Remove old rubber?

[Chris Pile]

Someone is bringing me a 1969 Jaguar, and the rubber on the mute has dried out hard as rock. Any ideas to remove it without damaging the mute? I'd assume some kind of chemical to dissolve the foam or soften the old glue.

 

[idsnowdog]

I removed one with a razor blade and removed the residue with WD40.

 

[Chris Pile]

Cool. That will work. Thanks.

 

[Bill Dennis]

Yes, its always advisable to remove old rubbers.

 

[uOpt]

Acetone or Naphtha. But it will be very slow, so removing excess material mechanically will be beneficial.

Use breathing protection.

 

[magillver]

I'm glad someone made the requisite 'old rubbers' joke, my 12-year-old brain was dieing to chime in on that one!

 

[jeremy]

ive also used a razor blade to get the majority off, then a solvent to get the gunk off

 

[Chris Pile]

I applied the Exacto blade and the damn thing practically fell off complete, glue included. Guess it was ready to depart. The new replacement part from Fender went on easy-peasy. Took less than 5 minutes. NO CHARGE.

 

[idsnowdog]

I applied the Exacto blade and the damn thing practically fell off complete, glue included. Guess it was ready to depart. The new replacement part from Fender went on easy-peasy. Took less than 5 minutes. NO CHARGE.

That was my experience with a Rickenbacker bass mute.

 

[80's_Metal]

Yes, its always advisable to remove old rubbers.

There it is!

 

[jeremy]

glad it went so easily!

 

[Chris Pile]

Yeah, my flabbers were gasted.

 

[marcello252]

I'm glad someone made the requisite 'old rubbers' joke, my 12-year-old brain was dieing to chime in on that one!

OT: sorry, english is not my mother language, could you please enlight me about ? I'm curious

 

[Bill Dennis]

OT: sorry, english is not my mother language, could you please enlight me about ? I'm curious

Rubber is also english slang for a condom

 

[magillver]

And even as a man in my mid 60's, there a big part of my brain that still thinks like a 12-year-old boy, so I still laugh at inappropriate humor...

 

[idsnowdog]

I always thought the term reservoir tip was a bit of an exaggeration. More like a pond.

 

[AdrianSD]

Rubber is also english slang for a condom

Yes, in saying that:

I removed one with a razor blade and removed the residue with WD40.

This method might work for condoms too, although it's a bit rough.

 

[Wattage]

Yes, its always advisable to remove old rubbers.

Back in the day you'd have them Re-vulcanized lol