Deteriorating binoculars

March 7, 2009 8:10 PM

About ten or twelve years ago I received a small pair of binoculars, Nikon’s Sprint II 9x21, as a gift. They were purchased from a reputable optical supply house in the States. The body of the binoculars is made of two kinds of synthetic materials, one green, not unlike plastic, and the other black, more like rubber. After a few years in storage (room temperature), the green portion has become mildly tacky to the touch. The other part of the body, however, is extremely sticky and stains anything black that comes into contact with it. Is there any way to stop what seems to be a deterioration process occurring here?
posted by thaivagabond to Technology (3 answers total)

Stopping the deterioration seems unlikely, but I'd have a chat with Nikon's support people. Who knows, maybe they'll just replace them?
posted by jon1270 at 4:13 AM on March 8, 2009

Deet-based bug spray does this or possibly sunscreen lotion.
posted by Muirwylde at 1:35 PM on March 8, 2009

Response by poster: Thank you both for the responses, especially for taking the trouble to find the Nikon link. I'll give both recommendations a try.
posted by thaivagabond at 5:16 PM on March 8, 2009