Let's Talk Velcro For A Moment

[Pauleo1214]

Made a quick video to clarify my point about acetone and catalyzed poly finishes by taking the stuff to my vexter series fuzz factory. Again, exercise caution. For instance I likely wouldn't take this stuff to one of my behringer pedals encased in plastic.

I'd be happy to make another video of me squirting acetone on my PRS CE22 signed by Paul himself!

 

[HamishR]

I don't know if it's available outside Australia but eucalytus oil is amazing for getting rid of sticky goo. I've never had it affect a finish either. Plus it smells nice and mums use it here on hankies to clear the nasal passages - it's quite a pungent smell!

I dislike velcro for it's ability to collect hair, pet fur, bits of paper, dead bugs... So I use double sided tape. The slightly puffy stuff you stick mirrors to walls with. Pedals stay stuck but it's not too hard to remove them. It's just not reusable. No detritus trapped, so I'm happy.

 

[Joben Magooch]

I will also recommend dual lock over Velcro.

That said if you are really sure you have something you don’t want to move… I use bicycle chain links. Attach to the pedal using the screws that hold the bottom plate on, then screw the other hole of the chain link into the board…

 

[giovanni]

In case nobody mentioned this, you need very little Velcro on the bottom of the pedal. I usually put two strips maybe 1/2” wide, and as long as the short size of the pedal (hooks side). It minimizes the amount of Velcro you need, so it’s easier to take off if needed, and it makes it easier to move pedals around.

A tip for pedals with feet, if you can’t remove them: you can make a riser with Velcro itself by sticking two pieces together. I have done that with my Minifoogers for example.

For Boss pedals: you can flip the bottom of the pedal so you get a nice metal surface instead of rubber, no need to buy a replacement!

By the way, all the above applies to dual lock as well.

 

[BuddytheReow]

How many strips of velcro would you guys use on the main board? 1 or 2? I'm thinking 1 and done, but wondering what you guys think

 

[giovanni]

How many strips of velcro would you guys use on the main board? 1 or 2? I'm thinking 1 and done, but wondering what you guys think

Use as much as you need to cover all of it. I made the mistake of not doing that and I regretted it!

 

[BuddytheReow]

Use as much as you need to cover all of it. I made the mistake of not doing that and I regretted it!

you mean fully cover it? i think I only have enough for 2 strips going horizontal on my work in progress

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Made a quick video to clarify my point about acetone and catalyzed poly finishes by taking the stuff to my vexter series fuzz factory. Again, exercise caution. For instance I likely wouldn't take this stuff to one of my behringer pedals encased in plastic.

I'd be happy to make another video of me squirting acetone on my PRS CE22 signed by Paul himself!

None of my vexter series pedals have a noticeable topcoat over the silkscreen as far as I’ve noticed, and I was under the impression that they used an enamel-based ink for the screen printing on them, which would be impacted by acetone, albeit not immediately. I wonder if they’ve done different methods over the years

 

[Pauleo1214]

None of my vexter series pedals have a noticeable topcoat over the silkscreen as far as I’ve noticed, and I was under the impression that they used an enamel-based ink for the screen printing on them, which would be impacted by acetone, albeit not immediately. I wonder if they’ve done different methods over the years

Entirely possible if they sourced parts and services from different places over the years.

Back to the subject at hand, what side pedals are on your board? I have a bunch of leftover lids for various size enclosures that I ruined. If you have leftovers like that they would be ideal candidates to have velcro placed on the back.

 

[giovanni]

you mean fully cover it? i think I only have enough for 2 strips going horizontal on my work in progress

How deep is the board?

 

[vigilante398]

My main pedalboard is big and heavy so I decided I wanted a smaller, low-commitment board I could bring out for casual playing, but I still hate velcro. So I pulled off all the back plates, drilled holes in a sheet of scrap aluminum, and mounted all the pedals straight to the board. I hate velcro.

 

[Feral Feline]

I may have missed it, but as far as I could tell nobody has directly addressed Buddy's question about which side of the velcro goes on the board and t'other on the pedals.

