OT: other people's sticky hands?

IME yes, I hate that supposedly "luxurious" coating ...

I have quite a few items like this. Talcum powder solves it for me.

On 03 Apr 2023, Andy Burns wrote

Ditto. I've thrown away a few otherwise-working things with that sort of coating that went sticky, and that I couldn't clean or de-stickyise (including a pair of Panasonic noise-cancelling headphones, and a Pure DAB radio).

I looked online for cleaning suggestions, but they didn't work for me; I suspect I left it too long, and they were just too far gone by then.

For sticky things that won't 'un-stick', I dust with talcum powder then wipe the excess talc off with a dry cloth.

It appears that some plastics now in use - probably green organic ones,

- now depolymerise into monomers, and there isn't a thing you can do. dissolving the monomers doesnt stop the process

I bought a clip to hold my smart phone that featured a suction pad on the windscreen. One day the suction pad fell off. It was now a hooey mass of something akin to those german rubber glue things, but it didn't set. It got gooier.

UV probably involved, given its location.

I'll give it a go....

Why is it worse though if other people use your stuff?

I think it's worse if previously used items get left unused for some time (maybe they stuck it on a shelf and took their time returning it?)

My advice is don't re-use Johnny bags.

All hands, not other peoples. This isI assume the problem oft talked about here of anything that feels soft and rubbery going sticky. It seems to me that some of these impregnated plastic surfaces are more stable than others, and after some time of intermittent use they gradually leach out the stickiness to the surface. Many ram sticks suffer from this. I'm not sure why they would put such a substance on a steering wheel. Cars never used to have those, they were often hard smooth plastic. I have had binoculars, cameras portable radios ram sticks mous wheel surfaces and even some kitchen devices coated in the stuff.

Brian

Yes I heard somebody saying rude words about it recently. It was on their suit case handles and was awful if you sweated. Did nobody ever test it for long life?

There was a 3M paint often used on metal cabinets called Nextel. It was easy to grip and was mat black in the main, but a few years down the road it started to get sticky and coat your hands in little tiny plastic sticky balls. Brian

Yes I put talcum powder on the ram sticks,but its not pretty. Brian

I bought, many years ago, a Neal cassette deck. Very got it was, the mechanics were made by 3M, and when I got it out to see if it still worked, the pressure roller had melted and sat like a sticky lump inside the deck. Nobody makes spares so I had to dump the recorder, I have sereveral others that have had no such issues, not even with the belts. Technics, Sony Sharp and Denon. Brian

Haha , love the handle. Brian

I acquired a Panasonic 'boom box' from a deceased relative, bought new circa 2003 and the metal drive spindle that pressed the tape onto a rubber jockey wheel roller was coated in rust. It had only been used to listen to the radio and play CD's and sat in the lounge on the floor adjacent the gas fire for nearly

Every tape I played on it got chewed until realised what the issue was.

Nope, never seen that and I did use work cars a lot.

Yep.