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I once lubed inside a Grip Shifter with Finish Line teflon lube, and used that for a long time.

Now I disassembled everything, and the outer rubber part is quite stained and sticky.

I tried to brush the teflon aside with water and soap, and even a mild degreaser, but since teflon is not exactely grease, I just spread the stains even more.

So, question is: Which substance / method should I use to clean that?

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  • Teflon lubes use a volatile carrier to deliver the teflon. Not sure what it is but it's a quickly evaporating liquid, most likely petroleum based. So in all likelihood that carrier penetrated the rubber, making the stains impossible to remove.
    – Carey Gregory
    Oct 25 '13 at 0:02
  • You mean the outer grip portion of the shifting mechanism is turning sticky?
    – joelmdev
    Oct 25 '13 at 0:12
  • The teflon lube, as soon as applied months ago, evaporated and left the characteristic wax-like teflon coating inside the working surface of the shifter. But with use, the edge of the shifter was a bit sticky, since some lube was coming out. When I disassembled and started cleaning, the brushing just spread the wax-like, somewhat dirty teflon over the rubber surface. The rubber itself seems fine, but it's dirty with teflon. It's not impossible, though, that it penetrated the rubber a bit, but I would like to try to clean it with a proper method so that I can know.
    – heltonbiker
    Oct 25 '13 at 11:21
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    Unfortunately, you need to be careful with solvents on rubber and plastic parts. I'd maybe try silicone spray lube, figuring it may use a similar vehicle to the Teflon.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Oct 25 '13 at 14:10
  • @DanielRHicks Gonna try some silicone spray this weekend and post some feedback, thanks!
    – heltonbiker
    Oct 25 '13 at 16:51
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Try Dawn Dish soap its a little bit of scrubbing but it seems to work the best, its chem resistant so everything I have tried only makes it more sticky but dish soap hot water and work gets rid of it the best. Good Luck

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I would recommend an all-purpose cleaner like GooGone or Oops, but try it on a small spot first as it may remove the finish on whatever you're cleaning. Other than that, you can use a more abrasive cleaning utensil (pad, brush, towel, etc.) to scrape the congealed teflon off.

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