Canon 10 X 30 IS Binoculars - sticky Rubber Coating

[ahofmann531]

I have a 10 X 30 IS binocular [serial number deleted for privacy].  The rubberized coating is disintegrating and has become very sticky.  I see others have had this problem with other high end models.  How do I improve the condition or get them repaired?  They work perfectly but are very uncomfortable to use.

[grtman]

I've got an easier solution.  UV light removes the stickyness.  Put binoculars under a UV lamp for 24 hours, and the stickyness on the directly exposed surfaces will be gone.

[JHarryF]

Holy cow! How did you find this out? How long does the stickiness stay away after the UV treatment?

[grtman]

Harry, I just got fed up with the effort with spirits, and I had the UV lamp setup in my garage to 'disinfect' our food shopping during the COVID scare.  It was a free of effort trial!  But it worked, I am surprised but happy.  I've got a rubberised USB key thats going the same way; will check that now. Only downside is smell of ozone in the garage for a few hours.  You can buy the lamp on Amazon or eBay.

[grtman]

I just did it today; will report back on duration in a few weeks.

[JHarryF]

Thanks for both replies, grtman. Much appreciated. Will stay tuned for further info from you. I sure hope it lasts!

[okbrancho]

Any good news?  What were your results?    Mine is gummy too.  

[JHarryF]

I haven’t seen an update from grtman, but I can tell you the spray lacquer treatment (see the posting above) is holding up on mine after several years. It is a little messy and you have to carefully mask off what shouldn’t be sprayed, but it is a quick fix that works. Would love to hear from grtman about the longevity of the UV treatment he posted.

[grtman]

Sorry no updates before this!  The UV light solution has held up just fine.  My view is that it is a good solution.  It's clean to do, no chemicals or masked needed.  The downside is having to buy the UV lamp.  I've seen one on Amazon, just search for "Philips UV lamp".  If you want to do a home brew, I here are my project details: My UV-C Ray Gun Design
1. I am using a Philips TUV UV-C PL-L 24W 2G11 | Disinfection - Ultraviolet - 4-Pin Lamp. It
provides a UV-C intensity of 65 micro-watts at 1 meter. Cost about £15
2. The Ballast is a Philips HF-P 118/136 TL-D III 220-240V. Cost about £11.
3. Support old curtain board.
4. Wiring old iron power lead and wire from attic.
5. In the paper Lindblad et al, they had a setup which gave 100 micro-watts per sq. cm (See
page 5-6). In my setup the distance to the mask is about 0.5 metres, so I should have a
density of 240 micro-watts per sq. cm. So my time to cleanse mask will be one quarter of
theirs, i.e. about 5 minutes. But need to turn over and do other side. 

WARNING: UV Can damage eyes, be aware, and careful to always leave the room and avoid ever looking at the lamp.  This may be over cautious, but you only get one set of eyes!

I have posted this solution on a bird watchers site too.

[grtman]

NB: I refer to "mask" from when using the setup to re-use COVID masks.  With the binoculars I pput them about 12" away from the lamp, with a alum relector, and did each side for 24 hours.

[JHarryF]

Thanks, grtman! Much appreciated by all, I’m sure.

And I sure hope Canon has stopped using the substance that turns sticky to make its otherwise excellent products. As one contributor said long ago, the company owes everyone who bought these expensive binocs an apology as well as either a fix or a refund. Neither have been forthcoming and no one should be holding his/her breath for it.