How to solve the problem of a plastic controller that has become sticky (e.g. the ones of Keith McMillen)?

[thePostman]

For some plastic casings of controllers and soundboards, like the ones of Keith McMillen, a so called soft touch finish is used. It looks nice, but the problem is that it can become very sticky over time. My solution was isopropanol.

Isopropanol is a type of alcohol. Amongst others, you can get it at 3D print shops, because it is commonly used for cleaning the printing plate.

I had a sticky K-mix and below is how I cleaned it with isopropanol. It is a bit of work, and you loose the soft touch finish, but at least the K-mix is usable again. If anyone has a better solution, let it know.

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[zvon]

Yeah those soft touch casings are very annoying. I've had a USB thumb drive and Logitech remote that became very sticky!
My QuNexus was not sticky yet, but I bought the upgrade red casing, it's a bit expensive but at least it also has the new firmware lettering (V2). Mine was a V1.

[sin night]

I have to clean the knobs on a bunch of Arturia products and also on my Korg Minilogue (but this is not as bad as the Arturia’s). I have about 100 knobs to clean.

I think I’ll try using “Vim” powder, which I already tried on a knob of my Drumbrute Impact. It cleaned the knob quickly and easily, but… I don’t know if it’s the kind of plastic (or maybe it needs some washing), but it doesn’t feel that good anymore handling it between my fingers (maybe it needs some additional washing? Vim is quite aggressive btw)… but I still need to remove that sticky gum somehow.

I really hate those “soft touch” gum layers, they always end up sticky. I never miss an opportunity to be vocal about this issue because it really bothers me; the best outcome (far from ideal!) is having to clean it, the worst is having to throw away something that would be perfectly functional otherwise (maybe you don’t throw away a synth, but you’d be really tempted to throw away a portable lamp when it becomes sticky…).
It’s a waste of time (needed to clean) and resources (both the soft coat and the cleaning agent). Everybody knows the ending, but soft coating is still used in a variety of products across various industries and I really don’t understand why.

[thePostman]

I would expect that VIM causes scratches on the casing, because it is abrasive?

[CoolColJ]

Microfiber cloth and lots of Isopropyl alcohol will do the trick. I've done it on my Matrixbrute knobs and phone case

[BertKoor]

I'd try a soft lintfree cloth with some Waschbenzine / White Gas / Essence F to rub it off.

[sin night]

I would expect that VIM causes scratches on the casing, because it is abrasive?

On a case, I would use alcohol as you did, first.

On the knobs, I tried with alcohol in the past, but it required more work and I ended up scratching the knobs to remove that soft coat... with VIM, the gum almost dissolved and I could rub very lightly. I didn't notice scratches (it there is any, it's very light). But I tried with knobs, I have no idea of the results on a case.
If the surface is big enough to allow for rubbing, alcohol would be my first choice; but knobs (especially if they have some particular geometry) may be difficult to rub, in particular in certain spots.

[thePostman]

Good to know. I will give VIM a try a next time.

[whyterabbyt]

Good to know. I will give VIM a try a next time.

chlorine-based bleaching agents on an electronic device?

good luck.

[vurt]

i didn't even know vim was still a thing

when you say knobs, do you mean the plastic caps, or the actual potentiometer?
the caps can usually be removed, making cleaning easier, or even can be replaced.

[sin night]

I refer to the plastic caps, of course.

I’d rather replace them than having to clean them, if only I could find some with the correct d-shaft orientation.

That cleaning task is still in my backlog, by the way.