I have a MIDI controller keyboard that I have cleaned in the past with disinfectant alcohol wipes, which I know is a bad idea because it degrades the rubber over time.

Well, the rubber on the pitch bend and modulation wheels has indeed degraded, and the surfaces texture is awful, uneven and sticky now. My fault... I know.

So does anyone know of any way to fix, or even improve, this kind of nasty rubber surface degradation once it occurs? Sanding? Applying oils? Is there any way I can even slightly restore these controls back to their original soft-touch rubbery glory?

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[–] 4 points 6 hours ago

The explanation I’ve seen before is these are usually a soft-touch plastic and they’re made “soft-touch” by adding oils to the plastic, but they leach out over time putting a sticky layer on the now-harder plastic. The rubbing alcohol can help clean away the oil and stickiness but the plastic won’t be soft anymore.

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