A different kind of lens cleaning question

How do you clean the exterior of a lens? I don't want to just grab some household cleaner for fear of it damaging the rubber grip material. I have a Sigma that the rubber is tacky, and want to clean it up. Any suggestions?

Cloth dampened with warm water. I know someone that lightly wipes the exterior of her gear in the low-shine (non-greasy) formula of Armor All...they look like new afterwards, but I'm not sure of the long-term impact.

Thanks, kind of what I was thinking of using. I have some 303 Protectant, which is similar to Armor All, but about 1000x better, and doesn't affect the surface. I think I'll give that a try. The stuff is amazing for UV protection, I use it on all rubber and plastic on my boat which sits out in the baking Florida sun. We'll see how it goes.

+1
303 aerospace protectant. good stuff.

I would try to stay away from anything with silicon and 303 is supposedly silicon free. I would try to keep it in areas of rubber and apply it very sparingly.

Perhaps another product worth trying would be medicinal grade glycerin which you can get at a pharmacy. A small bottle will cost about $2. That is a common way for people who restore classic cars to keep rubber in good shape.