i1profiler device becoming sticky to the touch

[Charles Cramer]

My i1profiler suddenly became sticky a few weeks ago!   I contacted Xrite and they said to wipe it with alcohol.  That didn't help, and may have made it worse.  I tried some plastic remover (to remove residue from price tags that leave a gummy residue).  That didn't help.  I searched the web and found a thread here in 2017 that asked the same question, but didn't provide answers.  I broadened my search for any plastic, and found where someone suggested using baking soda.  Take a tiny bit of water and add baking soda to make a paste.  And then leave it on for 10 minutes or so.  Since touching my Profiler was disgusting,  I tried it.  What a mess!  It was helpful to use an old toothbrush to both scrub it in and then remove it with paper towels.   It actually started dissolving the sticky coating (the painted logos and such were not affected). 

I continued scrubbing and applying paste until I got that coating off, at least from the areas where one holds it.  After drying, my i1 Profiler is now a delight to touch, not sticky at all.  It would appear Xrite adds this coating to make the device easier to hold.  I'm going to write them to suggest they leave this coating off.

[Jeff-Grant]

I think that I started that thread, or one like it a few years ago. The answer was to use what is called methylated spirits in Australia or denatured alcohol. It took a bit of rubbing with a rag and the liquid but it did work in the end. From memory, that was an i1Pro. I haven’t seen it happen on my i1Pro2 but it may only be a matter of time.

[Charles Cramer]

Jeff,

Thanks for your reply.  Xrite just said alcohol, and I did use  isopropyl, which didn't work.

The baking soda did work, but what a mess!  The denatured alcohol sounds like it would have been much easier!!     

THANKS,

Charlie

[Jeff-Grant]

I don’t even want to think about using baking soda! From memory, you end up with a hard plastic once you remove the sticky stuff. It’s certainly not fun to do.

[elliot_n]

I've had the sticky-rubber problem on various bits of photo kit (the barrels of Mamiya 645AF lenses, the knobs of a Nodal Ninja 5, the body of an old Nikon F70). Also a Wahl beard trimmer I wish manufacturers wouldn't use these rubberised compounds on their plastic components.

In all cases, I've successfully removed the sticky mess with alcohol. I worked with what I had to hand - Eclipse sensor cleaning fluid, Pec pads, a toothbrush, and Zeiss lens wipes. It's a dirty, time-consuming job. Eventually, you end up with a clean, hard, shiny plastic surface - a different finish from the original grippy rubber, but usable.

[Alan Goldhammer]

I've had the sticky-rubber problem on various bits of photo kit (the barrels of Mamiya 645AF lenses, the knobs of a Nodal Ninja 5, the body of an old Nikon F70). Also a Wahl beard trimmer I wish manufacturers wouldn't use these rubberised compounds on their plastic components.

In all cases, I've successfully removed the sticky mess with alcohol. I worked with what I had to hand - Eclipse sensor cleaning fluid, Pec pads, a toothbrush, and Zeiss lens wipes. It's a dirty, time-consuming job. Eventually, you end up with a clean, hard, shiny plastic surface - a different finish from the original grippy rubber, but usable.

I have the same problem with my trimmer and have just lived with it.  I completely agree that manufacturers should more carefully consider the manufacturing materials.

[digitaldog]

My i1profiler suddenly became sticky a few weeks ago!

Specifically what piece are you talking about?

[Charles Cramer]

Andrew,

The whole unit, except for the brighter metal parts.  Anything made of black plastic became sticky.  It was really weird, but if you read the thread from 18 months ago, you'll see others report the same problem.  Must have something to do with the age of the unit.

[vjbelle]

Mine is also sticky.  Not even 3 years old...... very disappointing.  The parts affected are black and originally had the feel of rubber.  I'll try the alcohol remedy. 

Victor

Edit:  To be clear this is for my relatively new i1 Display.  The black movable frame which is black is completely sticky.  Isopropyl alcohol only made it worse.  Windex helps some.

[aaronchan]

I just cleaned mine today.
Actually the alcohol melted the rubber which became sticky after years.
And what left is the hard pvc
Anyway, good to know and now i can start to use my old board again

aaron

[Ethan Hansen]

We have more than a few i1Displays of varying ages. All units older than a couple of years have the sticky surface, including ones that have sat in unused the factory box aside from several hours in equipment evaluations. The degree to which the rubberized covering degrades appears to worsen with age. Older units are disgusting to hold; sticky black glop remains on your fingers after picking up the i1.

I used methanol and Kimwipes combined with elbow grease to clean the i1D's floating my office space. Lab grade methanol is what we use for cleaning instrumentation and calibration tiles - I haven't tried other alcohol flavors with the i1. Once you start scrubbing, make sure you keep cleaning until no rubberized coating remains on the plastic U-mount for the measurement head. If you only go until the stickiness abates, any remaining coating quickly degrades over the next months, becoming worse than when you started. Also, be careful of the ambient measurement filter. Dislodged black goo particles stick to it with a vengeance. Cleaning the diffuser to the point that measurements are no longer affected is a PITA!

Note to X-Rite: Please revisit the coatings used on the i1Display. Yes, the rubberized surface initially feels better in hand than plain ABS ... at first. Give it time, and the i1Display turns into a marketing tool for Datacolor.

