Master Replica Vader FX grips are very sticky

thatguyno1

thatguyno1

New Member
I recently unpacked my Master Replica FX Lightsabers and am having a problem with the grips on the Darth Vader lightsaber. They are all sticky. It was stored in the original box in the house so it was in A/C and not exposed to heat. I was wondering if anybody else is having this problem with the Vader grips getting sticky with age. If so, is there a way to clean them so they are not sticky? Or, alternately does anybody have a acceptable replacement for the rubber like grips that are glued to the lightsaber hilt? I should mention this is the original MR FX Darth Vader saber.

Thanks, Paul
 
Bot niether sell grips that have the notches cut out for a smooth transition over the end cap ala MR.
 
Thanks for the information everyone. I think I will try cleaning them but if that doesn't work what is the best way to remove the existing t-tracks? They seem to be well glued. I don't want to damage the saber under the grips. I can visualize prying them off and having chunks of chrome plating come off as well. Has anybody tried removing the t-tracks from the MR FX sabers?

Paul
 
Maelstrom said:
I think someone else posted having this same problem. Both sources Alessandra listed are :thumbsup
Click to expand...

I did.

I have the same problem with both of the early Vaders I have.

Don't bother with goo gone, it doesn't work. I tried lots of different things. Soap and water, goo gone, paint thinner, and even lighter fluid. None of those worked on the damaged "test" saber. I tried oils as well, gun oil, WD-40, and some Armor All. Those had a better effect at getting rid of the stick but, not by much.

What it is, is the rubber coating on the grips breaking down. For some reason it's only happening on this particular saber at the moment... (knock on wood). It'll probably happen to all of them eventually, sadly. :(
 
alessandra said:
There are a few options for replacement:

Blast-Tech sells rubber T-track: Blast-Tech - Products - Rubber Strip

And GINO of these forums has some screen-accurate plastic T-track.
Click to expand...


Between the rubber Blas-Tech´s and the expensive Gino´s t-track, let´s not forget the real, and cheap, t-track that Marv is selling:

http://www.therpf.com/f13/t-track-sale-122706/

Additional ... he´s a really nice guy to deal with, and he offers great option for the one that looks for t-track.
 
Well looks like I need to remove the t-tracks and replace them. Any hints on how to safely remove the sticky ones without damaging the saber hilt?
 
Well I've removed them from the MR FX saber and they are a pain in the butt to remove butin can be done. I can say that the chrome underneath is there to stay so you should have no worries there.
 
If the chrome is pretty solid as FJ says then you may want to try heating the grips with a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive some.
 
I have exactly this problem with my ESB luke saber.I`ve found nothing that works to clean the problem.I`ve given up caring about it and me and my 4 year old son just use it to play and fight each other with.One thing to note though is that because we handle it all the time the stickiness is kinda gone now.
 
Funky Jedi said:
Well I've removed them from the MR FX saber and they are a pain in the butt to remove butin can be done. I can say that the chrome underneath is there to stay so you should have no worries there.
Click to expand...

How did you go about removing them? Did you preheat them as suggested by Maelstrom or just pry them off?
 
After seeing the title of this thread and reading the first post it reminded me of a problem that I had with my Canon EOS battery holder/grip. It turns out that they used a type of clearcoating to give the grips a matt finish and over time it has degraded and become sticky. I went to my closet and pulled out my Vader FX Saber and found that the grips were exhibiting the same problem.

The problem with pulling the grips and replacing them with what's out there is not really the notch cut for the battery cover but that the curvature on the FX saber is wider and deeper so they replacements will stand off further... probably more like the originals but not like the FX saber.

I was able to clean off the sticky clearcoat from my camera battery cover by using alcohol and one of those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I figured I'd try the same method on the saber grips.

It worked quite well... although it will leave very slight scratches on the plastic of the grips. The Magic Erasers are essentially very mildly abrasive. I guess if you wanted to you could mask the grips and give them a coat of Plasti Dip spray.

Here's quick photo showing the difference. The sticky one on the left and the cleaned grip on the right. It's hard to see due to the black grips but the cleaned one is smooth with no sticky residue.

DISCLAIMER: As I mentioned, the eraser sponges ARE abrasive. Use them at your own risk. I detected no damage to the chrome on mine. The cloudiness on the chrome you see in the picture is from the alcohol drying.

w41162photo%203-1f103.jpg
 
WOW - thank you for that information SurferGeek. Excellent suggestion and thanks for posting the photo. I will give it a try. I have a lot scheduled this week so it may not be for another week or so before I get back to reply. If anybody else tries these suggestions please post here to let us know how you did.

Paul
 
I would mask all the chrome area, lightly wetsand the grips using very fine sandpaper and respray a light coat of krylon semi gloss black or flat black, the finish will be perfect.

GFollano
 
Last edited:
I have a few fx vader sabers. One is just a hilt that I got a while ago and use on my vader costume. I exhibited that stickiness. The two full ones I have did not. No real clue why that one did, but thought I'd mention it for your statistic gathering pleasure. ;)

And thanks to SurferGeek my old hilt will be clean! Great tip on the magic eraser...those things are awesome!

Mike
 

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