Canon. early EOS sticky grip.

[Lloydy]

I think I have rescued an old Canon EOS 100 with the dreaded sticky grip. This camera was so bad that I held it for as long as it would take to compose and take a shot, unfolded my hand, and the camera was stuck to my fingers. I actually held the camera up just by the sticky horrible mess of the decaying grip as it stuck to my fingers. Which was a shame as the camera is otherwise perfect.
I tried the obvious solutions, lighter fuel, nail polish remover, Goo-Gone, dish washing soap and industrial hand soap. Nothing improved the sticky mess one bit.
Reading on the internet it appears that the 'rubber grip' is not rubber at all, it's a plastic shell with a plastic pseudo rubber cover, and the cover breaks down over time and the components separate. I also read that part of the formula to make this stuff contains a mineral powder, with some complicated chemical name or another. So I thought, why not use a mineral powder to rub on to the surface that would ( hopefully ) absorb the resinous goo and reconstitute itself into the 'rubber' grip? The camera was dead with the crappy grip, so I tried ......chalk.
I chose the darkest colour I could find, blue, ( can you even get black chalk ? ) and crushed a tiny bit. I rubbed it into the grip with my fingers, and used a toothbrush to get it into the texture of the grip. I did this about a 8 or 9 times until it no longer felt sticky. Then I really got to work with the toothbrush until any build up had gone. Then I left it for a day, checked it for stickiness and it was OK. Even if it was a bit blue! But a silicone black shoe polish has restored the colour perfectly. I did this a few days ago and the stickiness hasn't returned, whether it's a long term solution I don't know, but it's made the EOS100 into a nice camera once more.

[philslizzy]

Nice job dave, I have one of these - fortunately the grip is fine.

[Lloydy]

Pictures don't describe the horrible mess the grip was in, it looked fine but the goo leaching out of the plastic was horrible. And soap + water didn't shift it from my hand either, I had to use a wet wipe. Which although it cleaned my hand had no effect on the grip at all.
Day three, and it's still not sticky. It'll be for sale in the charity shop next week.

[cooltouch]

Good save! I'll have to keep in mind your approach the next time I run into this.

What you encountered was something called "plasticizer migration" and it's where the plasticizer doesn't stay put, but comes to the surface as a slimy, sticky substance. I have this problem with a cord in my Metz 60 CT-1 outfit -- the cord that runs from the flash to the battery pack. I wiped it down, which seemed to take care of most of the issue, but it wouldn't entirely go away, so I just coiled it up and put it into a plastic baggie for storage. Maybe I'll try your dusting if/when I ever use that flash again.

I ran into a similar situation as yours with a metal lens hood for a Sigma mirror I bought recently. I don't know if this was a factory coating or what, but the hood was just covered in this sticky, black, tar-like mess. I tried naphtha -- didn't do any good, then kicked it up a notch and tried acetone -- at least it stirred it around some, but didn't lift it off the hood. Then I was rummaging through some chemicals and came across a degreaser made by the Simple Green folks. Well, I know from experience that Simple Green is an outstanding product for getting rid of all sorts of difficult, caked on situations, so I figured I'd give this a shot. I sprayed it on the hood and it foamed up like crazy, but a wipe with a paper towel insantly removed a large swath of the stuff. So I gave it another application and this time let it sit for the requisite time. Then wiped, and lemme tell ya, that stuff completely cleaned that sticky tar-like stuff off the hood as easy as can be. Remarkable. I am completely sold on this stuff as, not just a degreaser, but a de-anything-er.

[Gardener]

I had an Elan IIe with a sticky grip - alcohol washed the sticky stuff right off.

[my_photography]

[my_photography]

[cooltouch]

It's an aerosol can. I don't have it handy so I'll have to go dig it out and read the label. I've probably had this stuff sitting on the shelf for years. I just visited Simple Green's website, and the only aerosols they market now are their Heavy Duty BBQ and Grill Cleaner and their Bike Cleaner and Degreaser. I suspect that either one would do the job.

[Gardener]

[my_photography]

Thanks both Gardener and cooltouch for the reply. I think I will be starting with the denatured alcohol since Simple Green is not easily available here. Furthermore the first thing I will de-glue is a lens, and yes, I have a lens that have sticky stuffs coming out just like the grip.

[cooltouch]

Simple Green has a "Global Partners" page at their website:

http://simplegreen.com/global-partners/

Where is the "Pearl of the Orient"? Singapore? Hong Kong? It appears that much, if not all, of the Asian trade is conducted through Simple Green's office in Singapore:

Simple Green Asia Pacific
Representative Office
Orchard Post Office
P.O. Box 266, Singapore, 91234

Phone: +65 6467 0442
Fax: +65 6469 4210
Contact: Fred Koch

If stores stock it where you live, the Singapore Office should know and be able to give you a list. That's part of their job, after all. If no luck, chances are somebody else makes something similar to it.