Page 1 of 2
Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:31 pm
by lanman2
The soft touch surface at the side of my Push 2 got sticky and smeary (as is known from other devices in the past). The Ableton support told me to use some kind of cleaner, but that doesn't work really well.
I want to get rid of this smeary surface without damaging the metal. Maybe anybody has a solution for this?
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:35 pm
by miyaru
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2020 6:21 pm
by lanman2
Hi miyaru, thanks for this tip, really easy to clean the surface, but that's not my problem. My problem are the sides of the Push with their soft touch surface, a special coating to soften the grip or get a better feeling or make it look better. The problem comes after some years - and according to the Ableton support that's happening only to some of the Push.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:08 am
by shpongled
Just some Push's?
My Push 1 nearly unusable it's so sticky. Tried damp cloth but whereas it takes dust off the original now cleaner surface is horribly sticky.
I don't know why manufacturers use this stuff - it's not just Ableton gear - I have a Focusrite with sticky knobs ( - no one needs that...!)
I am not hopeful of a fix. A skin / cover up might be an option.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2020 10:38 am
by sbdejong
This issue is not Push specific, unfortunately many synthetic coatings have the same issue. For instance the coatings on the knobs of my Focusrite Scarlett and Skiing Helmet have it too.
I've used Isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth to clear all the muck from these surfaces. This works well, the underlying paint is not damaged at all. In order to properly clean the surface between the pads of my Push I removed the cover plate first.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:37 am
by lanman2
I started cleaning with the cleaning fluid the Ableton support suggested (AlmaWin Orangenöl Reiniger). That worked in some way, one has to go multiple times over the coating, but there are still some parts it didn't work. So I tried with Isoproyl alcohol, but maybe that's been too strong (>99,5%) - in the end, it cleaned all the muck, but started to erase also the typo (I could post an image, but don't know how).
I had to do this only on the four sides of the Push, the bottom is a bit sticky too, but that doesn't bother me. The top surface isn't affected.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:40 pm
by circuitslave
Mine has this issue as well. Tried all the recommendations here and on YT. THE ONLY SOLUTION IS THIS!
( Maybe perhaps regular ArmorAll— but that formula has been unfortunately reformulated—remember when it used to be more viscous and milky? Well this is more like the old version)
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:48 pm
by miyaru
Thanx for sharing! Will give the tireshine a try when the time comes to clean it. I always wash my hands before I touch my Push2 and other gear, and there is no smoking in my house - so it's not getting dirty quickly.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2021 3:17 pm
by Scoox
miyaru wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 6:48 pm
Thanx for sharing! Will give the tireshine a try when the time comes to clean it. I always wash my hands before I touch my Push2 and other gear, and there is no smoking in my house - so it's not getting dirty quickly.
and I'll bet that didn't work. The problem is not that the device is dirty, the problem is that the coating is made of a material that is known to consistently degrade after a few years no matter what. In other words, planned obsolescence. I just got Ableton 11 Suite + Push 2 at a good price but I'm selling my Push 2 without even opening the box because I don't want to deal with this down the line.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:32 am
by Chouks
Hello Everyone !
I found the solution to the problem.
If the surface on the side of the push 2 is sticky, you can use Alcool to get rid of the entire surface.
I just finished cleaning my push in less than 10 minutes with the product in the picture.
I let you decide if that's what you need but for me it works like a charm.
Cheers !
Chouks
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:59 am
by Scoox
Chouks wrote: ↑Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:32 am
Hello Everyone !
I found the solution to the problem.
If the surface on the side of the push 2 is sticky, you can use Alcool to get rid of the entire surface.
I just finished cleaning my push in less than 10 minutes with the product in the picture.
I let you decide if that's what you need but for me it works like a charm.
Cheers !
Chouks
Well, it's one possible solution, certainly the best solution would be for Ableton and all manufacturers to stop using this crap on their products. There are perfectly good plastics that look great with a matte uncoated finish and are very tough and hard-wearing. Rubber coatings are planned obsolescence. It looks bad, feels weird, attracts dust and oily fingerprints, is hard to clean and is guaranteed to degrade (the natural oils of our skin is enough to slowly damage it).
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:28 pm
by Vadre86
Another solution to have a very nice result is to sand the cover!
So take the Push apart, so you have only the cover to deal with.
Details you can find in this video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plAMk8nOXko (yess, my Push was as sticky and dirty as this one...)
Although I did use acetone to remove the rubbery coating, it took me some time (about 40 minutes). The result was not so good.
Some spots where more shiny... What I did then was to get my disc sander and sanded the hole cover with 180 grid sanding paper. The result now is fantastic. It has this matt finish and the buttons even pop out more... The most important part, I got rid of the sticky dust magnet
check out some pictures here...
So to summarize :
- open up the push (get a cheap small screwdriver set to help you out)
- rub off the rubber coating with acetone (nail polish remover). Make sure you have a good light, you will see the rubber coat degrading
- when you got off the most of the rubber, use 180 grid sandpaper. If you have a disc sander you won't see any stripes.
- rinse the cover and let it dry on a radiator or use a hairdryer.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:46 pm
by Scoox
Vadre86 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 4:28 pm
Another solution to have a very nice result is to sand the cover!
So take the Push apart, so you have only the cover to deal with.
Details you can find in this video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plAMk8nOXko (yess, my Push was as sticky and dirty as this one...)
Although I did use acetone to remove the rubbery coating, it took me some time (about 40 minutes). The result was not so good.
Some spots where more shiny... What I did then was to get my disc sander and sanded the hole cover with 180 grid sanding paper. The result now is fantastic. It has this matt finish and the buttons even pop out more... The most important part, I got rid of the sticky dust magnet
check out some pictures here...
So to summarize :
- open up the push (get a cheap small screwdriver set to help you out)
- rub off the rubber coating with acetone (nail polish remover). Make sure you have a good light, you will see the rubber coat degrading
- when you got off the most of the rubber, use 180 grid sandpaper. If you have a disc sander you won't see any stripes.
- rinse the cover and let it dry on a radiator or use a hairdryer.
I would not recommend using acetone as it dissolves plastic. Try instead something like isopropyl alcohol or white spirits. There may be other products I'm not aware of that are more suitable, definitely not acetone.
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 4:24 pm
by FBtC
I decided to take on the project of resurfacing/repainting the Push 1.
I used high % alcohol with a microfiber cloth to remove most of the TPE coating.
Then I used a couple different sanding methods to really finish the removal of the coating and to prep the plastic for the spray paint.
There was some trial and error, but after the paint was dry, I used a clear finish.
As another person posted above, this video is VERY useful!
https://youtu.be/plAMk8nOXko
I have to say, I like the result and no more sticky coating!
Check it out here:
https://youtu.be/3C9tqWM9ZMI
Re: Soft touch surface gets sticky
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2023 7:19 pm
by Tarekith
I like that paint job, well done!
