Basic dish soap does wonders as do some oils

 

Trying to clean the buttons might remove the graphics, depending on the ingredients in that cleaning product. I'd try a drop of hand lotion on my fingertip, rub it gently on a small part of the sticky surface and see if it helps.

I have a soft plastic case LED flashlight that got sticky over time. Hand lotion removed the stickiness and made it like new.

 

 

I try to avoid anything that is defatting like hand cleaners or alcohol based products. Plastics need oils to survive.

 

 

It's acid based, acids are defatters (remove oils). I'd avoid it.

Honestly I'd start with water and a microfiber towel. Remember, whatever is on there was on your hands at one time. Women love lotions and they leave a gummy residue as well.

 

Light dishwashing soap solution on a wrung towel is pretty mild first attempt.

3M stuff interesting. I have their leather cleaner and it takes out jean dye in a blink.

 

Looked at a XK at my local dealer before buying the one I own. It was off lease from FL and all the plastic buttons were sticky. I talked to the service manager about it, a woman, and she said it was due to a driver using hand lotion and not letting it soak in before driving the car. No way to correct it.


I'd try the water and microfiber as Ranchero suggested and then work up from there if that doesn't work. Those plastic and rubber button tops are easy to mess up. But I hate sticky - so did not get the car from the dealer.

 

That's what I said:

 

I went to Amazon and read the label on that 3M product. It does not state that it is safe to use on printed plastic. Citrus based products like this one from 3M contain d-Limonene, which is a cleaner and degreaser. I would not use it to clean the sticky buttons because it might be too strong and damage the graphics.

The concrete floor of our 100,000 sq. ft. warehouse was cleaned by a contractor that used a d-Limonene product to completely remove years of accumulated forklift tire rubber and other ground-in dirt. The result far exceeded my expectations - the concrete floor looked like new. A side benefit was that the warehouse smelled like an orange juice factory for weeks.

d-Limonene is also used in many waterless hand cleaners.

I repeat my suggestion to try a drop of hand lotion. Not the thick, goopy stuff, but a thin viscosity that can thin out the stickiness, be wiped off, and another light coat applied that is absorbed into the plastic. That worked for me to restore my LED flashlight housing.

 

 

You too will swear by this stuff.
And it should solve the sticky problem the right way, not by removing the coating but sealing it.
Its new technology.

 

Its a miracle formulation by a Phd.
They have similar but more concentrated formulation for tires, and you will never go back to silicone for tires.

 

 

FYI
Prevent denim stain- use Ink Stop by Leather Masters. Its the only leather protection and conditioning ever needed- according to the leather institute in UK.

 

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...3241098&rt=rud