Dust protection for slide pots

Hello, I´m working on a project where I need to put some slide pots, they are cheap and don´t have any protection for dust. I was thinking in use some felt to cover the hole in the chassis  with a thin line for get the shaft of the pot through.

Rasping the felt I notice that it left some lint. I wonder if someone where have more experience in this matter.  What is the optimal material for this, rubber maybe or some synthetic felt?

best regards
Rafael

You do see some with a protective black plastic flap over the fader slot ,it works ok ,but doesnt do much for the smooth feel of the faders once it gets worn .
I usually keep my mixers covered while not in use . Live mixers with the cheap Alps or Matsushita faders are especially prone to collecting grunge in the fader slots ,I generally use a flattened cotton bud with a drop of iso to get in there a catch the debris. Full on flushing with spray tends to wash any lubricant and its very easy to end up with stiff scratchy feeling faders. A simple textile covering for your mixer while its not in use is your best bet.

Yes, I've seen plastic film but in general cheap faders get replaced after seriously dirty.

JR

12afael said:

I was thinking in use some felt to cover the hole in the chassis  with a thin line for get the shaft of the pot through.

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Thats what I use in compact mixers, it's much better to have than not to have, pretty cheap and easy to install

do you glue the felt?

12afael said:

do you glue the felt?

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Yes, I glued the felt edges to the top chassis of the console, or front panel, whatever it's called. I didnt glue it to the fader

I'm mixing at the moment, next time I do to the workshop I will try to find the felt I bought and if you want I can send you some of it.

I just bought it in a local haberdasher/textiles shop, I think it's the name in English.
It's a shop like this:

I´ve seen rubber foil in different graphic EQs. It has been cut in the middle to get the shaft through, glued to the frame of the fader. Occasionally I´ve seen fabric, too. 

> a local haberdasher/textiles shop, I think it's the name in English.

"Haberdasher" may be current in the UK? It has not been used in the US since Harry Truman (owned a haberdashery before he was President). I believe a haberdasher deals in finished goods--- ah, here UK and US diverge. Truman sold hats and ties, in UK a haberdasher sells buttons and zippers. I suspect even they have picked a new name for their business- Google finds definitions and Truman but few actual haberdashers.

I would call that a "fabric store".

Actually I would call it Mardens. Mardens buys-up unsold inventory for its stores in Maine. Fabric is a funny business and Mardens has more (sometimes ugly) fabric than anybody.

Harry S. Truman & in his haberdashery ca. 1921

The name in my country is "Retrosaria",
google gave me haberdasher as a translation to English.

I never heard that name also so I though it would be better to post a photo

jensenmann said:

I´ve seen rubber foil in different graphic EQs. It has been cut in the middle to get the shaft through, glued to the frame of the fader. Occasionally I´ve seen fabric, too.

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That would seem the best option to me. I think the felt is likely to pick up dust/debris etc and isn't easy to clean whereas a rubber type material is better in this regard.

I open an mxr eq and have 1cm of foam between chassis and the pot, being dense I suppose the dust will be stuck in the foam. I was thinking in some thin plastic sheet, similar to the rubber approach, I feel it will just reduce the aperture but the dust will be collected there and could easily fall in the hole.

I tried already with two kinds of felt, it affect to much the feel of the pot for the moment.

12afael said:

I open an mxr eq and have 1cm of foam between chassis and the pot, being dense I suppose the dust will be stuck in the foam. I was thinking in some thin plastic sheet, similar to the rubber approach, I feel it will just reduce the aperture but the dust will be collected there and could easily fall in the hole.

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But a vacuum would stand a better chance of getting it off the rubber cf felt.

My only concern with using felt is that it may generate some dust itself in the form of lint.  Maybe a strip of mylar would work better.  Or just keep a can of air handy and blow the dust out occasionally.

CurtZHP said:

My only concern with using felt is that it may generate some dust itself in the form of lint.  Maybe a strip of mylar would work better.  Or just keep a can of air handy and blow the dust out occasionally.

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Good points. You could give the type of film sheets used for overhead projectors a go ?

> "Retrosaria"...google gave me haberdasher....better to post a photo

I found haberdasher, also Draper's Shop, which is obsolete in the US but it had a UK flag.

That photo is universal! There's yarn on side and bed-sheets in back, but the bolts of fabric on the cardboard holders is probably the same everywhere in the world.

We are just being guys. Ask a woman. She'll know a fabric shop; and also a friend who has 9.8 meters of felt left over from a project.

There are many different kinds of felt.  The kind you see at craft stores is usually synthetic fiber. If you use hard industrial felt it won't pil. I use lots of industrial felt for sound absorption and vibration isolation in the studio. I also use it for heat insulation in the mountain cabin/shed where it is very wet all year around. I cover the door opening in the winter, use 1/2" felt on the floor and covered parts of walls and the ceiling with it.  Industrial wool felt doesn't break down when wet.  It also doesn't burn. I get mine from McMaster-Carr. https://www.mcmaster.com/#felt/=1arrtz1