not accept been nifty, simply it did the trick. Pull your prancing equus caballus into the garage, open the doors and exit them open. Use the powder liberally to all areas affected. Leave it for 24 hours, check information technology a couple times and reapply if there are areas where it seems to have thinned out a bit. Use a clay devil or some sort of vacuum to make clean up the mess and then apply a lightly dampened soft sponge to make clean upwardly what is left and wipe down with a microfiber cloth.
P.due south. I have as well heard using an old wedding veil (cut upwardly and using 3 layers and belongings it like a pouch (lol) as well as a makeup powder castor work fairly well for application.

P.due south.s Apply Natural unscented Talcum Powder such as Trident Wetsuit Eze Pulverisation or Fromunda's natural version.

If it is peculiarly bad, y'all may have to do one reapplication. Yet not working? Effort the liquid from an one-time CD (Meaty Disc) cleaning kit (the cheap ones with alcohol in them) or Center spectacles cleaner. They are essentially watered down alcohol. Using 70% Isopropyl is just silly. Endeavour to get it in the x-thirty% range. I take not tried it, but maybe mixing it with water at a 2.v:1 water to alcohol ratio.

Relish non having a sticky and frustrating vehicle.
Silver Subscribed

Talc powder?
Really?
Post pix please.
Scott, what we have here is a classic troll. Joined today, digs up and sometime thread for 1st post. Most certainly a troll
Silvery Subscribed

Ok. I retread Nic'south post. I took the bait. claw, line, and sinker.
Rossa Subscribed

Merely employ rubbing alcohol, it works. Most if not all of this re lasering is rubbish. Its just redoing something thats already there
Silver Subscribed Owner

Quite astonishing to read all this here Dave. Talc Powder, rubbing alcohol …..
In the TR and 458 part is everybody convinced past at present that these methods but volition ruin the interiour …

And in the terminate, it may cost triple from what it would have cost if they had send you these parts directly ...

Continue up the good work !
What I've never ascertained, despite reading then many fantabulous threads on this subject (usually with expert input by Dave) is whether Ferraris are particularly decumbent to this ailment. All my Ferraris take had stickies to a greater or lesser extent, with no deviation betwixt those which are used a lot similar my 575 and 430 Spider and those which were used less. I'd love to know the answers to two questions:
- Are Ferraris worse than whatsoever other car for stickies, and if and so why?

- What causes stickies? UV/no UV, usage/no usage, cleaning with certain products/not cleaning...

And there'southward the biggest question: does many manufacturer not take stickies? I've never had stickies on my AMGs, for case, but that might just exist luck.
Hi Darius,
Allow me to try and answer your questions:
No, Ferrari is not worst. It's not a Ferrari issue (bated from Ferrari specifying to sub contractors to use soft touch coatings). The event is soft impact coatings - they don't final (regardless of industry information technology seems)UV, rut, humidity, chemicals, and fourth dimension. See the Rotel home theater remote of mine. I bought the system 18 or and then years ago and put the remote in a drawer out of sunday in a climate control firm equally I got a programmable remote. Approx 3 years later I needed to become that remote for a special function - information technology was sticky and I had no thought why, I now know.Many articles have the sticky problem if they used soft impact coatings. Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, Lambo, Alfa, Ferrari, Maserati, etc. Currently Country Rover, Porsche, Audi, McLaren all apply hard affect coatings similar to ours. In fact, I'd give ours a run for the money confronting whatsoever of those.
So, your next question will be - "why is Ferrari using these coatings?"

My best guess: 1) when new, they are very dainty and self healing from mar. 2) They are thick, cocky leveling and hide flaws in the base injection molded parts that a hard touch blanket will not hide.

Hope that help

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Just did my ashtray with 70% isopropyl booze. It loosens the gunk pretty well. I used some uncomplicated green degreaser to finish information technology off after alcohol wasn't doing as much. Came out fine. Rinsed with h2o after. I noticed simply the really sticky cleaved down coating comes off easily. Some parts that aren't that sticky yet won't come off easy. I will be tackling next piece presently.
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Silvery Subscribed

fwiw, I did rubbing alchohol on my steering column cover and dash peak corner air vents with great success. At that place are no graphics on them so no big deal. I've used Viscous No More in the past and the results were fantastic likewise. If I take to redo parts that need graphics, I'll ship them off to go washed. Not many of those in a CS though.
Rossa Subscribed

Those round knobs are the easiest to do. No relasering needed, but a waste matter of money. Simply apply rubbing booze and the goo comes off. No crummy decals are needed. Same with steering covers and astray
Rossa Subscribed Owner

I take had Dave practice several parts and his work is FAR better than what can be achieved with rubbing alcohol. I go that some of yous desire to practise this on the cheap, take at it. The difference shows as cars historic period and the foam rises to the height. To me it is nearly quality of work, not absolute cost.