I'm getting a little flustered with removing the thin front foam gasket on my Peerless TC9 fullrange drivers. They don't want to peel off cleanly and the residue is hard to remove from the front flange, plus some of the gaskets are attached unevenly. Many of the gaskets are stuck to the thin fragile surrounds, so using chemicals is likely out of the question to avoid damage ie. isopropyl alcohol is definitely not an option as it harms rubber. These drivers are clearly made for rear mounting based on the presence of a gasket. It looks ugly when front mounting them.
Does anyone have an effective method for removing these things without harming the rubber surrounds? The first one took me almost 20 minutes to completely get off. There are over 50 drivers to do and I'm going to grow a beard faster than I can get the job done. Any good suggestions?
Does anyone have an effective method for removing these things without harming the rubber surrounds? The first one took me almost 20 minutes to completely get off. There are over 50 drivers to do and I'm going to grow a beard faster than I can get the job done. Any good suggestions?
How is the foam attached?
What kind of foam?
Picture, please...
Try WD40 spray, let soak overnight, it is mostly transformer oil, not very harmful.
If you can, dribble ethyl alcohol on the adhesive (a syringe works), and peel off, it softens the adhesive.
What kind of foam?
Picture, please...
Try WD40 spray, let soak overnight, it is mostly transformer oil, not very harmful.
If you can, dribble ethyl alcohol on the adhesive (a syringe works), and peel off, it softens the adhesive.
Here's a before and after picture. Its a thin closed cell foam gasket that isn't bonded evenly and tears easily, so its almost impossible to remove without dealing with a million tiny pieces. It almost behaves like a failed crumbling foam surround. It wouldnt even be so bad to leave the gasket there, but some are installed sloppy so its not very presentable. Pretty stupid.
I wouldn't really be comfortable with WD40 being a mineral oil based substance, using it on rubber. Thats usually a no go mixing the two. I may try some ethanol ie high proof vodka or rum.
I wouldn't really be comfortable with WD40 being a mineral oil based substance, using it on rubber. Thats usually a no go mixing the two. I may try some ethanol ie high proof vodka or rum.
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Acetone or brake cleaner are usually very good for dissolving these kinds of glue. If you are afraid of possible negative effects on the surrounds, maybe use a cotton tip to apply just where it's needed. Let it soak a moment and use a sharp razor blade to scrape it off. Steady hand required...
The picture proofs you can do a really great job! 😀 It just takes a bit longer...
I've removed the gaskets (but was less worried about a clean appearance) once and did it with a sharp razor blade, basically scraping it away.
Tedious job but I don't remember it taking a really long time. I could 'roll off' residu glue using my fingers.
I've removed the gaskets (but was less worried about a clean appearance) once and did it with a sharp razor blade, basically scraping it away.
Tedious job but I don't remember it taking a really long time. I could 'roll off' residu glue using my fingers.
I removed it without any solvent. As Wesayso said, it can be done but it is tedious. I just pealed it of with thin plastic spatula and cleaned the groove and parts of surround from glue residue with toothpick. On all 6 pieces of TC9 that i own. Put on some podcast and clean just one today. One by one, it has cumulative effect 🙂
Thanks for the input guys. The break cleaner and acetone are definitely a no go being incompatible with rubber. Vodka seems to be working decently enough without hurting anything. Isopropyl is also too agressive. Hexane would work but its really bad for you.
This may be a job for my 15 yr old son to teach him a bit more patience... lol. It will cost me a box or two of the fancy imported saxophone reeds he likes... not your typical teen who eats junk food and watches youtube all day (except for learning jazz).
This may be a job for my 15 yr old son to teach him a bit more patience... lol. It will cost me a box or two of the fancy imported saxophone reeds he likes... not your typical teen who eats junk food and watches youtube all day (except for learning jazz).
@profiguy Medical adhesive remover might be worth a try. The main ingredient looks like Siloxanes or Alkyl Siloxanes and it seems pretty good when I’ve used it for removing other glue residues etc. You should be able to find the stuff in an aerosol can and wet wipe format.
where in the world are you?
where in the world are you?
I was going to say "don't worry, butyl rubber is very resistive to solvents", but from your photo the surround looks not rubber, but foamed polyurethane. It's usually called "foam rubber", whuch is plainly wrong and confuses people, because suurounds are usually made either from "foam" or from "true" rubber, i.e. polyisobutylene-isoprene. It resembles polypropylene, which is known for it chemical resistance.
I would still use solvents. Soak gasket from outer edge with xylene, acetone or ethylacetate using syringe. The surround will probably absorb some ethylacetate too, will slightly sag and wrinkle on the outside, but it will return to original properties once dried. I regulary glue foam surrounds using polychloroprene adhesive, which is synthetic rubber dissolved is ethylacetate.
Here the medical staff soak the adhesive bandage with iso propyl alcohol, and peel off the bandages / dressings, works well enough, the adhesive loses its strength.
Spirits was ideal, but some people tried to divert it for potable use, supply was restricted. IPA works well enough for antiseptic purposes as well, and being not potable, is comparatively easy to obtain.
As for transformer oil, the MSDS for WD40 mentions hydro treated naphtha, which is another name for transformer oil.
CRC 2-26, and other formulations also consist mainly of transformer and / or silicon oils, with different additives suitable for the purpose the material is to be used.
