This is an aggressive method for when isopropyl alcohol on a towel is too slow or requires too much elbow grease. See the caveats section!

Materials

• Isopropyl alcohol, 100 mL or more
• Copper or copper-coated scourer
• Heavy-duty scrubbing pad (like the green piece on top of dish sponges)
• Magic eraser (replace with non-scratch scrubbing pad if not available)
• Paper towels
• A couple of hours

PPE

• Adequate ventilation
• Dust mask (microplastics)
• Sturdy, waterproof gloves, or in my case, non-waterproof fiberglass gloves over thin foodservice gloves
• Old clothes (stains)

Method

Remove power, batteries, and any electronic components you can.

This is an iterative process, so not every step has to be done perfectly in one pass.

Magnesium parts (usually the lower chassis and lid)

• The rubber coating is bound more strongly here than on plastic parts.
• Wet an area about 5 cm in diameter with isopropyl alcohol. There should be a shallow puddle of it where you will scrub.
• Scrape off the rubber coating: rub the copper scourer firmly in circular motions. It should begin to slough off with the consistency of boogers.
• Continue until no more rubber scrapes off, then repeat until the entire surface has been scoured.
• Remove residues: wet areas 5 cm in diameter as before and scrub, but now with the scrubbing pad.
• Wipe: moisten a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol, wipe off the entire surface, and let dry.
• Inspect: once dry, look for any outstanding rubber patches. Go over them again starting with the copper scourer, using lateral motions if it is especially stubborn.
• Polish: Moisten a magic eraser with isopropyl alcohol and firmly scrub over the entire surface.
• Finish: Wet a paper towel with water and wipe off until melamine dust from the magic eraser is gone and the surface no longer stains the towel black.

Plastic parts

• Same as previously, but omit the copper scourer.
• Whereas the sloughed off rubber just migrates up into empty spaces in the copper scourer leaving the working edge exposed throughout the process, the rubber will foul scrubbing pads. Either have several pads on hand or wash out the rubber with soap and water.

Cleanup

• Soap and water

Caveats

• This process severely defaces stickers, the ThinkPad emblem, and glossy surfaces
• Direction of scrubbing is evident in fine scratches throughout treated surfaces. In my opinion, a scuffed ThinkPad is better than a sticky ThinkPad; I did not try further polishing or restoration steps.
• Results on painted magnesium will be uneven, with some patches of primer standing out where the rubber degraded more slowly and magnesium showing through on edges and corners after scrubbing.
• Rubber debris will get caught in grilles. Scrape it out at the end using a toothpick.
• Anything sloughed off will stain anything it contacts.

How it works

The rubber, once degraded, cannot be rejuvenated, but may be scraped off with fingernails. Copper and scrubbing pads, with a similar hardness to fingernails, can perform the same scraping action, sped up with the addition of isopropyl alcohol, a solvent for the rubber, primer, and paint. Still, the rubber will not just dissolve like sugar in water. The key is the scraping action, otherwise the soft rubber just ends up getting pushed around the surface.

The nature of rubberized soft-touch coatings on ThinkPads and other electronics, to my knowledge:

• The coating is a thin layer of polyurethane or otherwise synthetic unvulcanized rubber.
• With exposure to ambient moisture, molecules in the rubber eventually undergo hydrolysis, where the rubber polymer chains are broken up by intruding water molecules.
• Result is a soft, sticky mess as the petroleum-based rubber gradually returns to its natural state.

On a ThinkPad, each part may have a slightly different rubber coating

• Magnesium chassis: Rubber coating strongly bound to a primer layer, which lies on top of the black paint over the magnesium itself.
• Large plastic pieces (old E-series palmrests, antenna enclosure of X230): Rubber coating bound directly to smooth black plastic or a primer on top of smooth black plastic.
• Small plastic pieces: Rubber coating bound loosely to smooth black plastic.

Personal observations regarding the above:

• The coating wears out fastest on corners and edges.
• Rubber coatings degrade at different rates across different parts. On my X230, the coating on the lid was in much better shape than the lower chassis (both are magnesium parts).

What didn’t work (all tested on my beater ThinkPad):

• Rubbing with just an isopropyl alcohol-soaked paper towel
• Just an isopropyl alcohol-soaked magic eraser
• Water-based baking soda paste
• Toothpaste
• Olive oil
• WD-40
• Hand sanitizer
• Soap and water
• Isopropyl alcohol with a screwdriver (deep, narrow scratches)
• Baby powder (comes off and turns sticky again after a week of use)

What worked too slowly

• Isopropyl alcohol-based baking soda paste
• Non-scratch scrubbing pad
• Isopropyl alcohol with a copper coin

What was not tried, mostly because I didn’t want to spend over $10:

• Plasti-dip
• D-Limonene
• Methylated spirits
• Goo gone