2. amps-preamps
  3. 1392006848

Cleaning melted plastic from MC275 chrome surface

It's a nightmare on MC275th Street - A brand new demo MC275 was plugged in at a show without the I.I.C. (Idiot's in Charge) having removed the styrofoam tube cover. That's right. They bypassed all warnings on the amp itself and without a thought, cranked the amp on only to smell burning and then see smoke pouring out beneath the tube cover. What we have now is the chrome tube surface scarred with a thin layer of melted black plastic residue. The tubes got waxed with black, but fortunately we were able to crack that off. Is there anything we can do to rehabilitate the chrome without taking off any lettering? Please. This whole thing has made me sick. Kind of reminds me of Mr. Bean defacing poor old Whistler's Mother... but this is worse... Any ideas?
moonshot
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
Goo Gone

This stuff works pretty good on most stuff, it'll take a while but certainly worth a shot.

Best of Luck

Peter
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,982 posts
 
I agree with Peter. Goo Gone has come through for me many times where other products failed. Be gentle, and let it sit there for a while. If it is working, do it repeatedly.
Good Luck.
rodman99999
6,131 posts
 
One of Goo Gone's primary purposes is paint(spills/over spray) removal. The OP mentioned wanting to retain the chassis' lettering. I'm guessing that lettering would be silk-screened(paint/ink). Also; Goo Gone is a pretty mild solvent. Plastics generally take something more aggressive, to dissolve. Personally; I'd soften the styrofoam with a hairdryer and try to peel it off first.
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,983 posts
 
I was going to recommend the same thing that Rodman did, but instead of a hairdryer, (which may not get hot enough) use a heat shrink gun. My heat shrink gun gets very hot, but be careful to not overcook the plastic.
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio
1,613 posts
 
I'd suspect that the silk screened lettering is a baked on epoxy which is pretty hard to dissolve, then again the styrofoam is now baked on too. I'd still give the Goo Gone a try, its a natural citrus based product, quite oily in viscosity, might just be able to get in-between the chrome and the styrofoam and loosen it. I'd be very hesitant to apply more heat to the process, if the MC 275 was mine.

Best of luck and let us know how you make out.

Peter
More to discover