Button Wear

[Ejacksonx9]

I'm new to the forums, so I hope no one is gonna try and tear my head off. :-)
I'm trying to find a way to prevent my buttons from wearing. The white marking wore off on my 3 series. I traded for a 2015 740.
Some of the nuances specific to BMW are apparent. I'm going to have the sticky door handle replaced.
But the buttons, I've covered some with clear packing tape and used an exacto to cut around them so they don't wear off.
anyone have a better solution that will be easier to apply to ALL of the regularly used buttons?

[Pelo Cat]

Originally Posted by Ejacksonx9

I'm new to the forums, so I hope no one is gonna try and tear my head off. :-)
I'm trying to find a way to prevent my buttons from wearing. The white marking wore off on my 3 series. I traded for a 2015 740.
Some of the nuances specific to BMW are apparent. I'm going to have the sticky door handle replaced.
But the buttons, I've covered some with clear packing tape and used an exacto to cut around them so they don't wear off.
anyone have a better solution that will be easier to apply to ALL of the regularly used buttons?

Welcome to the forum and especially to the 7 series G model sub-forum. ^

I personally haven't had any issues with buttons losing their white detailing but I have heard of this from other people on various bits of kit (computers, stoves, etc...) the usual comments that i see (and I have no experience of this so can't say if it is true or not)...is:

EDIT: (poor choice of words so corrected for that reason!)

-while we all have oil on our skin and fingertips, some people have a chemical combination that is particularly agressive towards things like the lettering on keyboards or buttons in cars, etc.. or use hand cremes that are 'aggressive' towards such things so maybe consider whether it is any creme or the aggressive nature of your particular body chemistry and therefore the 'oil' on your hands that is causing this?

-if that is the case, you could consider wearing some driving gloves in the car to avoid this issue (if it is simply the particular oil in your skin) or changing to another brand of hand creme?

I can imagine it is a lot of work to cut out and cover the symbols and whatever is causing the removal is likely also going to attack the foil after some time so maybe simply using thin gloves may help (although it may look and feel 'unusual')

Hope someone else can comment and help with other suggestions or more practical points about why this may be happening to you, hope you enjoy the car and again, welcome to the forum. ^

Safe travels.

[BMWrules7]

Originally Posted by Pelo Cat

Welcome to the forum and especially to the 7 series G model sub-forum. ^

I personally haven't had any issues with buttons losing their white detailing but I have heard of this from other people on various bits of kit (computers, stoves, etc...) the usual comments that i see (and I have no experience of this so can't say if it is true or not)...is:

EDIT: (poor choice of words so corrected for that reason!)

-while we all have oil on our skin and fingertips, some people have a chemical combination that is particularly agressive towards things like the lettering on keyboards or buttons in cars, etc.. or use hand cremes that are 'aggressive' towards such things so maybe consider whether it is any creme or the aggressive nature of your particular body chemistry and therefore the 'oil' on your hands that is causing this?

-if that is the case, you could consider wearing some driving gloves in the car to avoid this issue (if it is simply the particular oil in your skin) or changing to another brand of hand creme?

I can imagine it is a lot of work to cut out and cover the symbols and whatever is causing the removal is likely also going to attack the foil after some time so maybe simply using thin gloves may help (although it may look and feel 'unusual')

Hope someone else can comment and help with other suggestions or more practical points about why this may be happening to you, hope you enjoy the car and again, welcome to the forum. ^

Safe travels.

Hand lotion = acid

Putting tape on the buttons will backfire since many adhesives can have acidic properties.

Only clean with distilled water. If a button gets greasy, use windex and spray on clean towel.

The final wipe should be a cloth with distilled water. Use enough water to remove the substance on the buttons.

Never use a shop rag. Always a clean one

[Bespoke 2014]

Honestly you can’t really prevent the issue, some people body fluids are more acidic then others, especially people with more oily skin which will drive the issue. If it’s too bothersome I suggest just replacing it - for a new pen part or used on eBay.