Foam danger


S

swampsavage

Member
About a month ago I broke out the airbrush equipment. One item I bought back in 1983, and hadn't used yet, was a Binks Raven dual action. It came in a walnut box with it, and all the accessories, nestled in fitted green foam.

The foam had deteriorated and bonded to most all it was in contact with. I disassembled it and soaked every metal item in Acetone. No results. Then I tried MEK. Ditto. Finally wound up using steel wool and eraser to remove the residue.

Today I open the box with an old Bowser Pacific loco kit, of the same vintage, and it also had green foam. It's sticking to the parts in the kit as well.

In a related instance I see, while browsing the net for brass locos, that one of the ones for sale also has foam residue sticking to it and is so advertised.

Just bringing this up as I haven't seen it posted before. Hope nobody else suffers the malady.
 
Hi. This unfortunate problem is generally well known, although some have yet to learn of this, probably the hard way. I have seen listings on the better brass swap and sales sites, including eBay, where the seller has honestly reported the condition of the item.

I have never purchased a brass item in this condition, so what I suggest may be a lot of hooey: I would don a magnifying loop or Opti-Visor, and use a new and very sharp hobby blade to perform what amounts to vascular and neuro-surgery. It would amount to a first 30 -40 minute weathering job on a new and costly loco in terms of care and how long and intense it would be. But, like anything else, if you use the blade with care and lots of self-control, it would be done in one or two session, with perhaps a third to do some minor paint retouching. Hopefully.

By the way, has anyone ever tried good ol' WD-40? That stuff is supposed to cure AIDS and cancer, provide milk for babies, grow vegetables, provide emergency crank-case lube in large internal combustion engines, and cause windows to be self-cleaning for a decade after application. I have a hard time believing the vegatables claim, but I wonder if it would be good a getting rid of bits of the foam.

:D
 
On a related note:

In my previous hobby (1/6th scale figures) we found quickly that plastics didn't always agree with each other, and paint didn't always help create a barrier. It usually happened because some companies would use a softener in the hands of a figure, and that chemical would over time, react with the styrene rifle or accessory in the hands of the figure, and melt finger prints or hand prints into the rifle stock. It also didn't matter if you were in a humid and hot area, or a dry and cool area of the country.

Most foams are ok, but they do degrade over time. If you use foam for anything, just keep an eye on it.
 
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