Worn out buttons - prevention and fixes?

[loft]

Dear community,

I'm the happy owner of an URC 7980 that at this point is showing its 7 years of age. All its buttons have their text deteriorated, some barely noticeable, some are totally clear. For not things are OK. Everybody knows the remote and otherwise it still works perfectly.
So my questions would go two ways:
1. Can replacement rubbers be found? It would be a pity to throw away a perfectly working remote because of its buttons text.
2. How do you take care of your remotes so that the buttons would not turn black/white? I remember my dad wrapping the remote in a plastic bag and securing it with tape around the edges, but that was 30 years ago when remotes were pretty much rectangular.

Thanks!

[MaskedMan]

UEI never sold replacement button membranes like URC does. And with 7980 being so hard to find, you'll be better off looking for used 7880 under $20 on ebay and use that membrane for your 7980.