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Cleaning focus grip rubber.
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:17 am    Post subject: Cleaning focus grip rubber. Reply with quote
Recently got a nice lens at a very hard to beat price.
Got a little stumped on cleaning the excessive dirt off the the focus grip rubber.



Before pic.



After pic.
I tried first with luke-warm soap water and various cleaning cloths.
The more I tried, the grayer the rubber appeared, even after successive rinses.

I tried with Armour-All automobile interior vinyl cleaning wipes, and it made a big difference.
I'll do it once more, with a soft tooth brush, before the final wipe...

-D.S.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Good to know about the cleaning wipes.

On old vinyl grips, I find an alternate use of water + liquid hand soap, and IPA (Isopropyl alcohol, not Indian Pale Ale) works well. Old grime often has both water soluble as well as organic solvent soluble constituents. So come to think of it, a good scrub in Indian Pale Ale followed by a good rinse might actually also work Wink

It is even easier to do if the grip is of the stretchy band type that can easily be removed from the lens.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Any of those car vinyl cleaners are pretty good. I've also used shoe polish, but you do have to work to get rid of excess.


PostPosted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've used this stuff, it's OK.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Turtle-Wax-52812-Restorer-Exterior/dp/B01B4Y8K48/ref=asc_df_B01B4Y8K48/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310668964056&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17869102207245621772&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006575&hvtargid=pla-475014451171&psc=1


PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2022 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I often use Isopropyl alcohol with a tooth brush and then I wipe it with a humid cloth ....
works fine...

But i recently found that https://www.kleenflo.com/products/809.html is wonderful !

I don't like oily or smelly stuff and this one is unscented ....

I've renovated a few Leica, Canon, Rollei and Zeiss Ikon front caps (some are bakelite)
and all my AF Minolta's rubber grips with great success....


PostPosted: Mon Feb 21, 2022 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
There's a product "303" which I've used to restore clarity to some vinyl windows in sails, tents, etc.. Works; no scent. https://www.autogeek.net/303.html


PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2022 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Discoloration on rubbers like this is often a chemical change as a result of changing humidities. It took manufacturers a fair while and a dark period of rubber to work out what was best - the stick backs of the Nikon F80/F100 are notorious examples.
I've tried most remedies out there but the only one that has truly worked for me is mineral oil. I use this. You really don't need a lot, just apply a tiny bit to a cotton bud (q-tip) and gently massage in.

Last edited by BitGid on Wed Apr 20, 2022 4:25 am; edited 2 times in total


PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2022 11:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Cleaning focus grip rubber. Reply with quote
Doc Sharptail wrote:
Recently got a nice lens at a very hard to beat price.
Got a little stumped on cleaning the excessive dirt off the the focus grip rubber.
...
Before pic.
...
After pic.

I tried first with luke-warm soap water and various cleaning cloths.
The more I tried, the grayer the rubber appeared, even after successive rinses.


Yep, that's how it is.

I fact, the grey "color" is the result of plasticizers volatilizing from the rubber grip.

In other words: You can't scrub off the "dirt", but you have to replenish the rubber with plasticizers. Plasticisers are "low-molecular-weight polymers that increase the spacing between chains of crystalline polymer." (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781855739468500133). They often are found in tire protectants and similar products, and you can use them to "cure" your damaged rubber parts.

Be aware that many of these oily compunds are interfering with the endocrine system; some are inhibiting and/or disrupting the male hormone system.

S


PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The lens was covered in grey powder dust when I bought it.
It looked as if someone had covered a concrete cutting operation with it on a prosumer nikon film camera for a construction magazine.
I suspect that had a lot to do with the OTD price of $2.00 Wink
...one of the best buys I've ever made in my life.

-D.S.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 2:30 am    Post subject: Re: Cleaning focus grip rubber. Reply with quote
stevemark wrote:
Be aware that many of these oily compounds are interfering with the endocrine system; some are inhibiting and/or disrupting the male hormone system.

S

Gee, great! At least I'm well past the age where hormones are going to make a difference, one way or the other Wink
I more or less minimize my contact with those wipes, unless I'm cleaning the car.

-D.S.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm not much of a fan of Armor-All because the vinyl and plastic tend to get addicted to it. At least the automotive variety. Something that I was told years ago that works well as a rubber preservative is brake fluid. The guy who told me about it said, think for a minute -- brake fluid is designed to protect rubber so that its sealant properties are maintained at its optimum in brake systems. Now, I haven't tried brake fluid yet for this sort of application. But I'm just tossing it out there as a possible treatment. I would recommend, however, that if it is used, to wipe down the treated area thoroughly after application because brake fluid can have adverse effects on things link paint, for example.


PostPosted: Mon Apr 18, 2022 9:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
I'm not much of a fan of Armor-All because the vinyl and plastic tend to get addicted to it. At least the automotive variety. Something that I was told years ago that works well as a rubber preservative is brake fluid. The guy who told me about it said, think for a minute -- brake fluid is designed to protect rubber so that its sealant properties are maintained at its optimum in brake systems. Now, I haven't tried brake fluid yet for this sort of application. But I'm just tossing it out there as a possible treatment. I would recommend, however, that if it is used, to wipe down the treated area thoroughly after application because brake fluid can have adverse effects on things link paint, for example.


Focus grips aren't usually rubber; most often it is vinyl, with a varying degree of plasticisers to make it either a "soft" or "hard" vinyl. Brake fluid probably isn't going to do any damage though, but I have noticed that some oily stains, when left in contact for long periods, can make both rubber as well as vinyl expand al little. So whilst it may be OK for rubber, it might not be for vinyl.

Whilst colloquially sometimes used for vinyl, "rubber" should really be reserved for natural rubber, i.e. a latex based product. It doesn't always matter, but it is crucial to know the difference e.g. when specifying electrical cable insulation...

EDIT: the above applies to legacy lenses by the way, modern lenses seem to use different materials which may be rubber, or some other kind of elastomer. The worst are the "soft-touch" elastomer coatings that go sticky after a couple of years; that stuff should be banned on environmental / planned obsolescence / sustainability grounds...


PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi.
I use Nivea cream and it works great. Smile
For sticky rubber, first I use talc and then same cream.


PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Olivier wrote:
Hi.
I use Nivea cream and it works great. Smile
For sticky rubber, first I use talc and then same cream.


Hi Olivier
After applying the talc do you clean it off with something or just apply the Nivea cream on top of the talc?
Does it remove the stickyness for any length of time?


PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2022 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
DigiChromeEd wrote:
Olivier wrote:
Hi.
I use Nivea cream and it works great. Smile
For sticky rubber, first I use talc and then same cream.


Hi Olivier
After applying the talc do you clean it off with something or just apply the Nivea cream on top of the talc?
Does it remove the stickyness for any length of time?

Hi Ed.
I wipe talc off and then apply Nivea cream. On one of my lens grip stickyness reappeared several month later but less. I just applied Nivea cream again.


PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2022 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Try washing it with soap, drying and then wiping with silicone grease (wipe, leave it for a while, then wipe again). Was experimenting with repairing stretched grip the other day, so I soaked it in silicone grease for a couple of hours. Not only it shrunk but also got this brand-new look. Not using it, because I made a leather grip that I like more but almost year later it looks like this (untouched Zuiko grip in excellent condition for comparison):



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