Guitar Bug gone sticky

[RayL]

Any other owners of an AKG Guitar Bug out there?

guitar bug.JPG (61.65 KiB) Viewed 4234 times

Mine's a few years old now and the plastic on the back has gone sticky. A nasty sort of stickyness that clings to the fingers.
It's not because it's been wrapped in sticky tape, the plastic has undergone a change.

I've come across this occasionally on certain other plastic objects.

Does anyone know how it can be cleaned off?
Ray

[JimN]

The same thing happens to the soft plastic backing on Sky+ remote controls if they are left unused.

I haven't tried a cure, but at a guess - a gentle wash in methylated spirits (the Sky part can easily be detached)?

[SJB]

I have my Dads' video camera / camera's and binoculars - all sticky.
I think Jim's comment is probably correct as I used Meths to remove the sticky coating.
The coating on Dad's stuff was a sort of rubberised coating. Maybe your bug is the same?
In order to continue using his photographic stuff - Dad had put clingfilm all over the sticky bits.

[MeBHank]

Yep, mine are the same. I don't think they work anymore anyway. (Not that I'd use them - budget radio systems have advanced massively since we were all using fuzzy-sounding AKGs and Samsons. Ignoring Hank's overdriving echo unit, the radios were easily the weakest link in the chain for the Final Tour.)

[RayL]

Thanks, chaps.

I'll pop into my high street meths shop and get some.

Ray

[MikeAB]

Liquid plasticisers bound up in flexible PVC items (eg cables) can sometimes be attracted into other types of plastic when in contact, but are then incompatible with them - hence stickiness. Iso propyl alcohol (IPA) may clean it off as well (nail varnish remover).

Mike

[MeBHank]

Iso propyl alcohol (IPA) may clean it off as well (nail varnish remover).

Oh, don't. You're making my mouth water. I'd love a pint of IPA. Next time I'm in a pub after lockdown I'll be more careful about what I'm ordering (if pubs exist as more than a distant legend of the past).