Removing Celestion glue ?

[jaysg]

I'm trying to diy a repair on a Celestion/Mesa C90. One of the tinsel wires is intermittent and I have to get inside the dust cover to unsolder it.

I'm trying to remove the dome whole, instead of cutting it out and replacing it later. So far, I've tried nail polish remover and straight acetone on the black glue. It barely gets the q-tip dirty.

[Structo]

Boy, if acetone won't do it I don't know what would be a solvent for it.

[Wayne]

Boy, if acetone won't do it I don't know what would be a solvent for it.

Nothing you'd want to drink/touch with bare hands/inhale!

Most adhesives will give it up with heat, but I don't know how much it would take to loosen the "mystery substance" or how you'd apply it without damaging something.

Let us know...

W

[billyz]

I always use a razor exacto knife to cut it out and can usually reuse the dust cap. I think a chemical to remove it would potentially do more damage. Most people could never tell I have removed it and reused the same dust cap. Of Course a JBL aluminum dome is a different story.

[jaysg]

from Dr. Decibel:

"Enough acetone will usually work but heat is an alternative. A hot air gun on a fairly low setting should soften the glue enough to pull the cap off. With this method you will possibly distort the dustcap.
Minimise the amount of time you point the gun at the cone as the heat will also change the properties of the paper and hence the tone."

sigh....

[billyz]

It really depends on the type of glue/adhesive they used. You could try MEK too. I have found it works where acetone does not.

[jaysg]

MEK worked a little better. I got the dome off without too much collateral damage. The glue was very unevenly distributed, so I would conclude it was a completely hand operation. There was some gray glue on the inside that was easier to break down than the black glue.