Sticky Plastics Bits

Good question.... I've wondered why they turn 'sticky'....

Mike

 

The plastic is fine, it is simply the rubber coating that is failing. The fix is to remove the rubber coating. Some attempt to replace it with PlastiDip or some other coating...or leave it plain, or apply paint.

Whatever the stuff is, it is not of particularly good quality. The rubber coating used by BMW is much more durable, and definitely does not turn to goo over the years. It can chip and scratch, but the pieces are cheap enough to simply replace when needed.

 

Protected cars are not effected so much, it's UV and heat I suppose.

Send a call out to "Stickey No More"!!!

 

There are a lot of cars it is not happening to. I always suspected some chemical interaction like Armor All or similar. I see 348's, 355's and 512's with perfect plastic so it is not just age.

 

http://www.stickynomore.com/
I have never used this service personally but I have seen the before and after shots of some of the work they do. I would give then a call or e-mail them and they will be able to answer you more specifically.

 

That could very well be the case.

Armorall is wierd stuff, and lots of professionals avoid it.

The owner of stickynomore is a poster here, and does a good job from pics I have seen.

 

Any we do you avoid getting the sticky stuff? Use a certain cleaner? Avoid a certain one?

--JK

 

I have use www.stickynomore.com (Robby) on my 355 he does great work and the turnover is fast to. He's also an F-chat member, definitely give him a call you wont be disappointed.

 

Use water.

 

Use 'nothing"..........LOL!

It's just dust.

Well, it's okay to use squirming female underpants, but that's ALL!

Brian is probably right, the cars effected were at one time or another "slimed" by a car dealer somewhere interested in making it all shiny!!! Or a well intentioned owner, but the outcome would be the same!

 

I, too, don't know what the cause is, but it is somewhat inconsistent. I have some parts on my 99 550 that are original to the car and are fine. Others have gone the sticky route. Strangest of all is a brand new window switch, in the original factory packaging, never installed, kept in a drawer, which is now turning sticky. Go figure.

 

I agree. Mine went sticky, and it is a 1993, and I've seen a fellow 348 owner who owns a 1991 but his is flawless. It could be a combination of a chemical interaction and exposure to sun....just my opinion though.

 

Hmmm! That kind of rules out the "UV exposure" and/or "bad" cleaners used, huh? Maybe it's "heat" related? Can plastic "sweat"?

Thanks for noting that - Back to the drawing board....

Cheers,
Ian

 

Lots of plastic on the Mondial t. All perfect except the steering column. That thing looks horrible and thank goodness I don't have to touch it.
Dave

 

Just did my 512 tr . It was a fun project, that took a little time. I used some reducer to scrub the black Sticky stuff off . Then i washed them with a Plastic soap that SEM . makes . Getting al the stuff off took some time . but well worth it . I then saned them with a Gray scuff pad to give some adhesion.
Used bulldog platisc adhesion prometer and SEM Trim black paint to paint all the pieaces.
everything look better than the factory and will last a really long time

 

oven cleaner, as recommended here many times works very easily (and fast).....

 

Yep. A lot of additives go into plastics (fillers, softeners, flame retardants, etc.) Unlike alloying elements in metals these are usually not "bound" within a structure, but can emanate from the base material. The haze on the inside of your windshield is sometimes caused by outgassing of those things. "New car smell" is a lot of that.

 

I'm thinking that the stickiness might be due to a chemical reaction between the coating and the type of plastic used as a substrate. This would explain why some parts get sticky and others don;t or at least do it at different rates. The plastic outgassing reacting with the rubberized coating. Several years ago the Schneider lens company experienced a similar unexpected chemical incompatibility between a cement used to bond lens elements together and a new optical glass formulation used in one its new lens designs. The cement had been used successfully for decades, and Schneider has been one of the top optical companies for something like 100+ years, so they have the experience and know-how. But with the particular combination of optical glasses it was bonding in this case, the lens would develop haze over time. Unlike Ferrari, it seems, Schneider stood behind the product and replaced my lens.

 

I redid some pieces on a freind's 512TR. I found lacquer thinner to work real well in reving the coating.

 

Mine was so bad if I touched a switch it would leave my fingers black and sticky. But as mentioned- EasyOff with a sponge or just your fingers (in latex of course) did the trick beautifully for me. Just don't use anything abrasive and the plastic underneath of the coating was perfect on my car. And take your time - don't let it touch more than teh sticky bits. I removed all my switches and cover plates and such- it was just easier that way.

Of course Robbie will do it better but if you need a project this is a good DIY.

 

I would never use Armor-All in any of my cars. (For one thing, it smells like vomit to me!)

I don't think that Armor-All is the only culprit here; the most likely scenario, I think, is that the chemicals applied to the plastic AT THE FACTORY don't hold up over time.

But Armor-All caused the plastic in the interior of my friend's Mercedes to become hazy and chalky, much the way vinyl siding does after a couple of years in the Colorado sun.

I would absolutely never use Armor-All in any of my cars, and I absolutely do NOT recommend it for Ferraris.

 

You would think Ferrari would have solved this problem by now. It has been this way for a long time. Imagine if they would change the process??? Or learn from the stickynomore.com guys.

 

Okay boys, who are we kidding here.

It's because Ferrari is CHEAP!

The factory doesn't care. I'll bet in a few years time you will start seeing posts for 360's, 430's, 612's, and the like complaining about sticky parts. Why? Because the factory is using the same piss-poor rubberized spray that they have always been using. What do they care if the parts get all gooey after they have sold it? Answer, they don't! Because if they did, they would have addressed the issue, and stopped using the same CHEAP coating. And by "cheap" I mean, the lowest cost stuff they could get their hands on, which in turn has the same quality as the price the factory bought it for ... CHEAP. "Oh........ you can't say that about a F-e-r-r-a-r-i". Well I did.

For what people pay for a brand new Ferrari, that car should be one of the most reliable vehicles on the planet. Paying for a car, what some people pay for a house, only to have things go bad just a few years later is ridiculous. The last 355 that was built was in 1999, and that was barely over 10 years ago. But how many 355 owners have you seen complaining about sticky parts. MANY! I have even started seeing 550's popping up with the same gooey part problem, and the 550 was made until 2001.

So like I was saying, Ferrari is cheap. They may be expensive to purchase, but their build quality is LOW CLASS!