McGee Marine & RV

"Melting" rocker switches. Every once in a while, a customer will call me about their helm switches "melting", or basically the coating degrading into a tar like mess that gets on everything. Most commonly seen on the Carlingswitch Contura series switches, which are very common in the marine industry. Some service companies will tell you that you need to replace the entire switch(es), which is false! Replacement switch covers are available and are inexpensive. The reason why these switches degraded, is due to someone using citrus based cleaners on the switches. Tell your yacht detailer not to use citrus based cleaners around the helm and associated electronics. The rubber coating on the switches is not compatible with citrus based cleaners and will decompose like the before and after photos show.