Sticky Closet Shelving

[Jeff Wright]

I am repainting the interior of my home and in the process of removing our metal closet shelving realized they have a sticky surface to them. They are the shelving made with wire. They appear to be metal covered with a rubber-like coating. That coating is sticky to the touch. Anyone know if there is a cleaning product that will remove the stickiness? I have tried some citrus cleaning agents but the stickiness remains.

[Paul Girouard]

Fire will remove it :D

[James Jaragosky]

I am repainting the interior of my home and in the process of removing our metal closet shelving realized they have a sticky surface to them. They are the shelving made with wire. They appear to be metal covered with a rubber-like coating. That coating is sticky to the touch. Anyone know if there is a cleaning product that will remove the stickiness? I have tried some citrus cleaning agents but the stickiness remains.
that stuff cleans all that sticky stuff. http://www.amazon.com/Goof-Off-Ultimate-Remover-easy/dp/B00030419I (http://www.amazon.com/Goof-Off-Ultimate-Remover-easy/dp/B00030419I)
just a link to show you the stuff, it can be bought just about anywhere.

[David G Baker]

I am not sure if the stuff on the rubber coating is something that was added, it could be the rubber product breaking down. I worked at a television station and we had hundreds of devices that had electrical cords that were in racks that were plugged into plug strips. 90% of those cords had to be replaced because they were a hazard due to the rubber (or what ever they were made from) was breaking down and becoming very sticky to the touch. The cords were less than 10 years old. We never found out what caused the break down. The devices were very expensive instruments so they should have had high quality cords.
I have had similar problems with my rubber dust mask. I used talcum powder on the material and that seemed to get rid of the stickiness.

[Jeff Wright]

I am not sure if the stuff on the rubber coating is something that was added, it could be the rubber product breaking down.

David, I am also wondering if it is actually the material (plastic, rubber??) is itself breaking down. I'll try the talcum powder idea once I try to clean them all.

[keith ouellette]

Jeff:
Zep 505 heavy-duty cleaner and degreaser. Its at home depot and it works wonders. I have used it on the same (at least I think its the same) thing you are talking about and I use it all over our rental house before I paint. One time I thought I would have to re paint and Zep cleaned so much dirt off the walls I only had to touch the paint up.

[David G Baker]

Keith,
Ah, another faithful ZEP believer. I used hundreds of dollars of ZEP products when I ran a TV news motion picture film processing lab. They make some great stuff. I keep forgetting that HD carries their products.
I had a great sales rep that would do a bunch of research for me to find a product that would fit my needs.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I bought a house with that same thing. Dunno what caused your gooeyness but, in my case it was caused by those horrid sent packets that people (for whom it is important that everything has to stink from some artificial sent) hang in their closets. The goo in the packets sublimes away and then redeposits on everything in the closet. The shelves are and walls always there so they get the most.

Every single exposed surface of the closets had to be stripped and re painted. I tossed the shelving.