GOOP???

[armdnrdy]

I'm sure this topic has come up before...but I must have missed it.

What exactly is the "goop" that boutique builders use to cover the components thus protecting their designs?

I was thinking that this "goop" would be good for potting DIY LDR/LED combos.

I looked into actual potting compound and that stuff is pretty pricey! I know there are several other things that can be used such as epoxy, RTV, etc. but I was wondering about the "goop"

[haveyouseenhim]

I have heard of using that stuff you dip tool handles in to re-grip it.

[R.G.]

Pedal goop is not one substance. Instead, it's anything that the builder can pour in there that hardens and makes looking at the circuit harder. As you have found, formal potting compounds for electronics exist, but they're expensive. This is because they are usually a setting resin of epoxy, polyester, or urethane plus additives to make them perform certain useful technical functions.

It is likely that pedalbuilders who use goop pick whatever is easy and inexpensive to use and still obscure the circuit as well as being hard to get off. Boating epoxies and polyester casting resins probably account for most of this. They probably include colorants and fillers.

Tool handle dip is way too easy to pick off.

It is possible to do a much better job of obscuring a circuit than by merely putting goop on it. I detailed some of these in "Dirty Tricks 101" at geofex.com. Some of these have never been used, to my knowledge. However, I suspect most goopers can't be bothered to do a really good job.

It's like locks - they're to keep out honest people and lazy people. They're not much good otherwise.

[Jdansti]

Try the epoxy putty a available at your local hardware store for about $6. It comes in a stick with an inner core of one part of the epoxy and an outer layer of the other material.

You just pull a piece off and knead it for a minute. Then you can wrap it around your LED and LDR. It will cure hard as a rock in about 15-min. A trick to shaping it is to wet your fingers with some water so it won't stick to them.

It's opaque, but you might need to paint it black with a Sharpie or some paint.  BTW-you won't be able to get the parts out after it cures without using a Dremel cutoff wheel.

Having said all if that, I use heat shrink tubing. It's black and much easier to dismantle if you want to swap out the LED or LDR.