Spirits was ideal, but some people tried to divert it for potable use, supply was restricted. IPA works well enough for antiseptic purposes as well, and being not potable, is comparatively easy to obtain.
As for transformer oil, the MSDS for WD40 mentions hydro treated naphtha, which is another name for transformer oil.
CRC 2-26, and other formulations also consist mainly of transformer and / or silicon oils, with different additives suitable for the purpose the material is to be used.
Foamed in place polyurethane varies greatly in adhesive strength, depends on substrate and composition.
Some shoe sole adhesives are formulated with it.
On a speaker, I would need special dispensers, and that would mean large scale assembly line production.
Can you post a close up picture with the section of adhesive / foam visible as in the 'O' part of an 'O' ring?
That may give a clue as to its composition, which will tell us about suitable adhesives used.
Some shoe sole adhesives are formulated with it.
On a speaker, I would need special dispensers, and that would mean large scale assembly line production.
Can you post a close up picture with the section of adhesive / foam visible as in the 'O' part of an 'O' ring?
That may give a clue as to its composition, which will tell us about suitable adhesives used.
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Avoid oils which destroy rubber products and can never removed later.
Also ineffective weak (as far as the adhesive is concerned) Isopropyl alcohol, etc.
Proper solvent (although scary, be careful) is Toluene or Xylene.
Apply the least amount possible so it only wets the area you want to remove, rubber/foam will absorb it, swell, weaken, adhesive will soften too, and in that state you can remove it, bit by bit.
Somewhat slow but way faster than working "dry".
The beauty is that those solvents are very volatile (in fact you will have to keep applying it with a wet Q Tip) so evaporate quickly and fully.
Swollen rubber will return to normal.
Oils? they will stay forever and ruin everything.
Also ineffective weak (as far as the adhesive is concerned) Isopropyl alcohol, etc.
Proper solvent (although scary, be careful) is Toluene or Xylene.
Apply the least amount possible so it only wets the area you want to remove, rubber/foam will absorb it, swell, weaken, adhesive will soften too, and in that state you can remove it, bit by bit.
Somewhat slow but way faster than working "dry".
The beauty is that those solvents are very volatile (in fact you will have to keep applying it with a wet Q Tip) so evaporate quickly and fully.
Swollen rubber will return to normal.
Oils? they will stay forever and ruin everything.
Maybe this is a language thing, but "transformer oil" is not a specific compound (or, perhaps more to the point, it's quite unusual to refer to it as a base ingredient). Transformer oil is, or is comprised of, a compound or formulation. Even naptha is not a specific compound but a range of applicable ones.
If we didn't have transformers that needed oil, what would you call "transformer oil"?
And there are some transformer oils that are quite hazardous. Perhaps you've forgotten about these? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer_oil#Polychlorinated_biphenyls_(PCBs)
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I refer specifically to hydro treated naphtha in WD40.
That is a type of mineral oil used in distribution transformers.
Please read that article above from the top, it mentions mineral oils.
The hazardous PCBs are not produced any more, the article says so.
And how is an obsolete oil relevant to this thread?
That is a type of mineral oil used in distribution transformers.
Please read that article above from the top, it mentions mineral oils.
The hazardous PCBs are not produced any more, the article says so.
And how is an obsolete oil relevant to this thread?
While the exact type of rubber the surround is made from is unknown, I'd highly suspect its butyl based on the feel and appearance.
Nitrile and butyl are not compatible with isopropanol. I know this from working on open real tape machines. I was trained on the Revox A80 and others,, so there were strict guidelines for dealing with rubber components (I own an A80 myself). Hexane was the preferred solvent to clean pinch rollers and other rubber parts. If the PR was glazed, we'd use a short treatment of acetone to remove the glazing. Acetone is really strong stuff on rubber of all kinds. United Recorder made a specific solvent for cleaning the tape path and pinch rollers. The key ingredient in it is hexane.
The gasket foam.feels alot like foamed rubber and not urethane. That maybe wy its so stubborn. I may try the focused pinpoint heat method. Slight possibility I have to sacrifice one driver to speed the process up to a reasonable pace. If it doesn't speed the removal up, I might rear mount the drivers after all.
Nitrile and butyl are not compatible with isopropanol. I know this from working on open real tape machines. I was trained on the Revox A80 and others,, so there were strict guidelines for dealing with rubber components (I own an A80 myself). Hexane was the preferred solvent to clean pinch rollers and other rubber parts. If the PR was glazed, we'd use a short treatment of acetone to remove the glazing. Acetone is really strong stuff on rubber of all kinds. United Recorder made a specific solvent for cleaning the tape path and pinch rollers. The key ingredient in it is hexane.
The gasket foam.feels alot like foamed rubber and not urethane. That maybe wy its so stubborn. I may try the focused pinpoint heat method. Slight possibility I have to sacrifice one driver to speed the process up to a reasonable pace. If it doesn't speed the removal up, I might rear mount the drivers after all.
As for wd40, I don't get it near anything sensitive to residual oils. I've had bad luck with this stuff on anything other than rusty fasteners. It does have fish based oils in it, which is the wetting agent to get it into rusty fasteners. I don't really like it in general but it does have limited uses. Naphtha is an ingredient in it,, which is another incompatible solvent with most types of rubber.