Problems with decomposing/sticky rubber on Canon gear

Recently I realised that I have some older lenses and bodies that show signs of decomposing rubber. I have two bodies and two lenses that have gooey rubber. The bodies' mode dials are very soft and sticky. The lenses show the same signs on the focus ring. The plastic is so sticky that it sticks to your fingers and leaves black marks. I am referring to a Canon 1D , a 10D, a 24mm-85mm, and a 50mm 1.4 lens, all of them over 10 years old. These items have hardly been used though, they have not been exposed to salt water, not exposed to heat and not exposed to humidty. As I have kept these items for sentimental reasons, I didn't keep them in my dry cabinet, but kept them on a dedicated shelf in a room with low humidity. The rubber has never been treated with chemicals, or soap, but cleaned with a damp cloth. I tried to do my google research, but couldn't find definitive answers, other than that rubber will decompose over time, and that sweaty hands might be a contributing factor. There is all sorts of info on what you could or should do, but nothing that helps to prevent this from happening. I consider contacting Canon to find out what can be done. All my other gear is kept in a dry cabinet, hoping this would help. I don't want to face a situation, where all my items will eventually decompose, making expensive lenses unusable, knowing there is nothing I can do. I have a lot of vintage lenses, and none of these show any signs, and I am quite surprised that my Canon gear is showing these signs.

Have you experienced similar decomposing, sticky or gooey rubber elements on your gear? I actually think it is the actual rubber used. I have bought some headphones 6 months ago. The headphones have touch pads to both sides and the rubber on the side that is used more often is gooey already. I might be wrong though.

I want to make sure, I can use my gear for years to come. Is there any rubber recondition material you can safely recommend? How do you clean your gear to prevent this? I would really like to hear your thoughts, your advice and your experiences.

I had an A2 and a 1N get like that.  After researching here, I wiped them off with alcohol pads and that dried off the stickiness.  I don't know if that was a long term solution as I sold the items off shortly thereafter.

I had an old Canon EOS100 film camera do that.

...that may be the cause. If it's affecting your  headphones and things you handle.

Is it possible you use hair wax, hand moisturiser or suntan lotion, most contain oils or solvents that react with rubber. Even after washing your hands residues transfer, get pressed in and build up.

Once it starts becoming sticky, the reaction is well under way, maybe you could scrape off a top layer but I think it's already too late. Rubber does naturally oxidise too.

I think that white stuff is something else, ground in skin, salt and general grime that comes off with a pec pad and warm water. There was another recent thread on here about it.

1Dx4me wrote:

my 40D camera has turned whitish, like if some kind of white powder was rubbed on it, it looks terrible!

My understanding is that the white st uff is plasticizers that have leached out of the material. I've had this on a couple of Canon lenses and on a Gitzo tripod. I havn't tried alcohol, although that makes sense. I did use a very small amount of unscented hand lotion, worked it into the material and then wiped it very thoroughly with a coarse nap microfiber cloth. The rubber parts seemed pretty new-ish after that.

I treated the tripod about ten years ago, the white stuff has not returned yet.

David H65 wrote:

I have two Sigma camera lenses that has the same issue of stickie rubber surfaces.

Has anyone found a solution. The last post was in 2017.

All my cameras are kept in a cupboard in our house with air conditioning set at a constant 73 deg F.

I had a similar issue on the grip of a golf putter. I tried washing the grip, scrapping the grip.

Nothing worked. I do not want to take such drastic action with my lenses.

I replaced the grip with a new one.

