How to clean the zoom rubber

How do you clean them? I see some whitish stuff there and I don't like it. Whenever I send my lenses to Canon they clean them up and they come back shiny as new. Is ethanol OK?

I use a slightly damp micro fiber cloth. That whitish stuff might be salt residue from sweaty palms or fingers.

Do not use solvents other than water!
Water is the "universal" solvent...

After a shoot if dusty, vac dust off carefully as you don't want to suck dirt into the lense or cam.
Then use a damp terry cloth rag to thoroughly wipe it down, a bit of Windex or ammonia water on the rag is ok.
Do not allow water to collect around the rings, switches, or anywhere it could seep into the lense... damp not wet.

Keep lens spotless as best as possible.
Carry a damp rag to keep your hands clean when shooting especially when it's hot or dirty.

Yes I think it is salt from sweaty palms or fingers and I hate it. I know ethanol reacts with some rubbers and I am just not sure if the rubber that canon uses is one of them. I am going to try damp rag and see what happens. Thanks

Just wring it out well, it works like a charm.
Even after shoots in many dirty places my lens are spotless.
Prompt, regular cleaning helps.

Every so often, I treat the rubber zoom rings on my lenses with Vinylex...NOT armor all...just a thin swipe applied first to the rag...then to the ring.

Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol.

And water is NOT a universal solvent.

paint brush and micro fiber cloth..

Poe wrote in post #9808700
Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol.

And water is NOT a universal solvent.

You notice the quotes? It's the best one to try first and will not damage plastic or destroy LCDs like alcohols can.

Water is called the universal solvent because it can dissolve more things than any other substance, but it is not truly universal.

Water itself is a non-ionic, polar molecule and it will dissolve most anything that is non-ionic and polar, like itself, and most ionic compounds can be dissolved as well. Let me break that down for our non-chemists. Non-ionic means it has no charge and polar means that there is a charge difference within the molecule. The oxygen in H2O is negatively charged and the two hydrogen atoms are positively charged. Both charges are very weak, and this gives the molecule an overall neutral charge. Normally acid or base solutions can dissolve other solutions or compounds of a like pH, but water, being neutral, is attracted to, and therefore dissolves solutions or compounds of any pH.

Thus, water can dissolve more substances than any other liquid.
http://wiki.answers.co​m …ter_the_univers​al_solvent

erasers work well too.

Buy a cheapo, soft tooth brush...dip it in water and fling it around a bit to shake out the excess water then scrub away as necessary to get the grime off and wipe off with a clean, lint free cloth. Good as new.

i agree, water usually does the job with a toothbrush and or cloth

Jeffro250 wrote in post #9819481
Buy a cheapo, soft tooth brush...dip it in water and fling it around a bit to shake out the excess water then scrub away as necessary to get the grime off and wipe off with a clean, lint free cloth. Good as new.

Looks like a very good idea. I am going to try it this weekend. Thanks

just take them off the lens and use soap and water just like your hands!@

WoW! Thanks posters...

The rubber on my 70-200mm f/4L (non-IS) lens, which I am going to sell, has turned grayish. I never thought about trying to clean it! Dummy me. I will attempt to clean it today after exercise class. Maybe I can get a dollar or two more for the lens if the rubber is not a gray color.