What is the best way to get the Pronto really clean? They all seem to get a bit sticky on the back of them after a while.

I think the sticky back is the paint dissolving from finger sweat and maybe aging.
This seems to be a common issue - if you look for used 9600/9800s they often show some wear on the back plate.
I think there's nothing that can be done by cleaning.
The only solution I see is to remove the back plate, use some fine sandpaper to remove the paint completely and repaint the whole thing.

I did that once for one of my 9800s, but unfortunately it already shows some spots where the paint did not stick (despite of using a primer before spray-painting).
So it's probably a good idea to get an opinion on what paint/primer to use from someone experienced in painting plastic pieces.

Sebastian

It's not a big deal, mainly about the feel of it actually. Sanding would be good but I am not sure how it would go with being plastic? I'm not sure what grit level either. Maybe someone has done it? I would like to vinyl wrap it but it probably isn't easy.

I used 1000 grit sandpaper. It's a bit cumbersome at first to get through the paint layer but once you start seeing the plastic, it gets easier.
If I remember correctly, it took me about 1.5h to completely remove the paint and I ended up with a smoth plastic surface.
Vinyl wrapping sounds like a cool idea, I have never done that.
You probably will have to figure something out with the holes where the two top rubber feet are located.
If you succeed, please show some pictures :)

Sebastian

I used mineral spirits to remove all the paint, then use 1000, 1500, 2000 grit sandpaper for really nice finish, prime and then repaint. Follow with 2 coatings of dull-cote.

Here's a blast from the past.

[Link: remotecentral.com]

The Dupli-Color Platinum is an exact match I think.

Look at the pics in the dropbox link.

It seems like anything with that non-slip coating eventually gets gummy and dirty. I have a Logitech keyboard which had it on the wrist support. I was at the point that I was going to either de-gum it or throw it away. I found that isopropyl alcohol cleaned it right off. The black plastic underneath looks fine.

I noticed that the back of my 9600 is getting gummy and dirty, too. I have thought about trying the isopropyl, but it may also take off the paint. Leave it to Philips to make something out of black plastic and then paint it gray! Why didn't they just use gray plastic to begin with? Duh!

I guess I could strip ALL the paint off, and have a black Pronto!


Mike

The back on all my Pronto 9600's is a gray plastic painted silver.

There is some kind of non-slip coating that is common on mice, keyboards, remote controls, etc. After a few years it starts to get gummy and sticky, and very unpleasant to touch.

I have had a lot of success using 91% isopropyl alcohol to remove this gunk. I just tried it on the back of my tsu9600, and it removed a LOT of the stickiness.  Multiple applications were necessary.  I could also scrape it off with my fingernail after the isopropyl loosened it up.  I got to the point that the surface was smooth and much, much less sticky, but there was still discoloration.

I then tried a Mr. Clean Power Eraser.  I got it wet and then squeezed most of the water out.  The white side really got in there and removed most of the discoloration.  It’s not 100% like-new perfect, but it is sooo much better than it was!

This approach took me about an hour.  If you’re lazy like me, and don’t like the idea of sanding and painting, this might be worth a try.  You can always sand and paint later if you don’t like the results.

Thanks for the tip. I'll try the Mr. Clean route.