Jump to content

Cos 11 Sticky cable- not from tape...


Freeheel

Recommended Posts

I was pulling out some older cos 11 lavs that I haven't used for a while, and one of the mics' cable sheath has started to degrade. It looks normal, but the entire length of it has gone sticky.  I'm going to try a few terrifying solvents I have lying around (start with citrus, then alcohol, then naphtha, then xylene, then acetone, then Methyl Ethyl Ketone)   but wondering if anyone has come up against this and can recommend a fix?    The mic works fine apart from the fact that I can throw it at the ceiling like a piece of spaghetti and it will stick...  The one interesting thing about this mic is that it was bought second hand with a transmitter, and it's sheath always seemed a bit different than all my other Cos 11's, I not sure whether Sanken changed how they manufacture the cable at some point, or whether it got contaminated with something at some point in its lifespan.

Any thoughts?

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started down the list (and added a few)

99% alcohol - no change

Dish soap- no change

Fast orange citrus with pumice-  a little bit cleaner- maybe the pumice rubbed some stickiness off.

Naptha (Coleman Fuel)- no change

brake cleaner - no change

Acetone- no change

Xylene-  This actually seemed to clean the stickiness off.  It left the rubber sheath a bit soft though, so I rubbed on some 303 Aerospace protectant, which seemed to reconstitute the rubber a bit, and made it feel normal again- though now I'm noticing that 3M Transpore tape doesn't like to stick to the 303.

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I have a similar issue with the cable of a sanken cos 11d that got sprayed with diesel fuel during a reality shoot. I cleaned it initially with warm water and some washing up liquid and with tea tree oil later on. This helped a little but it still tends to develop a residue in the plastic case. It's my "sacrificial mic" now and gets used in any dodgy setups. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Rick Reineke said:

I use surgical tape residue remover for Transpore goo, where the 'usual' solvents do not work very well on that. Unfortunately it's not available in the usual suspect US pharmaceutical stores (CVS, RiteAid, Walgreens, ect).

Yup, 

 

That's what Remove is. It is available in Drug stores that have a home care section.

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

So I looked up what's in Remove Universal Adhesive Remover and it's mainly dipropylene glycol methyl ether. And Naptha.

I wondered what I had around the house with those components and realized that automotive starting fluid was kinda similar.

 

And it actually worked pretty well to clean a Sanken RM11 rubber lav mount that was massively gooed with 3m Transpore tape adhesive.

 

Spray with starting fluid.  Scrub with cloth or paper towel, and rinse with 99% alcohol.

 

So until I track down some Remove, this will serve to keep the rig clean... with something that's easy to source and usually in my garage anyway...

 

Haven't tested it on an actual lav cable yet, I'll try that tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found some Remove wipes at a local medical supply store. (Lancaster on West Broadway if you're in Vancouver, BC)

 

Rather expensive at $25 for 50, but I cleaned 6 lavs and mounts with 2 wipes, so that's probably good for years...

 

They worked really well!  Thanks to those who found and recommended them.

It's good to do a final wipe with alcohol since the wipes have aloe vera in them which leaves the wires and mounts a bit "moisturized"

 

And if you're really cheap, automotive starting fluid is $5 for a can that will last forever, as well as get your horrible old lawnmower running in the spring.

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Wow, I just came across this with two lavs I haven't used in a while. All sticky and shiny sitting in a drawer over covid. Weird. I see I'm not the only one.

Wasn't used in any crazy type of situations. Hadn't been used at all for 6 months. Thanks for the suggestions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Yep, just found another gooey Sanken in the drawer, with the cable itself starting to dissolve,  and tried the Remove wipes as my first line of offence.  They worked beautifully - no need to pull out the Xylene bottle!

Another reason to love the Remove...

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...