Grundig R45

[Lina Drury]

Afew weeks ago, I reached out to Danny Garris, KJ4FH, for help on getting the sticky coating off of my Eton E5 radio. I noticed on eBay that he was selling Eton radios with the gunk cleaned off and I was wondering how he did it.

I used rubbing alcohol at first on my Eton E5 based on some back and forth emails I had with Danny and it did remove a ton of the gunk but I also ended up with places in the finish where the paint was removed, as he warned. Still, my concern was getting rid of the gunk more than appearances since my Eton E5 is a radio I use almost daily that I have no intention of selling. In fact, I am keeping an eye on eBay for a spare unit to purchase just in case because the E5(also Grundig G5) is an amazing radio.

Below are before and after pictures. The before pictures are from the eBay auction and the radio did in fact arrive that nasty but it does work perfectly! In fact, it is a fantastic performer for the size. I love the tuning knob and the tuning method alone makes it much easier and more fun to use than my Tecsun radios and my recently purchased Eton Traveller III. The G6 is a worthy companion for my Eton E5 and I am very pleased with this purchase.

The safest way to do this is NOT to use a 100 percent alcohol solution. The problem is the high content alcohol will dull the original shiny plastic finish making it appear like it was sandblasted or scoured. In some cases the alcohol will also remove the button labeling.

So a gentler approach is needed. We do this by reducing the alcohol content. We also use a microfiber cloth which prevents scratching the surface. The removal of the rubber goo may end up destroying the microfiber cloth but this is a small price to pay to restore the radio to an amazing like brand new appearance once the rubber coating is removed.

The best product that works to do this is called Symmetry Foaming Hand Cleaner. It contains 65 percent Ethyl Alcohol. It also contains a foam cleaner. The soapy foaming action significantly assists with removal of the rubber coating without scouring and damaging the surface.

Letting the wet cloth sit for a second or two before rubbing seems to help the alcohol foam cleaner penetrate into the rubber coating better making it easier to remove. Less scrubbing will be required.

This works or your money back. Lol Really I was ready to just trash my Grundig because of the sticky coating problems. Doing this will save your radio. Remember, underneath that gooey sticky rubber mess is a brand new radio. It WILL look like a brand new radio!

I had a small analog flat screen TV packed away cause TV had changed over to all digital.I got it out thinking I would use it connected to an HD digital box.It had all the sockets.But to my dismay,it too had the same rubberished finish all around the plastic case that had gone very sticky.I tried kerosene,thinners and washing detergent.Nothing worked untill I tried Metholated Spirits.This worked perfectly,I managed to wipe off all the sticky surface,almost desolveing all rubber.It took off some of the branding and words etc,but is fine now,I did connect it to HD and it works fine.A very clear picture & sound.So I found Meths did the job for me.Be carefull not to rub off the words etc.

I used a combination of Lift-Off and 91% isopropynol to ungunk my Grundig 300 Mini and Eton E-10. The E-10 was a harder deal to clean off due to, not only being bigger, but all the nooks and crannies to clean up on it. Either way, you are going to spend time of at least a couple of hours to clean them right.

Great comments! I have a grundig mini 300 that became so sticky I could pick it up and not even grasp it and it was as if it was glued to my hand with super glue! I tried hand sanitizer, vinegar, lemon juice and none worked! As a last resort I tried 91% rubbing alcohol on a clean rag then using another rag polished it! It looks brand new. Lettering looks great too!! ??

I went with the rubbing alcohol on the jetta ( whole bottle ) and it was nice for a bit but it just seemed to leak the sticky stuff over time in the hot florida sun!! Jetta is now gone and was replaced with a 2000 f150.

I would be reluctant to do vigorous rubbing. For sticky stuff I use olive oil and let it sit for an hour then rub it off, clean with dish washing liquid and water. To protect the plastic lightly apply armor-all.

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