It looks as though that might not be a good idea 

On 03/11/2022 18:51, FenDrifter via groups.io wrote:

Wouldn't that also remove the coating Michael?

If you rub the sticky surface with meths  hard and long enough, probably!
M

With Goo Gone, Citra Solve and the like be carefully. They can dissolve some plastics and soften others. I stick (pun not intended) with alcohol since it is less likely to mess things up. 

There seems to be a lot of advice from "Karen on Facebook". I gave my method that works, that did not involve potentially involve disolving your radio. Use baby wipes or wet wipes or whatever they call them in your country.  The display is covered by a type of plastic that is very easy to dissolve with chemical solvents.
Use the products suggested on here at your peril!

I had an Eton E1 a few years ago that was a mess. I used isopropyl alcohol on it and it cleaned the goo up pretty well. BUT -- in one area where I applied it a little too heavily, it bleached the gray plastic to white. Be careful with alcohol.

--
Bill, WE7W near Rochester, NY
https://radio-timetraveller.blogspot.com

So what seems to be coming out of this is that the advice being given by Etón is wrong?

For what it's worth I've just tried isopro and another cleaning liquid called Flash (not together) and neither of them worked.
Drifter

Hi Jay
You've left me slightly confused. Are you saying that you are removing the original coating of non-slip substance (whatever that is) completely? I was under the impression that the intention was purely to get rid of the stickiness?
Drifter

It would appear then that the information given by Etón is misleading to say the least, as it gives the impression that a light wipe over will remove the stickiness for good. Nowhere do they say that the complete coating must be removed to leave bare plastic! I'm glad that I've got an as new G3 without any hint of stickiness, for now at least.
Drifter

I have no patience. Goo Gone and single edge razor blades. Did this to a Grundig G8 World Traveler II also.  Both work fine. No more sticky.

I got some of the Purple Power solvent
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HU0R4K?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

and a small can of this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003753F34?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I tried the Purple power  on the top and one side last night. It works well. I sprayed some on the top of the E1, spread it with a finger, let it sit for about 30 seconds and could wipe the gunk off pretty easily. Some areas I had to spray some more and wipe again. The only concern is that after cleaning the plastic is slightly darker in small areas. I will work on it some more later today to see if I can even it out. It is not bad, but in the right light I can see it. BTW, contrary to what is stated in the linked article in the OP, the Purple Power does seem to completely remove the sticky coating. It turns the coating into a gel that is wiped off fairly easily. I think I will try the OFF/MaxPro  product on the bottom and compare the results. More to come...
Does anyone have any ideas about cleaning the speaker grill? I am concerned about the softened goo getting into the perforations and being a super pain to remove. I also don't want to spray too much and let it drip on the speaker.

Phil P.

Fen,

I think you can't get rid of the stickiness without removing the coating. Using the Purple power appears to remove the coating down to the base plastic.
BTW, I played with it some more. The Purple Power definitely work better than the MaxPro OFF product. I tried that on the bottom. After three attempts it was still a sticky mess.
One time with the Purple power and all stickiness was gone. 
There is some streakiness, but I found that hitting it with a clean cloth moistened with Purple Power and immediately a dry clean cloth eliminates this.

I think, when it is finished, I will wipe it with a vinyl/plastic conditioner that I use on plastics in my car.
Will post a  progress report when I finish.

Phil P.

On Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 03:43 PM, Paul Blundell wrote:

I don't normally keep a radio long enough for this to be a problem...

 

I think, thankfully, this type of coating is not used on newer radios. It took the manufacturers too long, but they figured it out., Unfortunately, unlike your situation where you replace radios frequently, some of these classics like the E1 cannot be replaced. So dealing with the problem is important to those that have them.
I have avoided using my E1 for a long time sue to the sticky mess that it has become. Which is a shame because it is a good radio in many respects. Cleaning it will get it back into my lineup.

I feel like at this point I am just talking to myself, but I was soo glad that this thread finally got me off of my ass to clean up my E1 that I had to share my follow-up.
I finished the cleaning the gunk off of the radio. I had it on a shelf with a bunch of my other radios. I periodically dust the collection.  The E1 got so bad that the microfiber cloth would just stick to it, not allowing any removal of the dust. Over a few years the thing just looked and felt like it was a sticky, blotchy, dust bunny. I actually cringed when having to move it to dust around it. 

Well it is fully cleaned now. It looks and feels great.  I gave up on the MaxPro "OFF" product. I just used the Purple Power (US) product. It was not too bad. Maybe took an hour and a half. I had to treat some areas a few times, but eventually everything came clean. I even managed to get the speaker grill done without issue. I finished by putting a coat of Aerospace 303 vinyl and plastic conditioner and protector  on it and buffing well with a fine microfiber cloth. 
It looks great. Maybe a downside to the "303" is that it does leave the surface quite slick.
Now to tackle a couple of other Eton/Grundig radios of the same era as the E1.

Anyway, @FenDrifter, thanks for posting on this. It finally got me motivated to do something I should have done years ago.