For all who are interested in the answer of the LS support see below – what would the Euro GA community recommend here? This headset is approx 10y old now.
Chris
Hello,
Thank you for your service request. We are sorry to hear you having trouble with your Zulu 2 headset. To address soft-touch plastic breakdown (or sticky plastics) you have a couple options which I will list below.
Option 1) – In Field Solution
Using a textured rag and 70% (or higher) isopropyl alcohol (and some elbow grease) you can repair the sticky feel in the field. Pour the alcohol on the rag first – do not pour into the electronics directly – and apply the rag to the parts of the headset with the sticky plastic. It may take three to five applications to take the sticky plastic off the headset, but the isopropyl alcohol will remove the sticky plastic coating down the hard plastics on the headset. Once, removed you will not have the issue again.
Option 2) – OOW Repair
Your headset is out of warranty but still fully repairable. We charge $200 for a full-service, out of warranty repair. That service will cover: the cleaning and replacement of sticky or degrading plastic on your headset (please note that we are unable to replace the stirrups and the speaker plates on the headsets), a full bench diagnostic test being performed on the headset, all new soft goods (ear seals, mic muff, and head pad) being put on the headset, all parts and labor needed to fully repair the headset, and, finally, a prepaid shipping label will be sent to you to cover the inbound shipping of the headset to our facility.
You can make payment for the repair here:
Please do not add any additional accessories to your order, as they will not ship.
As soon as your payment has been made, please respond with the confirmation number. We’ll open your repair case and send you a prepaid shipping label accordingly.
Please let us know if you have any additional questions or requests.
Happy travels,
Chi Martin
Customer Support Associate
Weekdays 7am to 4pm PST
800-332-2421
I’d do it yourself.
It sounds like their solution involves recovering with the same stuff, which will just lead to the same problem further down the line.
I had this problem with my first LS headset. Someone advised rubbing with a solution of baking soda and that worked for me – took no more than a few minutes. We have a bedside radio that was similarly affected and it worked on that too.
Baking soda is great for cleaning lots of things. I have never tried it on a rubber residue though. Thanks for the tip.
@Graham: yes, that‘s more or less the best to handle it. 200 bucks for a new mic muff and some soft goods costs finally predominantly shipping and the plastic controller will look almost as unsightly as before. However Orange Terpene have been recommended too, but do not work very effective. Finally C3H8O (IPA) should work sufficiently.
It sounds like their solution involves recovering with the same stuff, which will just lead to the same problem further down the line.
As I understand it, the control unit shown in the OP’s photo is replaced with an updated one that doesn’t have the mouse fur coating. As a side benefit the cables are also replaced with the newer upgraded type. Lightspeed stopped using the coating on new headsets a few years ago.
I might send a headset in if it had multiple wear issues but for this coating issue alone I’d agree that removing the coating with alcohol by hand is the most straightforward fix.
@ Silvaire: hm, I read the answer from Lightspeed differently, well – regarding you mentioned they would probably exchange the control unit, anyway too. It seems they changed their customer support policy and would clean the control box with IPA and exchange the soft stuff – well 200 USD I assume incl. shipping …. However, no upgrade offer, wondering about the assumed rest value of the headset.
I’m telling you what they’ve done on other people’s headsets – this issue has been all over the internet for years and replacement of the control unit and cables has been reported. The price used to be $100 including reported replacement of the control unit, but presumably they’ve raised it. Their written commitment to you was “service will cover: the cleaning and replacement of sticky or degrading plastic on your headset (please note that we are unable to replace the stirrups and the speaker plates on the headsets)”. They say what they cannot replace so one might assume that other coated plastic will be replaced, as has been reported. However it is ambiguous so you’d have to ask them to get written clarification.
I‘ll report the outcome 
I’ve had good results on similar coatings with baking soda.
