Cleaning Question

[securespark]

I am cleaning son number one's car with him.
The interior front door handles have what looks like filthy, sticky gunk stuck to them. I used G101 and tar remover and, with a bit of elbow grease, it cleaned off, leaving a dirty mark on the microfibre cloth and a clean, smooth surface underneath.
Then number one son pointed out that maybe the ''sticky gunk'' was actually the top surface layer of plastic on the door handle and I had rubbed it off!
I must admit he may have a point. I mean, the gunk was so sticky and appeared to be adhered to the surface of the handles, I thought it was just years of handling with dirty hands. But now I'm thinking again.
The pictures are below. What do you think?

 

[flameport]

It's what's left of the rubberised coating on the handles. Originally put there as a 'soft touch' coating in an attempt to give it a better quality feel.
Used on many plastics, not just in cars.

It deteriorates over the years and becomes a sticky mess. There is no repair.
The only options for improvement are clean it all off, or buy new handles.
Consider yourself lucky that it can be cleaned off so easily - it can be next to impossible to remove.

 

[Burnerman]

Bang on correct and so common on taxis!
John

 

[securespark]

Well, it wasn't that easy! But not mega difficult, either. Maybe I shall look for some replacements.

 

[EddieM]

Well, it wasn't that easy! But not mega difficult, either. Maybe I shall look for some replacements.

You can get a plasticote spray type thingy for this, but I've no idea how good it is, sounds a bit unlikely to work well IMHO.

 

[motorbiking]

Cheap furniture polish should hide the damage.

 

[mattylad]

Wind the window ight down and get in between the rubbers with some mould cleaning stuff (vinegar & bicarb) and give that green muck a good wipout...

 

[securespark]

Yeah, planning a deep clean all over. The roof gutters have got moss growing out of them....
And the door shut at the top of the tailgate was covered in years of algae. I'm not sure these areas of the car have been cleaned since the car was delivered.

The inside of the rear window got cleaned with several passes of Dodo Menthol then some of vinegar, followed by a polish with scrunched up newspaper. It was absolutely filthy!