HP probe boxes foam melt corode nasty, solution anyone ?

[oz2cpu]

I just show a little bit of the small items from some of my old HP probe and accessories boxes,
the problem is the foam in the boxes often melt and turn into nasty slimy sticky
and coroding stuff..,

anyoen found a magic solution ?

[helius]

The solution is throwing the old foam away and replacing it. As for cleaning the residue from the probes, your main concern is not to spread liquified plastic further. So a solvent that easily removes the foam residue could make the situation even worse, as it would wick over the probes and resolidify.

I would probably use "Heavy Duty Flux Remover 413B" from MG Chemicals, and use a wet-dry towel technique. Moisten a section of one shop towel with solvent, rub the probes (understanding that it can remove paint or labels), then immediately dry with a second towel to prevent resin from redepositing. The most active solvent in the flux remover is acetone.

[Stray Electron]

   This is a well known problem and has been discussed on here before.  But AFIK there's no way to undo the damage once it has occurred.

[amyk]

I suspect they were polyurethane foam, which degrades acidically in the presence of moisture. You can look online for articles about their decomposition products.

I recommend replacing PU foam with PE foam as the latter will not degrade in the same way.

[oz2cpu]

it is another sad day, i was inside all my HP probe and accessories boxes, all melted into total splat and sticky slime,
its melted parts also caused bad corosion to paint and metal parts,
it looks like it is alcohol and hard work that takes it away,
I got two HP 1120A 500MHz probes with amplifiers all damaged too, darn it..
I spent all night trying to get the amplifiers back into an ok state,
I'll be back..

[Bud]

I cleaned that stuff with mineral spirits. Not sure what equivalent product may exist in your country.

[oz2cpu]

yes bud, IPA or just cleaning alcohol is easy to get,
I am able to clean some parts into ok condition,
but the boxes are just terible dont know if I just toss them, or try clean them
the smell is bad too, dont even want them inside, maybe I should share a picture ?

[Bud]

Mineral spirits is not IPA, it is a different petrolium-based product.

I soaked the foam gunk inside the box with mineral spirits and scraped off with an old credit card.

[helius]

Mineral spirits are called "benzin" in many non-English languages. In French it is "l'essence minérale". It is non-polar and thereby more effective at dissolving adhesives. A similar product is naphtha, or "nafta" or "neft".
It is also very similar to oil painters' "odorless" solvent, known informally as "turps".

[oz2cpu]

thanks a lot helius for the name explain
I also got that stocked, I will make a little benchmark compare
what works best