Sticky Rubberized Stuff Fix
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:52 pm
Rubberized, or rubber-coated stuff tends to get sticky with time. I have a Russian night-vision scope that I have not fooled with for a few years. When I took it out of the safe and pulled it out of its case, the rubberized coating was really sticky, so much so that I did not enjoy touching it, and using it was out of the question.
I was most disgusted - but did a web-search and found several recommendations to use ordinary brake fluid on it.
Still uncertain, I got a patch and put brake fluid on it - and was amazed at how efficiently it cleaned up the scope. The sticky stuff came right off with little effort and zero damage to the scope or its lettering etc.. I was of course careful to keep the brake fluid away from lenses or mechanisms, only touching the sticky areas with it.
The end result was a scope in great condition - but no longer rubberized. It appears the rubberization was a thin layer of rubbery goo on the plastic case that the brake fluid removed completely.
I put the lithium battery in my old Ruskie night-scope and tried it out this evening. - It still works great.
There is also a 10x monocular here that has sticky syndrome. - I've been avoiding using it because it feels so yukky. - So I look forward to getting that thing back in action again too.
Try it on a small, out of the way area before going to town with it, to make sure it will work OK on your particular device. I was amazed at how well it worked on my "Night Owl" scope from Russia.
I was most disgusted - but did a web-search and found several recommendations to use ordinary brake fluid on it.
Still uncertain, I got a patch and put brake fluid on it - and was amazed at how efficiently it cleaned up the scope. The sticky stuff came right off with little effort and zero damage to the scope or its lettering etc.. I was of course careful to keep the brake fluid away from lenses or mechanisms, only touching the sticky areas with it.
The end result was a scope in great condition - but no longer rubberized. It appears the rubberization was a thin layer of rubbery goo on the plastic case that the brake fluid removed completely.
I put the lithium battery in my old Ruskie night-scope and tried it out this evening. - It still works great.
There is also a 10x monocular here that has sticky syndrome. - I've been avoiding using it because it feels so yukky. - So I look forward to getting that thing back in action again too.
Try it on a small, out of the way area before going to town with it, to make sure it will work OK on your particular device. I was amazed at how well it worked on my "Night Owl" scope from Russia.