[Frans Waterlander]

I discovered that this rubbery coating is also applied to books! You know, some books have this rubbery, satiny feel and are very matte in appearance. Today I got my Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 Classroom in a Book book and it had the rubbery feel and matte finish. The bookseller had put his own sticker on it. When I removed that sticker it left a sticky glue layer, so I took denatured alcohol and wiped the sticky glue layer off. Surprise, surprise, the area that I wiped became shiny. I then wiped the hole front and back cover with denatured alcohol and now I have a nicely shiny, good looking book.

So, they add another step in the manufacturing process, using what I expect are environmentally unfriendly materials, increasing the cost of the product and giving the book and unnatural look and feel. What a waste of resources and totally unnecessary, except maybe in the eyes of some sick marketing dudes/dudettes. I'll protest this rubber-skin approach every time I encounter this in a bookstore or online. I have some other books with this ridiculous "feature" and wonder what they will look and feel like in a couple of years.

I can understand the idea behind applying this kind of skin on cameras and other equipment to improve the grip, although it looks like it's backfiring after a couple of years. On a book, it's totally non-functional and unnecessary.

[PhilipCummins]

My i1profiler suddenly became sticky a few weeks ago!

It sounds like you have the i1Pro 2 that has the soft-touch rubber coating applied to it. Unfortunately a lot the coatings are are not designed for longevity as the rubber compounds degrade almost inevitably over time - for example my i1Pro 1 scanning board black plastic clip has the same coating and has completely degraded. If it's not -too- bad you can use something like pure Talcum powder to absorb into the coating to keep it less sticky, eventually it seems best to simply remove it altogether as you say with Isopropanol or baking soda. Second writing to manufacturers to stop using it where possible. It may be worth ramming it home by insisting on a replacement part to refurbish your i1Pro 2?

[jmlphotography]

So glad to see this thread! Now I can stop beating my wife; I was sure it was something she did .  Seriously, it's hard to believe that a company as established as Xrite would continue to sell a product with such a defect.

[muyisoldier54]

This is because the coating on the ABS surface is oxidized, you need to repaint the surface cover. And we can always do it, just as you can see the attchemnt. The same looking, the same touching feel, even much more better and durable...

[Fotophil]

I used my i!Pro-2 (purchased back in 2012) around the start of the New Year with no problems. I just took the unit out of case and the entire black surface has become very sticky just as described by others. It appears to be some type of rubber coating degradation associated with age because the unit has been in my office with no temperature extremes or other hostile environments. Amazon came to my rescue and delivered a 8 oz bottle of 95% denatured ethyl alcohol (ACS Reagent Grade 95% Denatured Ethyl Alcohol, 8 Ounce) for around $15. I also ordered cleaning pads (Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Extra Durable Cleaning Pads) and copper wool pads (Chore Boy Copper Scouring Pads) for another $18. The cleaning process is a mess and 95% alcohol can absorb into your hands so be sure to wear gloves. After an hour and several beers I was remove the sticky stuff. In order to prevent any liquid water damage to the instrument be sure to use water-free 95% alcohol and not the household grade 70% alcohol.

Be sure to send your thanks to X-rite for the fun cleaning project.

[Doug Gray]

Same problem here with a 5 y/o I1Pro2.

Cleaned it with 95% Ethanol which is sold as Everclear 190 proof and is reasonably pure. About $20 per 750ml at a liquor store. Not all states sell it. Some are limited to 150 proof. Got my bottles in Arizona.

[GWGill]

My i1profiler suddenly became sticky a few weeks ago!   I contacted Xrite and they said to wipe it with alcohol.  That didn't help, and may have made it worse. 

Yep - rubberised finishes inevitably end up taking in water vapour, and going sticky.

I took my instruments completely apart (i1Display, i1Pro2), and soaking the coated parts in Methylated Spirits for a while (AKA Denatured alcohol), until the rubber wrinkled up, and wiped it off and then completely cleaned the plastic surfaces.

Of course, taking the instruments apart enough to do this is something of an exercise (removing and replacing the transparent sticker that covers the zebra stripe being the most awkward). You can of course attempt to do this cleaning without complete disassembly, but it becomes tricky to prevent the dissolved gunk going into places it shouldn't.

Overall, an incredibly poor decision by X-Rite to use such finishes. I guess they weren't aware of the problem at the time, even though it was a known issue with this type of finish.

(I wonder if there are alternatives that have better long term behaviour, perhaps based on silicone rubber. Probably needs a slower production process though, making it more expensive.)

[geneo]

Hmm, looks like maybe I should be proactive on my i1display pro (EODIS3). The coated arm can be easily detached and slid down the cord away from the sensor.

Don't know if the diffuser can be popped out without damage or not. Anyone tried popping it out and putting it back in?

[Doug Gray]

XRite's mentioned that the I1Pro3 doesn't have the sticky rubber problem.

In the meantime my I1Pro2 was starting to get sticky again and about 5 minutes of wiping it with 95% ethanol has removed the sticky. Probably have to do it again in a year since I just remove the surface sticky part and not the whole rubberized coating.