Cleaning the back of a Nikon F80

Hey,

 

I have a problem with the back of my Nikon F80. Some time ago I tried cleaning the camera with some warm water (it might have been kind of wet instead of the recommended damp cloth). The result was not very good (as you can see in the pics). I ended up with a sticky back..Which gets on everything (lenses, lenscaps,...). Is there a way to remove the dirt(?) from the back so it doesn't stick anymore?

 

Thanks in advance

 

I have used camp stove ethanol and strassel to clean either f80 or f65 surfaces, and sticky residue has not returned. Same ethanol is good to remove grease stains from filters when diluted to water in ratio 1 + 2.

It's a well known issue with older Nikons, it has nothing to do with your cleaning with water - cameras get wet outside, no big deal.

I have not found a solution (sic) that works :) , though I'll try ethanol as @hapien suggests.

Yeah that is a problem with Nikons from the 90's, both of my N90S bodies did that. I used isopropyl alcohol on them and it cleaned up nicely without damaging any of the structure. I think some F4S bodies also.

 

Rick H.

Thanks for the tips all. I will try some ethanol or isopropyl alcohol to see if I can clean it. Cheers!

If it's not the water then I use isopropil alcohol and do a lot of cleaning it removed the sticky

Clean it with whatever works. Then if it remains sticky, you may try spraying with hair spray - use the non-shiny kind - mine became too shiny to look Nikon afterward. ;)

Goo Gone -- Citrus Based gooie, sticky stuff remover.

 

I have an N80 and have owned several. They all have had this problem. Not just the back, but every surface that has that rubber-like material. I tried acetone and it didn't work. I tried 70% isopropyl alcohol and it didn't get the job done either. Finally I got the bright idea to use something absorbent. So I tried talcum powder. I lightly dusted my hands with the stuff, and then just thoroughly "handled" the camera. That did the trick. I treated my current N80 over a year ago with the talcum powder and the problem hasn't returned. If you don't have talcum powder, plain old all-purpose flour, lightly dusted on the hands, works well too.

So I tried talcum powder. I lightly dusted my hands with the stuff, and then just thoroughly "handled" the camera. That did the trick. I treated my current N80 over a year ago with the talcum powder and the problem hasn't returned. If you don't have talcum powder, plain old all-purpose flour, lightly dusted on the hands, works well too.

 

Yargh. Thing is, I've seen this report, and the idea of letting talc near a camera panics me. I have enough trouble in a house full of cat hair. I'm sure it'll remove the sticky, I'd just be terrified of where else it was getting. I hope you were lucky!

For a mild case of this problem with an F100, letting the camera sit on an open shelf for a few days/weeks and wiping the back with some keyboard cleaning gel:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cleaner-Keyboards-Mobile-Phones-Computers/dp/B00C6LS64I

 

was pretty effective. I previously tried some Zeiss wipes, which I think are soaked in ethanol/isoprop, without much success, though they did restore the grip on a D300 that had turned grey. My old D70 has a much worse case of this syndrome, which has yet to be fixed.

Yargh. Thing is, I've seen this report, and the idea of letting talc near a camera panics me. I have enough trouble in a house full of cat hair. I'm sure it'll remove the sticky, I'd just be terrified of where else it was getting. I hope you were lucky!

 

I'm aware of the color bomb problem and wouldn't let any of my gear near such an event.

 

I have had no problem with contamination. The key to the way I do it is the "lightly dusted" part. I had a very fine residue on my hands when I "handled" the N80s with lightly dusted hands. There was no dust in the air to contaminate anything.

I'm aware of the color bomb problem and wouldn't let any of my gear near such an event.

 

I have had no problem with contamination. The key to the way I do it is the "lightly dusted" part. I had a very fine residue on my hands when I "handled" the N80s with lightly dusted hands. There was no dust in the air to contaminate anything.

 

Phew. In that case, all good, and I'm glad it worked!

 

On that note, and topically, I once made the mistake of putting some Christmas presents inside a camera bag for transport. There was glitter on the wrapping paper. Two years and several attacks with a damp cloth, vacuum cleaner, sticky tape and everything else I can think of later, I still find glitter on my lenses sometimes. Fortunately only on the outside, as far as I know.

 

Constant vigilance against the holiday season and all things sparkly! (Bah humbug.)

In a previous life, I was a camera dealer. I went to all the shows in SoCal and occasional large shows out of town. When I was just starting out in the business, I got the bright idea of storing my lenses in socks, instead of wrapping them with bubble wrap before putting them away in boxes and cases. I was using these big beefy white athletic socks. I discovered after my first usage of socks for my lenses that I had contaminated every one of them. They were full of -- I dunno, lint dust, I suppose. At that time, I was also taking a camera repair class at a local community college. I had a fair amount of lens work to do in that class for the next couple of weeks. A situation I'll not soon forget. Never forget.