Symptoms: The earpad came off. The rubber peeled off, and a lot of facial oil was in the earpiece. The foam part slipped off, and underneath, there was a lock ring, which holds the earpad onto the earpiece.
Explanation: the plastic band that held the foam part onto the lock ring, by making the edge rigid, had broken apart.
Cleanup: I wiped down everything with degreaser or window cleaner, and then, using something like a pen, removed the lock ring by pushing it counterclockwise (or clockwise—who knew, right?). I removed the plastic bits, and using a folded piece of paper, cleaned off the gooey adhesive. I washed everything a couple of times in soap and water to remove all the glue and body oils.
Note that the lock ring has little locking tabs that are on one side of the ring. I figured out which way the tabs went: when the ring was on, and rotated into place, it fit tight. If it was loose and jiggled, that’s the wrong direction.
Next, I figure out how to put the foam part onto the lockring, so the fabric wraps the lock ring, like this:
Note that the lock tabs are face the foam side.
Next, I fabricated a new ring to hold the fabric together. I used some poster board. I imagine any thick paper or thin plastic material would work.
Traced out the circle. Cut it out with scissors – it was a little big, so I trimmed it down to fit.
To cut out the circle, I marked 5mm from the edge of the circle, and carved the interior out with a small utility knife.
My knife was dull, so I had to cut in straight lines and also cut “pie slices” out of the circle. I could have sharpened my knife by using some sandpaper or a nail file, and cut a neater inner circle.
Checked the fit! The lock tabs were exposed. The paper wouldn’t interfere with installation.
Next, glued the paper ring onto the fabric.
I used some caulk as the adhesive. There’s other kinds to use, but this is what I had around. It has a few key qualities: long “open time” so it takes a long time to dry, thickness, so it can be spread and doesn’t drip off, and can be pressed into the fabric.
I used a pretty thick layer, and pressed the whole sandwich evenly with even pressure (paper ring side down).
The whole works felt solid, so I installed it onto the earpiece. I twisted it clockwise, using four fingers to spread the force as evenly as possible.
It went on pretty easily, because the paper ring spread the twisting force around the entire circle.
Replacements
I found replacements on AliExpress by searching for “45mm earpad”. Other keywords are “PU replacement protein leather”. They cost around $5 each, delivered.
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