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Sticky Situation

Pmerems

Well Known Member
Advertiser
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?
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
Lightspeed Sticky

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
 
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
 
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.
 
Piece o cake!

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
 
Yes, the denatured alchohol does the job, but

it takes some scrubbing! Only negative I have with my series of Lightspeeds!

Ron
 
So a few days after posting the post above, I got a call from a nice person at Lightspeed.

This lady took the time to find my phone number somehow and to contact me and offer to repair my 7.5 year old headsets free of charge including return shipping.

Just got them back today and they look great. The entire control box and all the cables were replaced!

Amazing customer service!
 
Lightspeed headset goo

I also had the exact same problem. Mine were at least 3 or 4 years old. I called and they ask me to send them in. Set was repaired and no charge.
 
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.

Mine got sticky in a year or two. I removed the coating with lacquer thinner I believe. Might start with mineral spirits and move to more agressive solvents. Sorry, but just can't remember what I used, but it came off without much trouble and there is shiny plastic underneath it. Once done, it looked great. It's possible that I used denatured alcohol and probably would have started with that as I know it won't hurt plastic.

Larry
 
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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

Straight SG can be corrosive to aluminum, which would make me leery of using it around electronics, too. The 'Pro HD' stuff available at big box stores is supposed to be safe for aluminum, like the aviation stuff. Not saying it's safe for electronics, but it might improve the odds...
 
I also had the exact same problem. Mine were at least 3 or 4 years old. I called and they ask me to send them in. Set was repaired and no charge.

I just called and they told me $100. They wanted my CC before I sent them in so I paid upfront.

~Marc
 
Same goo here, plus a cable sheath splitting with age and really cheap leather finishing which sheds little black bits everywhere.

I've bought three Lightspeeds as new models were introduced, but this good customer is all but gone.
 
goo

I have 2 Zulu 2's One with goo one without. I was told the same think at SnF.
100 bucks to fix. This is a bad PR move, Especially since so many pilots view this website.
So Lightspeed, if your monitoring these posts, do the right thing and fix these headsets.

Matt 804-271-6515
 
Same goo here, plus a cable sheath splitting with age and really cheap leather finishing which sheds little black bits everywhere.

I've bought three Lightspeeds as new models were introduced, but this good customer is all but gone.

Similar experience here. The last repair cost me $100 to fix my Zulu originals...cheaper than a new set I figured. These have been repaired 3 times since new. All under warranty except the last one.

When buying another set last year I tried the Bose first. Terrible noise cancelling in my noisy 4. I went right back to ACS and exchanged them for the Zulu 3. Much better ANR. Still too new to say about the durability but so far so good. If these start giving problems it will be my last set of Lightspeeds.

Al
 
Are they still putting the "same soft touch turn to sticky" battery boxes on them. Surely not.

I too have had this problem and the biodegradable ear cups Dan mentioned.
 
Are they still putting the "same soft touch turn to sticky" battery boxes on them. Surely not.
Yes.

My father's "new" Zulu 3 (well, sort of new, he's had it for a while now) has soft-touch paint. Marketing departments like soft-touch paint.
 
Brute force solution

Same thing happened to my Pilot USA Bluelink gadget. Scrubbing with simple green did no good. I ended up just wrapping it in black electrical tape. Gives it a nice sheen. :)

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).
 
I have been a big fan of Lightspeed headsets. My first pair was the 20XL. I took advantage of the trade-up program they had and traded up to the first generation Zulu when they came out. It was a very pleasant experience and customer service was top notch. When I finished my RV-10, I needed three more headsets so I went ahead and ordered a new Zulu 2 and two Sierras for the rear passengers. All four headsets went with the sale of the RV-10. Fast forward and I am back building a -9A. Need a headset again and bought a generation 1 Zulu here on the forum. I was very happy with it. Took it out of the case to fly with a hanger neighbor a few weeks ago and found that everything coated with the soft touch was very sticky.
I didn't want to fool with it so I contacted Lightspeed through their website asking about it and what could be done. All the response I got from them was an advertisement for their products, nothing technical. I was able to clean the sticky off using a Magic Eraser wet with isopropyl alcohol. It took some time and elbow grease. With the Magic Eraser you have to be careful to not remove the writing though. Its pretty aggressive. I am pleased with getting the soft touch coating off. This headset will be for the passenger. I still need to get another for myself but it will be the in-ear style. I had a set of the QT Halo's and loved them, especially for cross country flight. I will be getting the new set that CMW is manufacturing as it appears they have addressed my only complaints I had with my old QT Halo. What ever happened to the excellent customer service Lightspeed offered years ago? Did the company and customer base grow too large?
 
So if this soft touch stuff goes sticky, how are the tosten grips holding up? i just received my military style grips for my -10. haven't installed them yet, but that will suck if they get this way after some time.
 
Any new PIREPs on the Zulu 3? I have 2 sets of the Zulu 1. Cleaning out the plane during this year's annual I found little bits of black plastic everywhere. The rubber cable strain relief pieces on the headphones and control boxes have disintegrated along with the wire sheathing in several places. I had previously cleaned the soft touch coating off of the control box, but now find that the remaining soft touch on the headset itself has turned sticky. Additionally, the end of the control box on one of the headsets has broken apart where the battery spring presses against the case. The plastic has lost nearly all of its strength, and I can break bits off with just my fingers.

Trying to decide if I should roll the dice with Zulu 3, or find a more reliable product elsewhere.
 
Any new PIREPs on the Zulu 3? I have 2 sets of the Zulu 1. Cleaning out the plane during this year's annual I found little bits of black plastic everywhere. The rubber cable strain relief pieces on the headphones and control boxes have disintegrated along with the wire sheathing in several places. I had previously cleaned the soft touch coating off of the control box, but now find that the remaining soft touch on the headset itself has turned sticky. Additionally, the end of the control box on one of the headsets has broken apart where the battery spring presses against the case. The plastic has lost nearly all of its strength, and I can break bits off with just my fingers.

Trying to decide if I should roll the dice with Zulu 3, or find a more reliable product elsewhere.


I’ve had the same issue with my Lightspeed 3Gs. At about 7-8 years, I had the coating issue. A few years later, the wiring jacket simply disintegrated on both of my headsets. One of the headsets developed a problem with the headband.

Based upon feedback of friends with similar issues with Lightspeed, I switched to Bose about 10 years ago. The 3Gs were just occasionally used whenever I had back seat passengers.

I just replaced the 3Gs with Bose A30s.
 
Headsets

I own two Zulu 3s and one Bose A20. I have only had the Zulu 3 for about two years vs the Bose for ten or more years since they first came out. The wires for the Bose are not very durable and have twice spit on the insulation that surround the wire bundle on the inside. Fortunately Bose five year warranty covered one of these repairs. I try to be as careful as I can but my Bose does get used at work and gets plugged in and out of different airplanes quite a bit each week. The Lightspeed has a kevlar material that protects the wire inside that seems like new. Only time will tell if this last forever or not. As far as comfort is concerned there is a clear winner. I prefer to wear the Lightspeed while flying my RV because it is at least equal to the Bose for sound cancelling and is way more comfortable. Unfortunately it does not have a TCTO so I can't wear it at work or I would fly it exclusively. One mans opinion.
 
I have had my Zulu 3 for over 3 years with no issues.

My Zulu 1 set had the cable breaking down and the control case getting sticky after about 3 years. Repaired under warranty and still ok after about another 5 years. I still have it as a backup.
 
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