Issue:
There are times I need to remove the hot-melt glue or hot-melt potting compound, (which is simply hot-melt glue that has been formed and molded around a connector), that is underneath the molded plastic strain-relief in order to re-form a connector into a non-standard shape/configuration.
When I try to do this I invariably end up either destroying everything or ripping all the wires off.
I’ve tried just about every method under the sun: All the way from heat, (which melts everything), to vicious solvents, (which melt everything - except the hot-melt glue!), all with absolutely zero success.
The best I have done so far is to rip a connector apart and then re-solder everything.
Today I wanted to un-pot a micro-HDMI connector so I could make a right-angle micro-HDMI cable out of it. As you know, HDMI cables have a zillion teeny-tiny wires in them, especially micro-HDMI cables.
Fear reigns supreme. Micro-HDMI cables aren’t easy to find here and they’re expensive when you do find them. I bought two, (and contemplated buying a third), because I was absolutely guaranteed to destroy at least one of them.
Searching on-line yet again, I discovered an “Instructable” that describes a way to remove hot-melt glue that actually works!
Viz.:
The secret?
Isopropyl alcohol.
And yes, I thought the guy was smokin’ dope too until I tried it.
What appears to happen is that the alcohol gets in between the two surfaces and un-bonds the hot-melt to the surface it’s stuck to.
Using alcohol, a pair of small nippers, (and ultimately a small pair of pointy tweezers), I was able to remove virtually all the hot-melt glue without damaging any of the tiny wires.
I didn’t go crazy, but I was able to remove all the glue that I needed to remove.
Pictures or it didn’t happen?
You got it!
This is the connector after the rubber strain-relief had been removed, but before removing the hot-melt potting compound.
Soaking the connector in isopropyl alcohol:
And after the first soak, I was able to remove a lot of the excess potting.
After several soak-and-pick cycles, I was able to remove all the glue that was in my way without damaging the wires themselves.
. . . and re-form it into the right-angle connector I need (before re-potting with epoxy).
Amazing!
What say ye?