Yeah, reminder of something else I'd need to look for on a machine to be purchased. I'd be asking for a couple hundred knocked off the price, just because I'd need to go through and clear and completely redo any joint done like that, and possibly replace the gooped parts. It's a sign of either really bad soldering skills on a repair (using silicon/hot glue to compensate for lack of structural integrity in a bad solder job), or an attempt to AVOID resoldering a loose connection (from lack of skill or equipment).
My recommendation for this mess? Go ahead and just replace all the switches instead of trying to degoop them. They're likely going to be cheaper than the labor, and you're probably going to have to cut and restrip the wires anyway for the best connection.