Gummy rubber can be caused by several factors. Let me just share a few things that might help others figure out what is happening.
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BLOOM (white 'powder' on rubber)
On my own new Canon Mk III Extenders which are less than 2 years old and have been stored in dry sealed containers with no humidity, the inner rubber rims of the forward facing elements turned WHITE. This came away with the slightest contact with a soft cleaning cloth. The white is called "Bloom" and Bloom occurs when extremely high quality rubber is used. It's not mold. It's a component called a "stabilizer" that is deliberately engineered into the rubber to prevent Dry Rot. And Dry Rot is usually triggered by UV Light and tends to make rubber brittle. Seeing Bloom on your rubber is not a concern as it will come away with gentle rubbing. Cleaning it off doesn't defrade the effects of the protection and it may return when the objects are stored again. Seeing it rise to the surface is evidence that the compound is doing what it is supposed to do.
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Be wary of Solvents and Sunscreen
Tacky rubber surfaces are a very different matter. They can be caused by UV light breaking down the rubber and causing it to degrade. Either it will become sticky or it will become brittle. Sunscreen contains components that can degrade rubber and plastics and even insect repellent can do the same and may even turn rubber white from the chemical reaction (this is not Bloom). Be VERY wary of using sunscreen because if it ends up on your lens it can very often etch the vapor-deposited coatings from the lens elements. Use a UV filter if you need to work with sunscreen. Sunscreen is abrasive because it contains titanium oxide particles which cut away the coatings on the lenses and it also contains a penetrative oil that can get beneath the layers on the glass and help lift them. Using alcohol will remove the outer layer that has started to become unstable but it's very likely the stickiness will later return. Talcum poweder has sometimes been recommended but that only acts like baking powder on pudding. Eventually the moisture will seep through and then you'll have talc in the sticky material. Rubbing with alcohol should be done carefully to avoid getting it into the seals of the lens. And you will get quite a bit of residue on the rubbing cloth that you use... it will probably become black as you rub away the sticky surface but it ought to work for the short term.
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Another cause of tacky rubber is solvents. There are chemicals in perfumes and oils that can penetrate rubber and cause it to become tacky. As rubber (and this includes latex) gets older it becomes sticky as the rubber degrades. I think that one way to resolve this might be to gently wipe the sticky areas with pure alcohol. 70% alcohol will also work. Some have said that WD-40 will work as well but you MUST be very cautious with such things because WD-40 contains penetrative oils that will find their way into the lens though any cracks.
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Dry Rot
Dry rot is an expression used for all different materials but when used in reference to rubber it's not about real, actual Rot but simply the rubber becoming brittle. it has nothing to do with fungus. On the other hand, Dry Rot in Timber is usually fungus related. Ultraviolet radiation, Temperature Fluctuation and Oxidization are all causes of Dry Rot in Rubber. It occurs when time allows the stabilizing compounds in the rubber to rise to the surface. Time itself is an influencing factor. These causes then allows the rubber's molecular chain to break down as time progresses, causing it to become brittle. The breakdown allegedly begins to occur the moment the rubber is first molded into shape at the manufacturing plant.  Sunlight is probably the biggest cause of Dry Rot in rubber although most glass window panes actually block most of the UV light (which is why you can't get much of a tan sitting in front of your window in the middle of winter).
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Camera Gear rubber products
Refined rubber sap is latex. When rubber is cured for use in camera gear, it is heated with sulfur in a process called Vulcanization. This causes the polymer chains in the latex to link together in a network. This results in a product that can be flexed and even stretched but it is no longer sticky. When the environment causes rubber to become unstable, it will either dry out and crack (Dry Rot) or it will begin to revert back to its original state (Sticky!). The mesh of polymer particles starts to snap and the rubber reverts back to smaller chains... which is why the rubber starts to get sticky as it returns to its latex origins.
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Two Solutions: Replace Affected Part or Replace Product
The bad news here is that once rubber starts to destabilize, it will either become brittle (dry rot) or sticky (molecular dehesion). There's no way to reverse the process and using alcohol is more or less a temporary solution to the problem. It may work for long periods of time in some instances although you should check the rubber under magnification to ensure it's not splitting or crumbling anywhere at the same time. I'm afraid that only the manufacturer can replace the rubber. If they cannot or it's too old or expensive to replace, the only solution is to dispose of the lens and buy a different one.
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It's actually quite sad to deal with these things... because you can take good care of your products and still have this happen. And adding dry-satchels to dehydrate a container with your lens in it may stave off dreaded lens mold but it may contribute to dehydration and degradation of the rubber itself.

... your knowledge is admirable, thanks for sharing it here.

This may be informative

Rubber maker's blog on blooming

Cleaning it off with a bit of IPA ( isopropyl alcohol ) would have solved the problem permanently .

Spraying something on top of the decomposing rubber won't stop it decomposing further , just makes it harder to clean off at a later date .

... I’m pretty sure a solvent based spray paint is not good for rubber.

If you use isopropyl then wipe it down with water after.

If the rubber is naturally breaking down, I think nothing will reverse its deterioration.