Sticky interior pieces

I've searched the forum and have not found much regarding the interiors soft plastics becoming sticky or breaking down.

My 87's door map pockets (the worst), the part just under the arm rest, and even some lower dash panel bits are breaking down I fear.
I've even noticed parts of the black and red trim that runs the length of the doors getting a tacky as well.
I've tried the "oxy clean" method and it worked for about 2-3 days and the parts started "sweating" again and getting gooey.

Is this just a part of the car growing old or has anyone found a way to slow or reverse the process?

I'm thinking I'll eventually need to mold these parts and have an interior pro make some sort of reproduction parts some day.

Looking forward to the feedback.

im not sure how to even to about this.
ive had several of these cars and all were sitting ducks. not touched or years and about to be scraped.
never had anything gooey. even my one has been sitting almost 15 years with a water leak and it still not gooey... lil moldy, but not sticky.
what is the "oxy clean" method?

I've searched the forum and have not found much regarding the interiors soft plastics becoming sticky or breaking down.

My 87's door map pockets (the worst), the part just under the arm rest, and even some lower dash panel bits are breaking down I fear.
I've even noticed parts of the black and red trim that runs the length of the doors getting a tacky as well.
I've tried the "oxy clean" method and it worked for about 2-3 days and the parts started "sweating" again and getting gooey.

Is this just a part of the car growing old or has anyone found a way to slow or reverse the process?

I'm thinking I'll eventually need to mold these parts and have an interior pro make some sort of reproduction parts some day.

Looking forward to the feedback.

I'm with Brian.  I have a bunch of TCs sitting out forever and some garaged and have never seen this.  My first guess would be with either the Oxy or something
else that was applied to the plastic over the years.  Confusing.

I may have to do a youtube or something.

Lets focus on the map pockets in the door.
its made up a a thin inner layer of hard molded plastic. over this is a thicker layer of molded "plastic" material.
Almost a hard rubber for lack of better words.
When i bought my car out of PA back in 2016 I noticed these parts were tacky and just ignored it until I got around to doing a deep interior clean. When I wiped these parts with the micro fiber towel, the tacky surface pulled out the lint from the towel.

I tired regular interior cleaners and even with wd-40. None really worked until I came across this YouTube:
https://youtu.be/YFrCxTW1-wA
it involves making a concentrated bowl of "oxy clean" and wiping it on the part and letting it sit for a minute or so.

i did this while fixing the mounting tabs of the map pockets and it actually worked. Smooth and soft to the touch......for about 3 days.

i'll get some photos or a video.

my lincoln LS i bought had something similar to that, but it was from nicotine from the previous owner smoking in it. i used purple power over the entire interior and got the black/brown stuff off. no issue since. so maybe thats similar.

I'm beginning to wonder if the long term storage in the cool and humid old building in "Connelsville, PA" and now the warm humid Texas have had an impact.

the tacky is only on the door map pockets and the "hockey stick" part of the door panel. I wonder what this material actually is....?

This puzzles me also. I have owned many 30+ year old cars over the years, many of which sat outside during the cold, wet Wisconsin winters and hot, humid summers and have never experienced anything like you are describing.

I have to echo G-Rage. Last spring when I pulled out a pair of map pockets from my closet, there was a layer of dust that got glued into the surface. It did wipe off with some water soap cloth but the sticky residue returned. I've not tried an harsh chemicals but the sticky residue returns quickly after soap/water wiping. Additionally, that same sticky residue happened to the map pockets of my TC and the part under the arm rest.

While I don't know the history of the map pockets I had stored in the closet, I do know my TC was/is not a smoker car so that is not the source for my case. I assumed it was the 303 protectant I used - yet it only happened to those specific parts in the TC. The center console and door arm rest pads, dash pad, tops of the door panels, etc., do not have the same issue.

Thanks JT
I guess I’m not completely crazy....

I've searched the forum and have not found much regarding the interiors soft plastics becoming sticky or breaking down.

My 87's door map pockets (the worst), the part just under the arm rest, and even some lower dash panel bits are breaking down I fear.
I've even noticed parts of the black and red trim that runs the length of the doors getting a tacky as well.
I've tried the "oxy clean" method and it worked for about 2-3 days and the parts started "sweating" again and getting gooey.

Is this just a part of the car growing old or has anyone found a way to slow or reverse the process?

I'm thinking I'll eventually need to mold these parts and have an interior pro make some sort of reproduction parts some day.

Looking forward to the feedback.

I am not aware of this problem. I’ve thankfully not experienced it with my TC. As such, I too cannot speculate on what the cause could be. I can only tell you what my choices for detailing and appearance care have been, perhaps that will help.

I’ve avoided car care solutions from ArmorAll because I was told by a professional detailer 20+ years ago that it was actually harmful to car vinyl and plastic interiors and parts. Instead, I used Black Chrome and a variety of other silicone-based products. At present I’m using Plastic Restorer by Car Guys, which works great!

You’ve mentioned storage in a garage in Connellsville, PA. I was born and raised in nearby Latrobe. I can testify to the high humidity in that area—though it’s not, say, New Orleans, Houston or Atlanta (all of which have more humidity), it’s not pleasant in the summertime. My TC has spent its entire existence here in mostly-humid-free Arizona...still, the observations of others from more humid areas would seem to make that a non-factor.