FUR=BOARD,
SCRATCHY=PEDAL.

If you have the scratchy hook stuff on your pedals, you can stick them on the carpet in your bedroom, on the side of your rat-fur bass cab (I never see rat-fur on guitar cabs for some reason).



Fur on board and Scratchy-hooks on pedals makes trading/buying/selling pedals easier as MOST people have their pedals mounted in such a configuration. My guitar fiend, eh friend, didn't know which side to put down on the board when he was first starting out, so he chose WRONG and put the scratchy stuff on the board. Whenever he buys a used pedal, he has to remove the scratchy stuff off the pedal and put on the loopy-fur. When he sells a pedal he has to remove the loopy-scratch off the pedal ... WAPITFA ! On top of all that, we can't trade pedals and use them on each other's boards easily.

So why doesn't he change it up so the fur is on the board?

Too many decades of doing it wrong and amassing too many pedals — he figures it'd be too much of a pain to swap 'em all out.
I say he's spent too many cumulative hours swapping out the velcro on individual pedals that he's bought and sold over the years and if he'd just knuckle down and get it one-and-done he'd only be bitching and moaning one time instead of every time he wheeler-dealers a new pedal in our out of his stable.

I see a lot of people with Temple Audio boards doing that because their mounts are trash and the holes make it difficult to put dual lock or Velcro down without obstructing the path for cables.

I love Temple boards, the mounting plates not so much. I'd just cover the Temple in velcro fur and razer-cut out all the cable-path holes because ...

... ZIP-TIES WRECK PEDAL-FINISHES. I had an overloaded PedalTrain Metro and needed to zap-strap one pedal while all the others had enough velcro purchase. Guess what happened to the zip-tied pedal?

During transporting and usage dust and grit got under the zap-strap and the movement from travel and stompage made that grit grind through the finish.

So if you don't want a "TAN-line" on your pedal's finish, then don't bloody strap'm down to the board — save the straps for the bedroom...

 

[Alan W]

Please note I wrote "if". Acetone is ok on a catalyzed polyurethane based finishes. It can dissolve the adhesive without affecting the finish.

Acetone can dissolve a lot of plastics and nitro. I highly doubt anyone uses nitro as a topcoat for pedals.

I’m gonna stand by my recommendation not to try acetone on any finish. Unless you’re the one that applied the finish, and know the components in it, it’s too risky. I’ve had acetone attack 2 and 3 part urethanes that I have sprayed before. Here’s a photo of my booth and spray area.

 

[Pauleo1214]

I’m gonna stand by my recommendation not to try acetone on any finish. Unless you’re the one that applied the finish, and know the components in it, it’s too risky. I’ve had acetone attack 2 and 3 part urethanes that I have sprayed before. Here’s a photo of my booth and spray area. View attachment 33982

I appreciate that you have your recommendations based on your own experiences, and I won't call them into question. However, I find it unfair that you are adamant about knocking my suggestions, especially when I advise the suggestion of the use of acetone to dissolve velcro adhesive to be taken with caution.

I took the time to demonstrate the use of acetone on one of my own pedals to put money where my mouth is and still advised caution. The point I tried to make in that video was that any mass-producing manufacturer would likely use a catalyzed poly because they are quick to dry and resistant to damage and solvents. Is my suggestion on the aggressive side of the spectrum? Sure, but your response ignores my disclaimers, and your tone indicates I'm some lunatic shooting and squirting acetone on everyone and everything. This exchange is ironic because part of the discussion is about people's dissatisfaction with the adhesive leftover from the velcro on the backs of their pedals.

 

[Alan W]

I appreciate that you have your recommendations based on your own experiences, and I won't call them into question. However, I find it unfair that you are adamant about knocking my suggestions, especially when I advise the suggestion of the use of acetone to dissolve velcro adhesive to be taken with caution.

