Foam in old MXR pedal

[AL]

I lucked into a nice, small collection of older pedals last night. A friend was cleaning out his basement and had a bag of non-working pedals. He didn't want to toss them so he gave them to me. Weeeeee !!!

Anyway, in that pile is a non-working MXR Distortion II. This is an AC pedal - no battery. 

My question is not about the circuitry... yet. The inside, bottom plate is covered with foam. I'm assuming to help stabilize the pedal and keep the components from hitting the metal casing. But, this stuff is done/finished/DOA. It's got the consistency of cotton candy (I haven't tasted it yet but it probably tastes like 30 year old cotton candy as well). It's sticky and disintegrates in my hand. What can I replace this with? Any ideas? I have some anti-static foam (that they ship chips in) but I'm pretty sure this stuff has some resistance.

Thanks,

AL

[jonathan perez]

i use bubble wrap, and sometimes socks.

[petemoore]

  Extremely high resistance, or more preferably 'open'..ie no current flowing is what I look for in a good insulator.
 Mousepad...seems like good schtuff...
 I use the clear thick plastic sheets...like used for product display/theft prevention..you may have some in your trash right now, I save the wide/long flat sheets I cut out, this stuff looks like won't bread down for a very long time, and is hard enough to poke through.
 It insulates well, and gets my boards bottoms 'on' the ground plane.
 

[Mark Hammer]

I think the problem being flagged here is how to remove the goop that USED to be foam, right?

I would think there is no end of alternatives for isolating the board from shorting out against stuff, but for the moment the issue is having a board you don't mind touching with your bare hands even when the power is off.  So, what do folks recommend for cleaning off the decomposed foam that has adhered to the board and everywhere else?

[AL]

Thanks for the suggestions.

SOCKS ??!!  You're killin' me. That pedal has been sitting in a musty basement for at least 20 years. It already smells really bad. I don't think a pair of socks is going to help the odor. But I love the suggestion and as funny as I find it I have no doubts that it'll work just fine.

petemoore - I'm not sure what plastic sheets you're referring to. Can you give me some more detail?

I am curious about the anti-static foam though. The few pieces I have are almost a perfect fit. Any problems with using this?

Mark, I'm pretty sure I can get that goop off with Acetone/Mineral Spirits. If that doesn't work I have a prosthetic adhesive remover that will take off just about anything - and is gentle on the skin... just like Palmolive.

Thanks again,

AL

[pi22seven]

I ran in to this problem about a year ago with a vintage MXR Analog Delay. That stuff is nasty.

My advice is to remove the pots and clean them, then blow the box out with compressed air for a long time. Don't use a hurricane blast but take your and be very thorough. Take care around the transformer.

Then put the pots back in.

There didn't seem to be any clearance problems so I didn't bother replacing the foam.

Your milage may vary.

[blanik]

had the same s^$*t in my phase 90... i just used lighter fluid to clean everything and put a piece of plastic (i cut a square, tight fitting, piece of plastic from a container (like those ice cream or margarine containers... specially the cover since it's flat) and put it between the board and the bottom of the enclosure... just to avoid shorts..

R.

[snufkin]

i hate that foam i got a

script line driver noize supressor

and it was horibble inside

[petemoore]

  Plastic formed sheeting you see...in all the stores.
  I'ts just clear, sorta thin, very hard to tear...I routinely get the heavy scissors or shears out to get through this plastic to free items I've purchased, which are displayed and protected by the stuff. Sometimes the size/shape makes it hard to get the large, flat sheets.
  It looks alot like the same stuff is used in Boss or DoD...just a sheet of flexible plastic.
  Look at a displayed RS soldering iron...the stuff it's packaged in.

[AL]

Ahhh!! A blister-pack. Gotcha. Thanks petemoore.

blanik and pi22seven  - thanks for relaying your experiences and suggestions. Much appreciated.

AL

[John Lyons]

Ah, that's nothing. The fun time is when you have a large microphone with a lot of sound ports and a grille mesh (EV RE20) and a large molded foam case that's decomposing into goo. Same problem but lots more goo! Any light oil / WD40, mineral spirit, Naptha (my favorite for all goos should work fine. Get most of it out with your fingers and a rag, then work off the residue with the liquids above. FUN FUN FUN.

A good not too stinky product is Rosinol lighter fluid (yellow and blue plastic container) sold in most drug store or hardware shops. The active ingredient is naptha. It's strong on geting goo off and cleaning most anything (stickers, tape, most crud) but it is gentile will painted and plastic finishes. Dries instantly and smells better that straight naptha.

John

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

"anti-static" foam is exactly what you DON'T want!
because, anti-static foam is slightly conductive (to equalise the voltages to pins of chips stuck in it, preventing static damage). Ordinary upholstery foam is fine. Comes in many grades.

[snufkin]

apart form the phase 90

are the script mxr pedals worth allot

i mean how much is my noize supressor/ line driver worth i got it in a junk shop for almost nothing an i dont use it that much

[AL]

"anti-static" foam is exactly what you DON'T want!
because, anti-static foam is slightly conductive (to equalise the voltages to pins of chips stuck in it, preventing static damage).

That's what I was wondering about. Thanks for the info Paul.

AL

[Mark Hammer]

"anti-static" foam is exactly what you DON'T want!
because, anti-static foam is slightly conductive (to equalise the voltages to pins of chips stuck in it, preventing static damage). Ordinary upholstery foam is fine. Comes in many grades.

I've been using hunks of the cheap underlay we got with some carpeting a few years back.  Just the right thickness, and just the right price...free.