Ableton Forum

I have the Keith McMillen K-Board and slowly over the years the keys,buttons, and body have this sticky, gummy feel. Anyone experience this and how to get rid of it? I think other products are made of the same material, so, wondering if others are dealing with this issue.

yes, it's a problem common to pretty much all stuff that uses that shitty soft-touch plastic coating. it got so bad on my Push 2 that i was forced to remove all the coating with alcohol wipes...

fishmonkey wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:05 am

yes, it's a problem common to pretty much all stuff that uses that shitty soft-touch plastic coating. it got so bad on my Push 2 that i was forced to remove all the coating with alcohol wipes...

Thanks for the reply.
You mentioning the Push 2 led me to search deeper on the web. I found this site talking about the same thing.........
https://www.elektronauts.com/t/ableton- ... mess/85551

I might try the alcohol wipes and see if it works for me.

It’s a problem that some plastics suffer from because over time they react with the air or release as a gas some of whatever constituent chemical makes them not be sticky.

There’s a lot of suggested ways to deal with the problem, including trying to wipe it off with isopropanol alcohol. Though once a new layer of plastic is exposed the stickiness has a nasty habit of coming back again. Another answer to it that sometimes works is to paint the offending surface with thin superglue, which once set gives it a new hard outer layer. Obviously care has to be taken to make sure the glue doesn’t get into the works and that you don’t glue yourself to whatever it is you’re working on, and sometimes superglue seems to do nothing or make the problem even worse.

I really wish hardware manufacturers wouldn’t use the “rubbery” plastics that do this, it’s a real nuisance when it happens and leaves everything feeling horrible. Over the years I’ve thrown out a couple of MIDI controllers because their knobs got so nasty and sticky I couldn’t stand touching them. The “soft touch” knobs on my Microbrute are getting towards that point. I’ve a QNexus that’s OK so far, but to be honest I don’t use it much because its response tends to be all over the place and some chords are all but impossible to play on it because the “white” keys don’t extend to the rear of the “black” keys like they do on a conventional keyboard.

Welp I tried the alcohol and the wipes too. Did not help. So out of frustration, I took it apart and sprayed it with automotive black paint. It looks good and isnt sticky anymore!
I just have to figure out how to redo the font/text next to the buttons.

Success!

It just took 4 passes to fully clean it. I had purchased the Qunexus used and it was sticky (like covered in honey).
I used 70% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol. Since paper towels just fall apart, I used dried lysol wipes.
To get in between the pads, press the wipe with a fork.

fishmonkey wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 24, 2020 10:05 am

yes, it's a problem common to pretty much all stuff that uses that shitty soft-touch plastic coating. it got so bad on my Push 2 that i was forced to remove all the coating with alcohol wipes...

Ugh! I had the QueNexus do this and was hoping somehow it wouldn't affect the Push 2 here. Rubbing Alcohol does work but what a PITA.

I'm so glad the newer Qunexus are hard plastic instead of that material. I pulled my OG Qunexus out to use a few weeks back and it was a mess. Ran to Patchworks and got one of the newer ones asap instead.

FYI KM does sell three different case/kits for older Qunexus.
The obvious advantage of Tarektith for example getting the new model, is it does most MPE gestures, slide etc. So if you get worn out wiping off the rubber with rubbing alcohol and don't want to spend the money on a new version...

https://www.keithmcmillen.com/products/parts/

I wonder what Ableton's solution will be? They're pretty good warranty wise in my experience, got a second USB cable off them for free etc.

That's cool they sell just the case, pretty nice move on their part for those who don't want to buy a new unit. It also gives me hope that when/if they come out with a hard black plastic case I can easily swap out the tacky bright red they are using now. Man that thing is bright!

As already mentioned overhere, you can clean it using Isopropanol. Here a video how to do it:

https://youtu.be/FLRakQisHTU