Really Odd Cab-2 Defect...

I did a google search with these words, "why does rubber go sticky"

and found quite a lot of info,  seems it is common.

Yes, this happened to mine as well. As mentioned above, it's more of a general occurrence with that type of material than a specific defect with the Lionel product. We had to replace the wire shelving in several of our closets that dated back to when our house was originally built (1989). Same thing, the rubbery coating had developed this tacky residue.

Anyway I Google'd "how to clean sticky rubber" and the most common answer was Windex. It took a little while, but eventually all the residue did come off with a wash cloth and generous amounts of Windex. My grips are now brand new again, but I do hope this isn't something that will happen every couple of years 

I have had that happen to a FIOS remote........ an it was not a hygiene issue.

This can be caused by plasticizer migration. The plasticizers in the base soften the rubber.

Lionel had an issue years ago with a flat car that had a construction vehicle with rubber wheels. They wheels were not compatible with the plastic of the flat car and would soften the plastic of the flat car. Lionel subsequently sent little cork strips with adhesive backing to be put onto the floor of the flat car where the wheels of the vehicle made contact.

quote:

Lionel had an issue years ago with a flat car that had a construction vehicle with rubber wheels.

Postwar Lionel Corp had a problem with the #65 hand car. The chemical used to keep the "rubber" figures piable attacked the plastic structure. It is very difficult to find an original handcar without at least some melting.
Mine melted where the base of figures were attached to the structure (very common)

Folks should be aware that many of the reproduction figures that are out there will also attack plastic. I had a set of repro figures on my modern era control tower. The figures attacked the rotating plastic cup on which they were mounted. I replaced them with genuine Lionel factory parts, and have no furthur damage.

I have also seen damage to gang car covers from reproduction figures.
I will no longer use them.

Well, the rubber and the plastic on the CAB2 are all Lionel, so this shouldn't be happening, right?

Over time, its turned out that some postwar Lionel Corp pieces had issues with mold release agent leeching out of the plastic. Foremost on my mind are the yellow 2023 UP shells and the plastic sideframes and couplers on scout freight trucks. The material presents itself as a white reside that looks like mold/mildew.

It will melt with the application of gentle heat from a hair dryer.

quote:

Well, the rubber and the plastic on the CAB2 are all Lionel, so this shouldn't be happening, right?  

The figures I prefer to use were manufactured while Lionel was still making trains in the USA. Whether they imported the figures, had them made in the USA, or made them in house is unknown to me. There are a few parts dealers that still have old stock parts, such as these figures.

Anything made of plastic has some component to keep it from getting brittle. They are referred to being plasticizers. Even if both products are from the same manufacturer plasticizer migration can occur producing damage.

 It was very prevalent in the early years with vinyl siding and windows. It was one of the reasons that some states banned them, Arizona and Florida being two that I know of.

It was not until the middle 90's that the formulations of those products were improved that they were accepted in some of the states that banned their use.

Well, Legacy hasn't been around that long, and you'd think that Lionel would have mastered the task of making compatible materials...

Does not matter. There can still be incompatibility between components. Plasticizier migration is a common occurence between plastics.

Go ahead, have the last word.

Glad to.

Most rubber products are synthetic and use some type of chemical known as plasticizers to keep them soft. Many times they will migrate into harder plastic products.

I must be on some kind of alert you have since it seems every time I post something you have to put your two cents in.

Did you use the one in the command base more than the one in the charger base?  If so, it's a reaction between the oils in your hands and the rubber. I've seen it happen on lots of things, even steering wheels of cars.  not everyone has the same body chemistry and can affect things different, like some who's fingers turn green due to metal in rings and watches.  Then there's my mom that can't wear a battery powered watch of any kind, she kills them.  Glad that Lionel replaced it for you.

Did you use the one in the command base more than the one in the charger base?

Yes, I did. However, I used it very sparingly over the course of 2+ years since I typically use my DCS Remote to operate my TMCC stuff and my sole Legacy engine.

Since I wouldn't think that the content of my finger oil hasn't changed over the past several years and the problem surfaced all at once, I'm not thinking that's the not cause of the problem.

I had this happen on one side of the remote only.  I am beginning to think it has to do with "environmental effects".  Possibly something to do with smoke fluid?  I had a small bottle of the old LHVS "Christmas Fir" that I had used on the Hogwarts set last Christmas.  The bottle was "hiding" behind some framed pictures on the stereo cabinet (could be worse, I could have said HiFi).  

We started smelling the pine scent if you were near the cabinet and had trouble tracking it down.  The bulb on the eye dropper had been softened by the lighter and more aromatic oils in the fluid and the scent was escaping.   The CAB-2 and base were on the floor just to the side of where the bottle of fluid was hiding.  I suspect that the vapors may have drifted down and affected the soft "grippy" plastic on the side of the remote nearest the stereo.  

Re use of Windex to clear this up are we talking about the blue ammonia based stuff or the green vinegar based stuff?

I used generous amounts of the regular blue household Windex sprayed on a coarse rag. It did take a solid 20 minutes of vigorous scrubbing, but every last bit of the residue did come up eventually leaving a nice smooth grip.

Thanks, Nick.  I'll give that a try.

I cleaned mine off with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, in a few minutes, it left a smooth plastic with no sticky stuff.  The "rubber" is actually a very thin layer of some kind of rubberized coating, it's not thick at all.

My other remotes are fine, this one was getting annoying, all fixed.