Grips on either side of Rebel digital body gotten sticky

[diannekoz]

I have a digital Rebel.  The grips on either side of the main body have gotten very sticky and a black almost tar like substance comes off on my hands when I hold it.  I cannot find a way to replace it.  Any suggestions on how to coat or cover it so it doesn’t come off on my hands, clothes, etc?  Anyone else have this problem?  Thanks!

[refpikh]

I have the same problem. It seems like those rubber grips should be replaceable.

But it is admittedly an old camera that I haven't used for years. I am trying to refurbish it to see if I can get my grandkids into photography.

[Tronhard]

As I suggested, get Isopropyl alcohol and apply some to a rag (not directly) and rub the offending layer off.   I works if you give it enough elbow grease.

[BurnUnit]

Some cameras and other similar hand-held gear may have thicker rubber molded grips attached with glue or double sided adhesive tape. If they just come loose from the body they can usually be easily reattached with new double sided adhesive tape, after cleaning the old adhesive off with isopropyl alcohol as described above. For many cameras you might be able to buy new grips online if it's still a fairly new and popular camera model. If the rubber grips have degraded and gotten sticky they're really not worth trying to salvage.

Some other (older) cameras and such gear may have a thin rubber-like coating applied over a plastic molded panel or housing. This is the material that more commonly degrades with age and leaves sticky goop on your fingers. Then it's best to try to completely remove this thin coating. A clean rag with isopropyl alcohol and a dose of patience should do the job. The item can usually be put back into use as is with just the cleaned plastic panel(s).

But sometimes the camera can feel slippery in your hands using just the freshly cleaned plastic panels as grips. This happened with my old digital Rebel a few years ago. The cure for me was a trip to a local big-box hardware store. Find the bath supplies aisle and look for some non-slip strips for tub and shower floors. They are rough textured on one side and self-adhesive on the other. They're flexible, easily cut to length and shape and stick well to the smooth, slippery plastic grips on you camera.

[diannekoz]

The rubber strips sound like a great solution.  I will definitely try them.  The alcohol seemed to make it worse and just got the cloth gummy, too.  Thanks for the help!  I really love the camera and lenses since I can’t find anyone around that prints from film anymore.  😥

[BurnUnit]

It will feel sticky like that until you get all that rubber coating off. Pour a bit of alcohol in a small cup and reseal the bottle to prevent accidental spills. Get some Q-tips or similar cotton swabs and a supply of paper towels. Dip up some alcohol on a folded paper towel and place it on the rubber grip. Don't flood the area so much that it could run into the camera body.

Give it a few seconds to work and start rubbing the gooey coating off a bit at a time. Keep turning or replace the paper towel as it gets gunked up. Dunk a Q-tip in alcohol to clean around the edges of the plastic grips.

[Tronhard]

It will feel gummy until you compete the process, but it works - definitely, but it requires some endurance. The gummy cloth is the cost of moving the gummy surface off the camera - which is the actual idea.