Black foam is used as cushioning in equipment cases. After some time, It disintegrates into an oily gunk. What's a good way to clean up the mess? Alcohol doesn't seem to help. I'm afraid to get too aggressive with chemicals cause I'd like to keep the outside plastic case intact. Suggestions?
In news:j0get3$fr1$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, mike spewed forth:
try WD 40, it will clean spray foam adhesive of your hands, so I would think it would clean dead foam
Yeah, that stuff is nasty once it self-destructs. Best solvent depends on what type of foam it is, so you want to remove as much as you can with it dry, using a sharp putty knife. Never tried wd-40, but I usually start with the less disgusting materials like windex, goof-off, 90% rubbing alcohol, and spray cans of cheap hairspray. If anybody has other suggestions, please speak up- I have a couple of salvaged Zero cases in my 'one of these days' project pile that I have been procrastinating cleaning up. I don't use the rubbery-feeling black foam any more- I use the the gray or pink stuff electronic gear is packed in now. Not as much shock protection, but it does not get sticky. If I can scrounge it, I use the closed-cell stiff foam- much harder to trim to fit, but it seems to last forever.
Haven't had to deal with that problem for some years, but a good procedure might be to shop the solvent section at your paint store and pick up the smallest container of every solvent they have along with some Stripeze paint remover (contains methylene chloride). Regular paint thinner won't work, so skip that. Automotive gas additive HEET is all methanol which has much different solvent properties from ethanol so try both. Based on the chemistry of the materials, xylene may be a good prospect. If the case is molded polypropylene you should get a good result.
Joe
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