In the Early 2000's it seems everything Black was painted with a soft touch paint. By the 2020's it had degraded into a gummy sticky material that seemed almost impossible to remove even with IPA alcohol.
It turns out its actually not a paint, but a transparent "coating" that is sprayed over the top of black plastic pieces. I think its some type of silicone, making it generally hydrophobic.. so things like scrubbing tile cleaner or other things won't work to remove it.
But quite simply the LAVA hand soap is (not) electrically neutral, it has a clay mineral called Lanolin and Pumice, which combine to penetrate, lift and isolate it and allow it to be "Washed" away.
I've tried this on an old Mevo hand camera, a Diamond Multimedia Game Capture box, and a Toshiba RD-XS54 DVR.. and it works every time.. and I had tried nearly everything for years.
Anything that tends to melt plastic like MEK or Nail Polish Remover.. just makes the situation worse.. blending the silicon with the melted surface.
But using a soaped up rag with LAVA hand soap quickly and simply removes only the silicone layer.
Since this was a transparent "film" and not really a paint.. any pictures, labels or symbols that appear to be part of the paint, were actually under neath the "Soft Touch Paint" and remain after the gummy sticky film is removed.
Your mileage may vary.. not every case will be identical to mine.. but give it a try cautiously.
It really seems like "magic".
