Speaking of sticky, isn't there a sticky thread about this?

 

There might be gregs210, so shame on me for not looking for it!

 

Without a doubt...finger nails.

 

My 01 E got that similar problem but it was not that bad. The inside door handle got it, too. I used windex, yup, glass cleaner, wet a clean towel with it, gently rubbed but not too much to damage the marking/lettering. I think the important step was to use a dry clean towel to press on the sticky surface to lift it out. Here's my guess, only the gray/beige plastic got this problem, not the black.

 

The lettering is under the coating and can't be damaged, even when totally removing the coating with finger nail. The black suffers exactly the same.

 

Be careful with window cleaners!

I'd be extremely cautious of using window cleaners to clean anything except windows; many use ammonia or a synthetic ammonia as the active ingredient which will remove lettering, indicator marks, etc. You may get lucky a time or two, but why risk it?

The build-up is caused by the grease and oils released from our touch. Household cleaners like Fantastic, dilluted Simple Green, etc used on a terry cloth rag are made specifically to act on grease and grime. Gentle scrubbing won't damage the text, pictures or indicators on the pieces and will leave everything looking fresh and new again.

 

I'd be extremely cautious of using window cleaners to clean anything except windows; many use ammonia or a synthetic ammonia as the active ingredient which will remove lettering, indicator marks, etc. You may get lucky a time or two, but why risk it?

The build-up is caused by the grease and oils released from our touch. Household cleaners like Fantastic, dilluted Simple Green, etc used on a terry cloth rag are made specifically to act on grease and grime. Gentle scrubbing won't damage the text, pictures or indicators on the pieces and will leave everything looking fresh and new again.

Although there can be a build up etc...the problem is actually the break down of the coating. Does the same on the volume control of the Becker radios.

 

Yes, its a breakdown of the "film" on the buttons, Goo Gone is a good remover that will not damage the vinyl if used prrudently.. wipe with microfiber cloth..some fingernail scraping cam aid the process..

 

Before I "fixed" the sticky plastic, I thought of wearing gloves but thinking friends would laugh at me so I tried different ways to fix it, windex worked as I told earlier. Maybe I got lucky not to damage any surface. I have gray, beige, black interiors but only the black did not have the sticky problem. Je ne sais pas pourquoi.

 

Windex

After being floored by the cost of replacement buttons I asked the detail guy what he would recommend. He put some glass cleaner on a microfiber towel and wiped them off. Now there is a bleached out area on the buttons. Not too bad but noticeable and irritating. I don't know if the cleaner contained ammonia. Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

 

Sorry to hear about the bleached out area. Your buttons might have been more "stickily deeper" than mine. It's completely gone after I "gently" did it.

 

Thanks mbvis, yours look very good to me. I just noticed that I made a mis-statement. It is only the upper left (up arrow) button that looks bleached and it is still a little tacky. I also failed to mention what I did to it in the first place. I was using the Leatherique Prestine clean thinking it was harmless to vinyl. I must have been wrong about what these buttons are made of. They remind me more of a rubber compound of some sort.

p.s. You have a COMAND and VR too! These are pretty rare options to find on the W210.

 

The buttons are made of hard plastic. Once you scrape off the coating with your finger nail you are left with a nice clean smooth button and the markings remain intact.

 

Thank you renault12ts but won't the one button without the coating look like a mis-match compared to the others?

 

No, not unless the other buttons are dirty.

 

OK, thanks again. They are not, it's only the one I depress most frequently.

 

Use 50% Alch solution and rub them off carefully and not to remove the paint off.