Found out isopropyl alcohol actually restores sticky rubber grips on old tools

Had a vintage multimeter from 1987 with those awful sticky rubber feet and probe grip that turned into goo. Tried dish soap, goo gone, nothing worked until I soaked a microfiber in 91% isopropyl and scrubbed light. The stickiness literally dissolved away in about 3 minutes. Has anyone else used alcohol on rubber without wrecking the texture?

3 comments

3 Comments

betty_kelly91d ago

Did you ever try wiping them down with a magic eraser first? I did that on an old radio dial and it took the goo off without drying out the rubber at all.

danielnelson1d ago

I actually disagree pretty strongly here. Alcohol will definitely melt that sticky layer off in the short term, but it also dries out the rubber deeper down and makes it crack and crumble faster over time (especially on vintage stuff like your 1987 meter). I've ruined a pair of nice binoculars with rubber eyecups by doing exactly this, they went from tacky to hard and brittle in about six months. A better fix is to use a mild dish soap and water scrub first, then apply a tiny amount of mineral oil or silicone grease to recondition the rubber once it's clean. That way you keep the original texture and the rubber stays flexible instead of turning into a dried out mess.

wren6381d ago

Wait, six months?! That's wild, mine just went tacky again last week... @danielnelson that's rough though.