<Techniques/Skills> Goop Removal Recipes?

How do you trace a circuit from a stompbox you have? How to remove that ugly goop in your boutique stomper? All secrets are releaved here...
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modman
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Post by modman »

some tips sent to me in a private message:
He suggested several chemicals that may work.
This is what he suggested:

- Gasoline; diluted with hydrogen peroxide in a 2 to 1 ratio. It must be applied carefully and of course it is a flammability hazard while working with, but it will cut into any petroleum-based goop with good efficacy and if you're careful, damage to the components will be minimal.

- Acetone; can easily cut into epoxy based goops, but it also will melt and destroy most plastics very easily. Damage to the components may be severe if extreme caution isn't taken.

- Trichloroethylene; known in the industry by nicknames such as, Trike, TCE, and Tri. He recommends this as the best chemical solvent to use on goop. It can remove the goop cleanly with little to no damage to the components. It evaporates very quickly, so there is a minimal chance of melting any plastics. The only problem is that it is highly toxic and a known carcinogen, therefore, proper protection is mandatory for anyone using it.

Also try a little bit of denatured alcohol on it, to test it's reaction to mild solvents, to try and better determine what might be the best stuff to use on it. He made a point of saying that Non-Destructive degooping is very difficult and a rather rare practice in professional reverse engineering. When a device is dissected, it usually isn't their intention for it to ever function again.
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whammy
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Post by whammy »

Acetone is great for a final clean of the board once the components are gone IF you decide to remove them.
It's common for the markings to be removed by the builder, or by the degooping process, so I like to remove and test everything.

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analogguru
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Post by analogguru »

someone already seems to have put a gooped device under x-ray´s... the result looks like this:
http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/cu2214tm.jpg

analogguru
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modman
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Post by modman »

Please, support freestompboxes.org on Patreon for just 1 pcb per year! Or donate directly through PayPal

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analogguru
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Post by analogguru »

I wondered about that earlier, did you build yours already?
I am still working on my tutorial:

"How can I use my Marshall-amp as a private x-ray ?"

and

"How to improve the picture quality by better guitar-playing-skills."

:lol:

analogguru
There´s a sucker born every minute - and too many of them end up in the bootweak pedal biz.

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chicago_mike
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Post by chicago_mike »

Hey guys!!!


The "goop" is most likely Epoxy Coating from MG chemicals.

Heres how to get rid of it....put the board in a toaster oven. hang it inside the oven say, upside down so the epoxy melts off the pcb. Parts will be okay. My bro and I have done this on some expensive computer (non commercial) boards at an old job.
Skyline FX 2013

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