Tripods

[vk4bcp]

G'Day all. just one question this time. One of my tripods have become very sticky on the pan & tilt handle, as well as other knobs. Does anyone know what I can use to get rid of the sticky surface. If I touch any of the sticky surfaces, my fingers and hands become sticky. I have tried water, metho to remove the stckyness, but with no success. Regards. Col.

[old dog]

maybe eucalyptus oil? Certainly works well getting those horrible price sticky remains off.

[ricktas]

Do you mean sticky as in...not lubricated well and will not move freely, or do you mean sticky as in lolly residue sticky?

One needs oil to free it up and the other needs a solvent to clean it up!

OOPS..read your post again. If it is sticky, why? It would only become sticky if some substance was put on it to do so, what has it been in contact with? You will most likely need a solvent, but one that will not damage the material the handle is made of, that works on whatever it is that your handle has been in contact with. Note that metho may be contra-indicated for the handle material and you may just make it worse. Metho is an alcohol based cleaner and some rubber etc does not like it. It could have become sticky in the first place due to use of some sort of cleaning agent that has reacted with the material of the handle etc, thus it may be impossible to fix without replacing the handle/tripod head.

my guess is that they are sticky cause of somewhere you have placed/stored your tripod or cause you have handled them whilst having something to eat that was sticky and you have transferred that to the tripod.

[vk4bcp]

Sticky as in lolly residue. the handle and knobs have only been in contact with my hands. I don't eat sweets, as being a diabetic. It is made a a hard rubbery material. It feels the same as the steering wheel on my bus. It is also sticky.

[nhoj]

Sometimes insect repellant (aerogard) reacts with some types of rubbers.