Sticky Situation

[Pmerems]

Yes I mean sticky.

My Zulu or should I say my wife's Zulu headset gets very little flight time and mainly resides in a comfortable padded environment (case) on a shelf in the hanger. So it has been sheltered for most of its life. Recently we started noticing the battery back/controller was starting to get sticky/tacky.

I called Lightspeed support and it turns out they use a soft touch coating on the battery back/controller on the Zulu (original) headset. This type of coating deteriorates over time and gets annoyingly sticky (tacky).

$100 to "repair" according to the tech support with the same soft touch coated parts. I don't think the soft touch coating is worth it. The rest of the headset is in fine condition.

So if anyone from Lightspeed reads this post, bag the soft touch coatings. It made a great headset not so great anymore. I have a feeling my wife will not want to touch the sticky battery/controller or she will spend most of the flight trying to clean it with the thousands of sanitary germ fighting wipes she carries everywhere she goes.

FYI-The tech support person did not know if the newer generation Lightspeed headsets have the soft touch coating or not.

Have any others experienced this sticky situation?

[rleffler]

I did on my after being in the bag for a couple,years while I was building. Isopropyl alcohol cleans it up pretty easily. It does appear to be a routine that I have to do every couple of years with my 3GS.

[Darren Kerns]

Paul
I know exactly what you are talking about. My wife and I have Lightspeed 25XL Reconditioned headsets. Her hair gets stuck to the sticky top piece.

I finally got it all cleaned up using rubbing alcohol. With a little work I have finally got it where it is not sticky anymore. My wife hated wearing it but not she does not mind it.

Been wanting to get me a new Bose A20 but the price you pay for that headset sure would buy a lot of fuel!!

Take care and good luck
Darren and Traci Kerns
RV7 N599DT

[Snowflake]

I learned this years ago when I was designing consumer electronics. Marketing loves the soft-touch paint because it feels really, really nice when it's new. But a year or two later, it starts reverting to an adhesive, and makes everything a mess.

I've been meaning to experiment with some acetone or paint thinner to see if I could remove the soft-touch paint without destroying the plastic underneath, but I haven't managed to work up the courage to try it... I don't want to wreck my headset.

I have found the occasional soft-touch-painted toy that you can rub the paint off with your thumb, leaving the plastic underneath. Maybe that'll work here, but you'd have to wait until the stickiness is soft enough that you can work it off.

[N98AR]

Cannon cameras had the same stuff on the grips a couple years ago - they recalled them all - Apparently not only does it revert - its not good for you at all as it is absorbed through the skin

[SMO]

I removed the sticky stuff with lacquer thinner. Easy peasy!

[lr172]

Had the same problem. I just wiped it off with denatured alcohol and it cleaned right up. I don't really care that it is no longer soft touch, as I rarely touch it.

Larry

[MarkW]

A couple of years ago Lightspeed was changing these components for free at OSH. There was quite a line of people needing this service. I kinda giggled because mine were in great shape. I use the Halo headset so my Zulu's are a spare set. Pulled them out of the hanger the other day and they are very sticky. No longer giggling. Good to hear they can be cleaned up.

[F1Boss]

My call to Lightspeed Tech Support led to their fix: clean off the goo with Simple Green. They recommended the aircraft grade stuff, but I found the household type also works fine.

No more whining from the back seat!

Carry on!
Mark

[Brantel]

Both mine are now turning to goo! Not cool Lightspeed!