My digitakt mki sticky as can be, used alcohol and all the paint came off and I have clear keys now. So I dunno. Not sticky anymore but clear white.
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Not sure if this helps anyone but since I saw some earlier posts in this thread mentioning baking soda or cornstarch as a solution - you can try, but keep in mind it is a very temporary solution to a problem that will continue getting worse. Once the rubber begins to degrade, it will continue at a steady pace in my experience. An additional concern is getting cornstarch into electronics, acting as a humectant and gumming things up.
Unfortunately, the only permanent solution at the point itâs gotten sticky is removing the rubber completely.
But if your rubber is in good shape, the best way to protect it is to keep it in open air (not tucked away in a drawer) and keep the ambient humidity and temperature down. I believe decksavers and plastic bags accelerate the ârubber rotâ.
My understanding is that the rubber will off-gas certain compounds into the air, and if those compounds stay in contact with the rubber after, they will begin to break it down. So airflow can make the rubber last much longer.
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Picture please ?
I didnât like it at first but I am colorblind,
And I notice the colors way better now.
My friends have digitakts and I find
the dark buttons too hard for me to see.
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Thanks. Impressive. I wonder if it is possible to remove the stickiness without removing the dark part.
Also curious to know how it looks with led lights in darker conditionsâŚ
Mine are translucent now.
I used 600 grade sandpaper
And gently sanded them smooth.
They feel so good like Mk1 Octatrack.
Clicky responsive. They way I like it.
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Thereâs got to be a market for some custom buttons here? Some big clicky ones like a cirklon?
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There are a lot of Youtube videos about how to remove that rubber coating but they all seem to recommend using something slightly different
Yes! Itâs time consuming thoughâŚ
I remove the button and rub it vigorously with a clean piece of cloth, like an old T-shirt or against my jeans, getting all surfaces and edges. Friction/heat kind of lifts the coating, makes it visible. Then I use my fingernail to gently scrape it away, buffing it with the cloth as it goes.
I think it takes me about 10 minutes or so per button. So far Iâve cleaned any buttons that were starting to get problematic, but I might try and get in the habit of cleaning a few at a time if Iâm watching tv on the couch or something.
You can see Iâve cleaned buttons 1-4, you can see the coating still on buttons 5 and on. The cleaned buttons have a nice smooth, hard plastic feel.
I will try and remember to document the process with pictures next time Iâm at it.
Itâs a solution to an annoying problem.
I wish theyâd stop using the material, but you can get it off with out stripping the paint or using chemicals.
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I should add that I picked up this technique from @Microtribe as he was working on his DN with it.
It works, but takes a bit.
Also I would add that I use the edge of my fingernail to scrape it off because my first attempt at using a tiny flathead screwdriver like you use to fix glasses resulted in me scratching the plastic button. Iâd wager that something made of semi hard plastic would work but I never looked into it.
Plus, the rubberized coating tastes delicious when I bite my nails! 
I know I posted about it in some other thread, but seeing as how there are 25 threads devoted to the goddamn sticky buttons (because itâs an issue and because nobody uses the search function (also an issue) ) I canât remember which one itâs in or if itâs been merged etc.
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Itâs exactly the opposite of this. Maybe there are some type of plastic bags that can accellerate the breakdown, but Decksavers are polycarbonate and protect the rubber from UV light.
My Elektrons all have Decksavers and my Digitakt is old, no sticky keys.
There are some compounds in the rubber that keep it stable that leak out over time, itâs when theyâre gone that it breaks down. Itâs UV light, moisture, heat and acids from your skin that break it down faster.
If storage would degrade this stuff they would have stopped using it a long time ago.
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there is no way to protect it
at some point the rubber will deteriorate
the only way is to remove the rubber/gum by scratching with a soft cloth without any solvent soap or chemical agent - it goes away like chewingum.
the gum will go away and the buttons will be no longer sticky like it is on the old Elektron Machinedrum and Monomachine.
now the questions, is why is Elektron using this rubber on the buttons?
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Curious to know what Elektronâs response is to these opened tickets. I recall these buttons were marketed to be super durable.
â The Octatrack now features an OLED screen thatâs said to be more easily readable in dimly-lit environments, and the new backlit buttons promise super durability. In fact, theyâre rated for 50 million presses, which is probably more than enoughâ
More than one year and zero response from the ticket I raised, the emails I sent, and the poll I conducted on this forum.
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In reality they are durable - it is just that they are coated with this cheap rubber that due to heat, oxygen and change of temperature start to deteriorate
It is not due to how many times you presses.
Once the rubber peels off they are brand new like the ones on the machine drum
Last time when i needed new buttons for one of my elektron devices and complained about the coating they answered:
âWe are aware of the problem but unfortunately we havenât found a solution yet.â
yeah basically if you rub the buttons without any solvent, just using a soft cloth, they turn into the ones sold on this website.
Mine didnât. Maybe i wasnât patient enough. So i used alcohol which made it worse and now my DT has blank buttons. 