Rubber hand grip

[william_y]

<p>Nikon (as well as other camera manufacturers) have used some kind of rubber material to cover the hand grip area of their slr's. Great idea, but with just moderate use of the camera this material often becomes discolored and/or deteriorates. This condition is often described as "sticky surface". </p>

<p>Any idea how to keep this rubbery hand grip covering from becoming susceptible to such problems and/or how to rejuvenate it? Worst case, does Nikon sell the appropriate part(s) to replace this part of the camera? I have a few Nikon cameras that I really like, but I hate the discoloration and stickiness, so I leave them in the closet and use another camera that is not built with this material.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>I haven't had the "stickies" myself, but a Google® for "sticky camera grip" reveals that it is a common problem on many different marques, as you point out. I Googled it myself because I had a dim memory of somebody or other having a recall for this. It may be there, but as you probably found out earlier, it's buried deeply if it is.</p>

<p>There are some products at auto supply stores that claim to address this problem in automobile dashboards. Years ago, I found they didn't make a permanent fix, but sort of helped temporarily in the car situation.</p>

<p>Back in the 70s and 80s there was an earlier episode of Japanese "plastic rot" that affected everything from camera cases to car seats. Looks like another difficulty has re-emerged.</p>

<p>Have you tried contact Nikon directly? Years ago, the US importer did nothing for me, but when I wrote to the president of the company in Japan, they replaced my Nikon FB-8 case that had rotted away. (I have to say that after a while, the new one also deteriorated - now covered in duct [duck?] tape)</p>

<p>On the other hand, the inability to get an answer from Nikon anywhere in 2004 is why I shoot Canon digital cameras today. :(</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>First: make sure you don't use DEET on your hands before holding such materials: you'll get the stickies pretty quick. But exposure to other substances can also break down the rubber. Nikon does sell the replacements grip parts. They're not particularly expensive, and easy to replace. My old D200 felt like a new camera after I replaced those. My D300's grips have never needed - after much more use.</p>

[Matthew Brennan]

<p>I have used a D700 since it's first release, often shooting with dusty hands, damp hands, in dusty / dirty air etc and also have found the rubber contact areas to become 'sticky' and dirty.</p>

<p>However, I have found that using a clean rag or sponge dampened with tap water cleans most of the dirt off. I then use <strong>Armour All</strong> or a similar automotive polymer protectant - applied via a clean scrap of rag to the rubber areas really does keep the rubber parts very clean and smooth and free of the 'sticky' issue for a considerable time.</p>

[Mattman944]

<p>I had a Canon film camera from the 90s that was really nasty. Since it was on a removable piece (hand grip where the battery is contained), I removed it and scrubbed the heck out of it with soap and water. That removed most of the stickiness.</p>

[marklcooper]

<p>I've not needed to do anything with the rubber on my D300. For those that use Armour ALL, back in my sports car days Armour ALL eventually gave the black rubber/plastic a hazy whitish look. Son of a Gun appeared to work better.</p>

<p>JDM - Duck Brand Tape is made in NE Ohio, my old stomping grounds. Now that I live in SE Ohio, I find the silver color tape is known as Perry County Chrome.</p>

[xavier farre]

<p>I bought the camera rubber parts and some lenses rubber zoom ring on e bay and changed it myself, it was a D700 and some nikon lenses. It was very easy. The e bay store was called something like japan camera parts or something close.</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Maybe <a href="http://www.uscamera.com/index.htm">www.uscamera.com</a>?<br>

Another link to have is <a href="http://www.bocaphoto.com/products/new/nikon/nikonparts.htm">www.bocaphoto.com</a></p>

[william_y]

<p>Hey guys, I found an online vendor who sells a new handgrip for at least some Nikon models. </p>

<p>https://02eaeb8.netsolstores.com/ </p>

<p>The cost for the grip on an N50 was $20 plus $8 shipping. Pretty pricey, but I love my N50 (all except for the sticky handgrip which I hate) so I decided it's worth it.</p>

<p>Before ordering the new hand grip I made sure I could easily remove the old one. There are 3 very small screws that you need to remove to do this. Just get yourself a set of HIGH QUALITY mini-screwdrivers, and you'll have no problems at all. Piece of cake!</p>

<p>Note: the cheap sets of mini-screwdrivers are not worth taking home from the store with you. They will strip out your screw heads and make it impossible to ever get the screws out. Spend about $2 more and get a set of Stanley's or some other brand made in America. The Chinese make some truly great, high quality products at low prices. Tools not so much.</p>

[william_y]

<p>The vendor mentioned above no longer stocks this hand grip part. That's the bad news.</p>

<p>The good news is I found a do-it-yourself resolution to this problem........... Remove the hand grip from the camera. On the N50 there are 3 very small screws to be removed (don't loose them). Go to the grocery store and buy a box of SOS pads, commonly used for scouring pots and pans. Warning: the following will remove the finish from the grip. Under very warm running water, scrub the exterior of the hand grip thoroughly for several minutes. This will probably leave some visible, fine scratches in the surface of the grip, and the finish will be removed. Let the grip dry. Get a good quality black spray paint and put a couple of coats on the grip. Do not over spray or the paint will run. This will result in a nicely finished grip you can reinstall on your camera. The finish may not exactly match the rest of the camera, but it will still look very nice and your sticky grip problem will be gone.</p>