Sticky situation: Nikon D70s camera body

Got the D70s out of storage for a day at the track and the rubberized grip surfaces are an annoying sticky, not goo-like just sticky. Stored probably two years in a cool, dark and dry drawer and not wrapped. Quick wipe and all it did was collect lint from the rag. Open air exposure has not helped. Other plastic parts are unaffected.

Googles said this is a known problem w/ the grip surface on some Nikon D bodies. Isopropyl Alcohol wipe down was claimed to work but not by all. Not sure if a complete strip is necessary or wise ftm as the coating is around various buttons n such. Other chemicals were mentioned but to no real avail.

Any experience and solutions known here?

It's an older but decent DSLR and I hate to bugger it up experimenting. If left alone it will only catch lint and dirt like a E36 M3 magnet. Sounds like Nikon dropped the ball on this one.

TIA

Sounds like the same problem I had once with a BT keyboard (and the BT mouse that came with it, as I recently found out). The entire rear surface of the keyboard and the wrist rest became sticky just as you describe, and no chemical had any effect on it. I ended up painting the rear surface with a rattle can and putting black duct tape over the wrist rest area.

The paint fixed the stickyness but tiny pieces have been chipping off, and the duct tape naturally has a limited life. Next I plan to try plasti-dipping the affected surfaces. I've had plasti-dip on the mouse of my gaming PC for at least a year now and it's held up well, one surface is just starting to peel now at a sharp corner, but it should be easy to fix.

I've had that happen on multiple electronic items with a rubberized coating over plastic. It stinks that Nikon did that on a higher end item; most of mine have been inexpensive things like shavers, small audio amplifiers, etc. I've had the isopropyl alcohol work. As long as you don't get the rubberized goo into the buttons while wiping it down you shouldn't have a problem. Alcohol into the camera isn't a problem - it evaporates with no residue. I've used it to clean circuit boards and switches before without issue.

Use a low-lint cloth rag; paper towels are less effective in my experience.

Forgot to mention: Remove the battery while doing this. The alcohol will evaporate cleanly but if it carries contaminants into the camera, those may be conductive.

Huh, I didn't try alcohol on mine...I think I'll try that on the sticky mouse and see what happens.

Isopropyl Alcohol does degrade into other products, thus lessening the possible effects.

Nikon used plasticizers in their soft grips to make them pliable. Over time, they get sticky. I don't have a solution, but it's one of the mediocre things Nikon used to do.

I have a D70 that's collecting dust, started acting weird right before 1) Indy 500, 2) Wedding gig, 3) Another paying gig for a full-day event, so I replaced it w/ a D5100. I've left it on a shelf, just as a last-ditch backup if needed. I can see if it feels...sticky.

I'm glad my D60 hasn't done this. I love that camera.

Just checked it. Huge layer of dust. No stickiness.

Thread resurrection: Just wanted to update that I got a chance to try the alcohol on that sticky mouse just now. At first I wasn't sure it was working but it seemed to have a slight effect so I kept at it. After the 2nd cleaning there was a definite difference. It took about 10 cleanings with generous amounts of alcohol (although I was using paper towels which is probably not ideal, but it did help me see which parts were still sticky), and the stickyness is completely gone now! I'm gonna try alcohol on that keyboard that has the same problem (and the other mouse of the same model I have stored somewhere).

In reply to GameboyRMH:

That's good to hear, there is hope yet.

I left the camera sit out in good ventilation and daylight since original posting, it's less sticky than it was but still sticky enough to be an annoyance. Was gonna try the alcohol but can't decide on a lint free applicator. Microfiber maybe.

The paper towel lint was easy to clean up afterwards. Gonna try the keyboard now.

Alcohol worked on the keyboard too!

Yay!