lens rubber grip sticky after cleaning with water

[chly3001]

hi i just bought a mint condition lens today from someone, a nikon 55-200 vr. it felt quite new and everything, however when i decided to clean it with water anyway. after that i realised that the water made the rubber slightly sticky. i then realised that's the reason why my other 2 lenses all have a slightly sticky feeling. can anyone help me how to remedy this? looks like using water to clean ur lens barrel isnt such a good idea after all thanks!

 

[daredevil123]

hi i just bought a mint condition lens today from someone, a nikon 55-200 vr. it felt quite new and everything, however when i decided to clean it with water anyway. after that i realised that the water made the rubber slightly sticky. i then realised that's the reason why my other 2 lenses all have a slightly sticky feeling. can anyone help me how to remedy this? looks like using water to clean ur lens barrel isnt such a good idea after all thanks!

You should not use water to clean any camera equipment!!!! What were you thinking?

 

[madmartian]

hi i just bought a mint condition lens today from someone, a nikon 55-200 vr. it felt quite new and everything, however when i decided to clean it with water anyway. after that i realised that the water made the rubber slightly sticky. i then realised that's the reason why my other 2 lenses all have a slightly sticky feeling. can anyone help me how to remedy this? looks like using water to clean ur lens barrel isnt such a good idea after all thanks!

You used water to clean? Like how?
Just use a damp cloth, not dripping wet, & wipe gently. After that leave it to air dry then keep it in the drycab. Should not feel sticky after that.
Unless the rubber sort of melted from prolonged use with sweat already embedded into it without cleaning before

 

[Dream Merchant]

Using water to clean a lens barrel is never a good idea, unless your lenses are weather-sealed.

Cleaning the rubber, however, might leave a sticky feeling which should resolve itself after gunking it up with more ... gunk and finger-oils. :bsmilie:

One other possibility is that the rubber is old/older, and after cleaning, it's 'stickier' than usual. I would first try a spray-on furniture, which might provide a slicker finish.

Or change them.

Cheers!

 

[chly3001]

hey wow thanks guys for the prompt replies

SORRY SORRY I meant i cleaned it with a DAMP CLOTH hahaha. not water not water, that's a BAD IDEA. yea but i was thinking in terms of alcohol, water, whatever-cleaner etc etc

i just recently bought a dry cabinet so... i hope the rubber will become less sticky? If not i'll be quite sad, cause im not that rich and my lenses are very valuable to me.
anyway the three lenses are all less then a year old.
kit lens is bought around april, 55-200 is bought around august and 28-75 f2.8 is bought sept. all this year. so yup im rahter sad that using a damp cloth to clean the rubber leaves it feeling sticky!!

on a side note, what should i use to clean my lenses then? to get it back to the nice clean rubber state that it originally was, or for future reference for other lenses. thanks!

 

[daredevil123]

hey wow thanks guys for the prompt replies

SORRY SORRY I meant i cleaned it with a DAMP CLOTH hahaha. not water not water, that's a BAD IDEA. yea but i was thinking in terms of alcohol, water, whatever-cleaner etc etc

i just recently bought a dry cabinet so... i hope the rubber will become less sticky? If not i'll be quite sad, cause im not that rich and my lenses are very valuable to me.
anyway the three lenses are all less then a year old.
kit lens is bought around april, 55-200 is bought around august and 28-75 f2.8 is bought sept. all this year. so yup im rahter sad that using a damp cloth to clean the rubber leaves it feeling sticky!!

on a side note, what should i use to clean my lenses then? to get it back to the nice clean rubber state that it originally was, or for future reference for other lenses. thanks!

Just take care of your equipment when shooting. Wipe once in a while with a dry cloth will do.

 

[fatigue]

The rubber can be removed, then you can clean without risking water leak into the lens.
After using the lens for a few times, the stickiness will disappear

 

[Dream Merchant]

hey wow thanks guys for the prompt replies

SORRY SORRY I meant i cleaned it with a DAMP CLOTH hahaha. not water not water, that's a BAD IDEA. yea but i was thinking in terms of alcohol, water, whatever-cleaner etc etc

i just recently bought a dry cabinet so... i hope the rubber will become less sticky? If not i'll be quite sad, cause im not that rich and my lenses are very valuable to me.
anyway the three lenses are all less then a year old.
kit lens is bought around april, 55-200 is bought around august and 28-75 f2.8 is bought sept. all this year. so yup im rahter sad that using a damp cloth to clean the rubber leaves it feeling sticky!!

on a side note, what should i use to clean my lenses then? to get it back to the nice clean rubber state that it originally was, or for future reference for other lenses. thanks!

Cleaning the rubber, however, might leave a sticky feeling which should resolve itself after gunking it up with more ... gunk and finger-oils. :bsmilie:

One other possibility is that the rubber is old/older, and after cleaning, it's 'stickier' than usual. I would first try a spray-on furniture, which might provide a slicker finish.

Or change them.

Cheers!

As above.

 

[Halfmoon]

Sorry to hijack the thread a bit....

I left a lens in the dry cabinet, and now, the rubber seem to look a bit whiter... is this ok???

My setting was 40-45 only.... :think:

 

[Dream Merchant]

You could leave it alone, or use it more often.

Or wash, dry and wax it.

Or change it.

Or do nothing.

All of the above options will work.

Cheers!

 

[soeypixels]

As I don shoot very frequently but after each shoot I will
wipe with damp cloth, dry cloth and store in dry cabinet.
Never encounter sticky residue on rubber

 

[chly3001]

hi all after leaving it in the dry cab for a day at about 40% RH the lenses still have the same stickiness. more of, the 'new' lens felt very smooth when i got it, but after i used a damp cloth to clean the rubber, the surface of the rubber had much more friction, not as smooth as before. yea so main problem is i think the water is the one causing the extra friction? heh. yup thanks!

 

[JJLoke]

The rubber has degraded after prolonged usage from sweat and oils.

This is the same to the computer mouse - those who owns Razer gaming mouse will know.

 

[chly3001]

oh i forgot to add: this is the second time im using the lens only. it's NEW

 

[madmartian]

oh i forgot to add: this is the second time im using the lens only. it's NEW

You must have sticky hands..................:think:

 

[chly3001]

nope nope before i clean the lens it was nice and smooth!!! and i used it to shoot some pictures. now the rubber like alot of friction like that!! how to make it back to nice and smooth?

 

[chly3001]

You could leave it alone, or use it more often.

Or wash, dry and wax it.

Or change it.

Or do nothing.

All of the above options will work.

Cheers!

hey was just wondering what u mean by wax?

 

[Dream Merchant]

When you 'strip' the rubber of gunk and debris (including oils), it will naturally have more friction, aka, appear stickier.

The opposite situation is that after a long while, the sweat, debris and gunk from finger oils may degrade/break down the rubber, and that would also cause it to be 'stickier' and even gunkier.

If you read what I wrote, you'll find the answer to your problems - use it more often and the gunk and dirt will make it feel 'less sticky', if that was your original complaint.

Or ...

The wax I was referring to was Spray-on furniture wax.

Apparently, car interior 'Detailer' also reported to work well. I've not tested so I don't know.

Nuff said.

 

[Octarine]

For a sticky camera grip I have used baby powder. Ok, grip looks grayish now, but that's not important to me.

 

[Dream Merchant]

For a sticky camera grip I have used baby powder. Ok, grip looks grayish now, but that's not important to me.

Turn your black rubber grip into a WHITE one. Go with certain premium lenses! :devil:

Kidding! :bsmilie: