What did they do to this poor Elektron 
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YES
Take the front panel off and use a clean cloth, dish soap, and water!
Never use alcohol or a glass cleaner on anything with plastic! Not going to turn this into a chemistry class— just stick with soap!
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You do you. I’m not talking Windex here.
I have cleaned plenty of plastic parts with eyeglass cleaner. It is gentle and works well. And it is the only thing I will use on a LCD panel. Of course there may be specific formulations out there to not use. I don’t know, haven’t had any issue yet.
I don’t know. But when I bought it, there was a lot of mess, some smoke smell…
So, yeah I think I’ll use a bit of @sezare56 's chanel. Excellent idea!!
I did. Gently. And it’s very nice now. I’m too afraid of removing the panel since I’ve seen the procedure. All that’s left is to clean the buttons.
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Do they have a different coating that won´t become sticky or are they just fresh and new.
I have an OT AE, still Buttons are good, but I am always afraid. Will ask them if they have those sets as well.
Yea they offer the buttons in two styles now, smooth plastic and rubber coated (original).
OP be prepared that if smoke is involved then the internals are probably also covered in grime. If you gain some confidence then opening the box up and using isopropyl on cotton swabs to give it a good clean will do wonders - as it will likely still smell otherwise.
I’ve had this problem on a TR-606 that nearly died due to second hand smoke.
Circuit boards needn’t be scary just be carful with ribbon cables and try not to drop them in the bath.
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OMG… Smell apart, do you think this should be done to preserve components’ good behaviour?
Tbh if it were going to cause a problem it would have probably already caused a problem. With most components the grime would just be on the casing, and if you created a short with tar (I assume this is possible…) you’d know about it.
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Glad it worked out. To elaborate on my quick emphatic response— alcohol breaks down plastic. Glass cleaner is also bad for plastic. Someone using eyeglass cleaner needs to be very particular about what kind of eyeglass cleaner it is— alcohol free, safe on special lenses etc…
If you got through a use without discoloring anything, I’m really happy to hear that. Every device is different— sometimes old stuff will change instantly, and other stuff will take a lot of cleaning with alcohol to have visible damage, but using alcohol or other solvents on plastic breaks down the plastic, even if just on the surface and even just a little bit. Best not to make a habit of it— you really don’t want to learn this lesson by making the mistake yourself on something you can’t replace.
Natehorn is giving good advice here… isopropyl on a circuit board is the right idea. I rescued an old bx-800 that was clearly caked in tar by spending a couple hours with a toothbrush and isopropyl and soaking the front plate and buttons in hot soapy water. It looks scary, but it’s manageable for anyone careful.
If there is still a smell lingering, I would still recommend dish soap and a soft rag damp with hot water. There’s a number of good reasons why we use soap on our own hands and bodies…
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You seem to be having fun anyway, but I’d want a way bigger discount for something in that condition
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I would want to be paid a small fee to take it off their hands 
The good news is that once it’s clean it will just be a regular ol OT and will be a bucket of fun
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If I had seen that before, I wouldn’t have done it. But … it has been done and cannot be undone. Fortunately, there is no problem at all. I’ve used a “bio” very soft kind of product for the panel. Concerning the number 15, it’s a more classical product.
I’ll do this if it smells bad again after cleaning all the buttons.
The regular price here in second hand for a mk2 grey is never below 850€ without it necessarily being in excellent condition.
I found a good little video series on this.
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so are they covered with grime or is the top soft touch rubber coating of the buttons ‘melted’ and gotten sticky? That was what happened to two of my boxes as I left them under my coffee table in direct sunlight for an hour or two each morning.
Indeed, thank you! I used the guitar pick trick to remove the n°15. Anyway, I’ll certainly open the whole thing.
I’d say a sticky grime. But it’s possible the rubber coating was already damaged, or perhaps it was affected by the window cleaner used. Because it’s no longer rubbery.
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I love the title of this thread, so much better then daily newspaper headlines.
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I already received my buttons today and honestly they don’t seem much different than the original ones. Actually I’d have difficulty telling them apart were the sticky mess not there.
I was expecting for something more glossy, but I will gladly take these as long as they stay good!
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So, now, I can clearly say the window cleaner damaged the rubber layer, which was easy to remove. Now, the buttons are smooth and clean.
You have chosen rubber or smooth?
I went with the smooth ones of course, hence my surprise
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