Fix my 'phones

September 17, 2020 6:01 PM

The padded headband on my trusty over-ear headphones has (well, had) some sort of leatherette coating that has peeled away, leaving just the interior foam behind, which seems to be quite delicate. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can protect the foam and keep using these otherwise completely functional headphones?

Regular adhesive tape doesn't seem to want to stick to the foam. Other ideas I am considering so far are:

- Wrapping the headband with string/yarn/twine
- Sewing or acquiring (where?) some sort of stretchy fabric tube to cover the exposed foam
- ???

As you can see from the link, the headband is detachable so I don't have to worry about fitting something over the ear cups. Ideally the solution would be both somewhat non-janky (or janky in a convincingly stylish way) and comfortable. I considered heat shrink tubing, but am a bit concerned that rubber will pull at my hair? Any other ideas? Thanks!

posted by btfreek to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

In terms of a fabric tube, these types of headbands are generally a jersey tube. If you cut it the short way, you’ll end up with a tube of fabric that might cover your band well enough.
posted by vunder at 6:46 PM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Got a single tube sock you are willing to sacrifice? I'd cut one of those open and then whipstitch that on.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 6:48 PM on September 17, 2020

I would try wrapping it with something like electrical or athletic tape, or maybe even a stretchy gauze like vetwrap, with a technique similar to wrapping bike handlebars. The tension plus sticking to itself should hold it in place even if it doesn't stick well to the foam.
posted by randomnity at 6:49 PM on September 17, 2020

Ok, hear me out, plastic wrap (aka saran wrap). Sticks great to itself, won't stick to hair. If you want to then hide that with yarn or something prettier, that's cool too, but the plastic wrap will keep foam from falling out and tears from getting worse.
posted by advicepig at 7:02 PM on September 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

There are tons of headphone band covers on amazon. I bought one not long ago for an aging pair of Sennhaisers.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 8:43 PM on September 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

As sevensnowflakes says, there are replacement leatherette covers on Amazon for 20-40$. My kit was for the ear cups and headband for sennheiser hd280s. Headband affixes with zip lock basically.
posted by TheAdamist at 3:22 AM on September 18, 2020

Duct tape, available in snazzy colors!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 12:10 PM on September 18, 2020

Along the lines of randomnity's suggestion above, when I repaired a similar problem on my headphones I used self-adhesive foam handlebar grip tape. I found some that was relatively thick and had a soft rubbery texture. My headphones have clips to cover the ends of the headband, so I used those to cover and secure the ends of the tape. With your headphones I'd be a little worried about the ends looking unfinished.
posted by nobodyyouknow at 4:02 PM on September 20, 2020