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Removing glued/dried strap button felt

nickyv23

nickyv23

Feb 17, 2023
3
4
Richmond, VA
#1
Hey all -- I recently picked up a used SBMM Ray34 and noticed after the fact the strap buttons were glued in. I want to swap them out for strap locks, so I followed some advice I found on TB and used a soldering iron to heat the screw and remove the old strap locks.

The bottom strap button came off cleanly, but it looks like the felt washer on the neck-end button must've gotten some glue on it when it was first done and now I have a messy bit of felt around the strap button hole. Pic below:

IMG_0616.jpg


Anyone have any insight on the best way to clean this up without damaging the finish? Tried scraping it off with my finger nail with no luck. There's a fair amount of felt there, so not sure Goo Gone or something similar will work either. Beyond that, my first thoughts were a razor blade or heat gun, but I'm worried that the curved nature of where it is won't make it easy to remove with a razor without nicking/scratching the finish and I'm not sure if heat will damage the finish either.

Any tips? Thanks in advance!
 
#3
The problem with heat is that you could melt the finish by the time the glue gets soft and we can only guess what type of glue is on there. If it was mine and I wasn’t sure of my skills, I’d carefully remove as much as I can with a dremel sanding drum. Get it leveled as close as comfortable and put a new black felt washer on to hide the remains.

Or carry on, remove it all with a dremel and then polish the finish with the dremel polishing wheel and some polishing compound. Keep in mind that most of the area is hidden by the button anyway.
 
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#4
nickyv23 said:
Hey all -- I recently picked up a used SBMM Ray34 and noticed after the fact the strap buttons were glued in. I want to swap them out for strap locks, so I followed some advice I found on TB and used a soldering iron to heat the screw and remove the old strap locks.

The bottom strap button came off cleanly, but it looks like the felt washer on the neck-end button must've gotten some glue on it when it was first done and now I have a messy bit of felt around the strap button hole. Pic below:

View attachment 4995391

Anyone have any insight on the best way to clean this up without damaging the finish? Tried scraping it off with my finger nail with no luck. There's a fair amount of felt there, so not sure Goo Gone or something similar will work either. Beyond that, my first thoughts were a razor blade or heat gun, but I'm worried that the curved nature of where it is won't make it easy to remove with a razor without nicking/scratching the finish and I'm not sure if heat will damage the finish either.

Any tips? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I would carefully slice it off with a sharp chisel, if it were here in my shop. Of course, that requires a bit of learned skill and self confidence.

By the way, I stopped using felt washers under the strap buttons on my basses a long time ago. I use black Bun-N rubber faucet washers instead. I found some the right size and bought a bag. Felt washers quickly squash down and don't work any more. Then the strap buttons spin and rattle and scratch the paint. The rubber washers stay stable for decades. And they look nice and neat.
 
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#5
I ended up applying a low and gradual heat to the felt itself and was able to pick most of it off with my fingernail after it was warm, thankfully. Was able to get 95% of the felt and glue off, and the little bit that's left is covered by the new button anyway, so good enough for me.

Appreciate the tips. I probably would have picked up the dremel if the low heat + fingernail didn't work. The chisel is probably the most effective, but I'm not confident enough in not removing additional finish.
 
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#7
Bruce Johnson said:
I would carefully slice it off with a sharp chisel, if it were here in my shop. Of course, that requires a bit of learned skill and self confidence.

By the way, I stopped using felt washers under the strap buttons on my basses a long time ago. I use black Bun-N rubber faucet washers instead. I found some the right size and bought a bag. Felt washers quickly squash down and don't work any more. Then the strap buttons spin and rattle and scratch the paint. The rubber washers stay stable for decades. And they look nice and neat.
Click to expand...
Which size washers do you use, and where to find them?
 
#8
rockinrayduke said:
Which size washers do you use, and where to find them?
Click to expand...

They are faucet washers, available in the plumbing department at any hardware store. The size I use are 1/2" OD x 3/16" ID, black Buna-N rubber. They are officially called Flat 1/4" (00) trade size. I buy them in bags of 100 from McMasters for $6.75. McMasters part number is 2801K11.
 
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