I took the time to demonstrate the use of acetone on one of my own pedals to put money where my mouth is and still advised caution. The point I tried to make in that video was that any mass-producing manufacturer would likely use a catalyzed poly because they are quick to dry and resistant to damage and solvents. Is my suggestion on the aggressive side of the spectrum? Sure, but your response ignores my disclaimers, and your tone indicates I'm some lunatic shooting and squirting acetone on everyone and everything. This exchange is ironic because part of the discussion is about people's dissatisfaction with the adhesive leftover from the velcro on the backs of their pedals.

I meant no personal attack, and do appreciate your efforts to back what you are suggecting. It’s just that I have over 40 years of experience with spraying coatings, and especiallly through teaching have been exposed to a large number of “mishaps”—which has made me really cautious about solvent use. And acetone is a very strong, and dangerous, solvent. Again, I didn’t mean to be polemic about this.

it seems like in recent years there’s been a move towards powder coating, and it’s probably safe to expect that “painted“ pedals are urethane now, but many used to be enamels (and I have no idea who’s using what on what)—but many of the pedals made by small “companies” could really be any type of finish. If they are jobbing the painting out, the. Most likely it would be urethanes (or polyesters). That just seems like a gamble to me though.

In my shop we use a hierarchy of solvents, when cleaning anything. First is either mineral spirits (kerosene) or possibly Naptha (Naptha is interesting because although it is very weak, it’s the only solvent I’m aware of to reduce silicon—so if you paint something and get fish eyes, and you know you wiped away any oil, Naptha will most likely work. If there’s still residue, we use alcohol next. Then “lacquer thinner” (which has a bit of many things in it, then acetone, and finally benzene or toluene — but rarely need those last two.

My first step in pulling off adhesive gunk is to burnish some masking tape in the area, and see how much I can pull off that way. The idea is to leave as little residue as possible. Solvents will get rid of it, but they tend to spread it out before it’s all gone.

 

[Pauleo1214]

I meant no personal attack, and do appreciate your efforts to back what you are suggecting. It’s just that I have over 40 years of experience with spraying coatings, and especiallly through teaching have been exposed to a large number of “mishaps”—which has made me really cautious about solvent use. And acetone is a very strong, and dangerous, solvent. Again, I didn’t mean to be polemic about this.

it seems like in recent years there’s been a move towards powder coating, and it’s probably safe to expect that “painted“ pedals are urethane now, but many used to be enamels (and I have no idea who’s using what on what)—but many of the pedals made by small “companies” could really be any type of finish. If they are jobbing the painting out, the. Most likely it would be urethanes (or polyesters). That just seems like a gamble to me though.

In my shop we use a hierarchy of solvents, when cleaning anything. First is either mineral spirits (kerosene) or possibly Naptha (Naptha is interesting because although it is very weak, it’s the only solvent I’m aware of to reduce silicon—so if you paint something and get fish eyes, and you know you wiped away any oil, Naptha will most likely work. If there’s still residue, we use alcohol next. Then “lacquer thinner” (which has a bit of many things in it, then acetone, and finally benzene or toluene — but rarely need those last two.

My first step in pulling off adhesive gunk is to burnish some masking tape in the area, and see how much I can pull off that way. The idea is to leave as little residue as possible. Solvents will get rid of it, but they tend to spread it out before it’s all gone.

Thank you Alan, I greatly appreciate your response and no offense taken, I just wanted to make a point that acetone can be considered, albeit a lot of caution.

@BuddytheReow , back to the subject at hand. I never gigged and never used a pedal board in my life. That said, if I were to avoid the use of velcro, I would go about it two ways.

Method #1

I would fab my own board with threaded inserts. I would then use machine screws to hold down L brackets with a long slot. That way, I could slide the brackets to fit the sides of the pedal to hold them to the board. I am sure there are better brackets out there but here's a photo as an reference.


Method #2

This method involves velcro but you wouldn't need it on the pedal. I would buy a bunch of these rubber feet that you can screw into the pedal over the back cover. You will likely need to buy longer machine screws (ignore that those are wood screws in the photo) with matching threads to anchor them. Then I would cut small circles of velcro fo fit to the back of the rubber feet. Then if you don't want a pedal on your board, remove the velcro off the foot, unscrew and voila.