Buy what's available and live with it??!!!

[nevetslab]

I'm at the start of replacing all of the 54 year old NP and Polar electrolytic caps on this Vox Beatle Super Reverb....the last of the batch of vintage amps being sent to Reverb.com for listing. Virtually ALL of the Nichicon Muse BP caps Mouser sells were out of stock, long lead time/on order, so had to make substitutions. I normally buy bulk discrete, and NOT tape and reel, unless I have no choice. So, the 2.2uF/50V NP caps I had to settle for were tape and reel. Usually I've been able to separate the tap from the paper backing, but not with this batch. So, had to cut up along the edge of the leads to leave just the top and bottom side of the tape, which can normally be scraped away with your fingernails. Not this time. Get it off, and now there's adhesive residue left behind, where I'm going to need to be soldering to the leads. So, resort to using cutters to scrape with. Not so effective with this batch, so out comes the can of Bestine and Kimwipes, to chemically remove the adhesive.



This used to be easier....being able to buy what you need. Maybe I'll be luckier with these Nichicon UPW parts that are also tape and reel. Sure wasn't with the Panasonic parts!

[Leo_Gnardo]

out comes the can of Bestine and Kimwipes, to chemically remove the adhesive.

Ow! I hope you're operating under a fume hood, or at least stay well ventilated. Also . . . it's Cal Cal California so make sure the fumes and waste are properly disposed of.

It's always been a pain for me, to get the components off the tape on those "ammo pack" items. Bestine, hmm I'll have to invest in a can of that stuff. I'm sure it would come in handy to dissolve other goop in other places.

[nevetslab]

Bestine......it comes from the days of use with rubber cement....a thinner for that as that goop ages. But, it works great as a solvent for this sort of thing, as well as breaking down aged masking tape residue on panels, other such frustrating tasks. Yeah, I do have that Goo Gone stuff, and will use it, but prefer Bestine. It's been a while since I've had to restock, so for all I know, you can't buy it anymore...I haven't looked. Yup...still readily available, though more expensive than the last time I had to restock it.

Now, back to the battle on automatic insertion ammo belts to get what I need to resume replacing aged caps on this Vox Beatle. First part I attempted to replace was one of those 3-leaded dual pack caps, having two 11uF NP caps, two leads exiting the bottom, one out the top. There's also pads that don't have exposed solder pads down there. I'm not used to working with a small mirror, to keep from having to flex this PCB. I knew this was going to be slow work, but didn't expect to be spending time stripping adhesive off of component leads to use them!

[drewl]

Odd, we have tons of those at work, and the tape cones right off with needlenose pliars or cutters.

Or just melt it off with soldering iron

[The Dude]

Can't you just cut the leads at the tape, or do you need the extra lead length?

[garytoosweet]

Heat gun?

[drewl]

Can't you just cut the leads at the tape, or do you need the extra lead length?

That's what I do half the time.
Some of the caps need long leads the way those amps are wired.

They. Are. A. Nightmare.

[J M Fahey]

A drop of solvent, think lighter fluid or nitro paint thinner or acetone (or Toluene-Xylene-Benzene) on a small piece of steel wool will remove gunk in seconds.
Alcohol is too weak, you need petroleum distillates or similarly aggressive solvents there.

[Intripped]

Try also with a contact cleaner, it usually contains isopropyl alcohol that is ok for removing glue residues

[drewl]

Yeah, discovered that accidentally when Deoxit removed tape residue on a Fender Twin.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Bestine......it comes from the days of use with rubber cement

I remember rubber cement from first grade. Nobody thought anything of letting toddlers sniff glue fumes in 1959. Lots of "art projects" kept the kids busy, and likely erased a few zillion brain cells while they were at it. "Magic markers" were new on the market at the time also, and stunk to high heaven. Anytime the teacher broke one out, I backed up about 10 steps to stay in the fresh air zone. They still stink to me, but not anywhere near as bad as the Mark I version. Of course this was all in New Jersey, that explains a lot.

[Helmholtz]

Isopropanol doesn't work with hardened glue. BTW, it is not typically contained in contact cleaners. Those use petroleum destillates as solvents.

Often Naphta (lighter fluid) or gasoline works.

For the more stubborn cases I use my old scraper tools:

[Leo_Gnardo]

Yeah, discovered that accidentally when Deoxit removed tape residue on a Fender Twin.

If I'm not mistaken, the solvent that carries Deoxit in spray cans these days is naphtha. Handy to have that in the mix when cleaning typical pots, switches, tube sockets & such. Keep away from sparks & fire, it is definitely flammable. Naphtha used to be the main ingredient in Ronsonol lighter fluid. Now they use something else, but I'll bet the current version would loosen & dissolve sticky gunk of many varieties.

FWIW Deoxit works in a pinch as solder flux. When I first heard of this, thought "no way..." Then tried it, and surprise, it does work.

[nevetslab]

Bestine is a heptane-based chemical, petrol-based. It does get the adhesive residue off, though for some reason, the tape and reel adhesive used by Panasonic on the 2.2uF NP parts was a much more aggressive adhesive than that of the Nichicon parts that I had to get out of the ammo belt. I needed the lead length, as I was replacing those 2uF NP axial lead parts on the Vox amp. I've had some parts in the past easily slip out of the tape on those ammo belts. And, in the past, I've been able to get the residue off using the chain-surface of my needle nose pliers, as well as the edge of my cutters. Wasn't the case yesterday, so just one of those PITA interruptions to stop progress until past it.

I'm now about 3/4 of the way thru replacing the aged electrolytics on that preamp board.

Hemholtz, I like those scraper tools of yours!!!

[Helmholtz]

Hemholtz, I like those scraper tools of yours!!!

Thanks.

Happy to make you a bit jealous of my tools (actually wire strippers for enamelled wire).
You're doing that to me all the time .