Shorts due to cleaners
Barry Zimmerman
This is a followup to the mouse pee cleanup thread.
As a word of caution, noble attempts at cleaning can cause a few
problems which can be costly. Most cleaners (ammonia, windex, alcohol,
etc) will leave a residue which in some cases can get into places from
which they can not be extracted without great difficulty. Three of
the most annoying are the bases of tubes, phenolic tube sockets, and
the killer, band-switches. Phenolic when impregnated with these liquids
will remain conductive until all hint of the cleaner has been baked
out, by time or by high heat. If the high voltages are applied too
soon, conduction will occur, followed by carbon trails. Then you find
yourself trying to scrap away every trace of black or replacing the
ruined socket or switch wafer.
All the carcinogens we used to use to wash away the residue are
getting hard to find. I guess the flux removers are the best readily
available solvent.
Concerning the lettering on the tube glass, I am never sure what
will strip the numbers. Scratch the number in the base before you wash
the tube, it will keep you from feeling stupid later on. I know!!
Final note on cleaning, RCA, Atwater Kent, Philco (worse case),
and other manufacturers used water soluable ink on their dials. I have
shipped many dials to well-meaning restorers who were not warned. If
you feel you must try to clean the dial, find a spot where the dial
escutcheon covers, and try some cleaners there. Otherwise, rubbing
with a soft cloth to "wear off" the dirt may be best. Any more ideas?
Later
BZ
Henry van Cleef
Barry Zimmerman <bar...@oasys.dt.navy.mil> wrote:
> HI you'all.
> This is a followup to the mouse pee cleanup thread.
>
> As a word of caution, noble attempts at cleaning can cause a few
>problems which can be costly. Most cleaners (ammonia, windex, alcohol,
>etc) will leave a residue which in some cases can get into places from
>which they can not be extracted without great difficulty. Three of
>the most annoying are the bases of tubes, phenolic tube sockets, and
>the killer, band-switches. Phenolic when impregnated with these liquids
>will remain conductive until all hint of the cleaner has been baked
>out, by time or by high heat. If the high voltages are applied too
>soon, conduction will occur, followed by carbon trails. Then you find
>yourself trying to scrap away every trace of black or replacing the
>ruined socket or switch wafer.
>
> All the carcinogens we used to use to wash away the residue are
>getting hard to find. I guess the flux removers are the best readily
>available solvent.
>
up my old phonograph?---radio?
On my shelves are little bottles of solvents. The four that
get the most use are Isopropyl alcohol, GC Electronics "Chloro-Kleen"
(trichlorethane), liquid dishwashing detergent, and diesel fuel, and
lacquer thinner. All of these are capable of destroying valuable and
hard-to-replace parts if used improperly.
The most universal solvent for most cleanup isn't in a bottle---it's
plain unadulterated tap water.
This, by the way, is very similar to what a professional restorer uses
to clean oil paintings (I did not include turpentine, because I don't
have any, but it might work well also). I use the art-restorer's
methods---Q-tips, soft cloths, and a small sponge, and start with plain
water. Don't go sloshing solvent on anything unless you know exactly
what how that "anything" is going to respond to those solvents.
Crud on top of a chassis or a cabinet, including bird guano, mouse pee
residue, etc., will generally soften with a light moistening with plain
water. It may take a while---keep moistening the crud with water,
using a sponge or soft cloth, and if, after a few minutes, it starts
getting dirty, you know you are dissolving the dirt.
Most of the other solvents get used with a Q-tip. Diesel fuel will
dissolve petrified grease and oil, and is good for phonograph motor
parts (either spring or electric). Don't get it on rubber parts.
Alcohol will dissolve solder flux, and I often use it around wafer
switches, on a Q-tip. Rubber parts get dish detergent solutions,
as do plastic trim pieces and knobs. I generally take the knobs off
and drop them in a glass of dish detergent solution, let them soak for
about an hour, then use a toothbrush on the little splines that always
have dirt in them. Makes them look like new.
Ten percent of this work is knowing what solvents to try, and ninety
percent is skill in using them. Decals, for example, will dissolve in
almost anything, but they can be cleaned without melting them if you
know exactly what you are doing and are very quick about it. The only
real way to learn how to do this is with scrap materials, where you
will learn what works and what doesn't.
> Concerning the lettering on the tube glass, I am never sure what
>will strip the numbers. Scratch the number in the base before you wash
>the tube, it will keep you from feeling stupid later on. I know!!
>
The tube-washing fetish amuses me. Date markings and lot numbers are
almost always water-soluble, and tube numbers aren't far behind. A
moistened sponge will get most of the crud off, and you can just stay
away from the marked areas.
I saw a posting that mentioned steel wool. NO! Don't use steel wool
on anything. Little steel particles will break off and cause problems
later. If you want to see something really ugly, look at a piece of
aluminum that has been cleaned up with steel wool---after it has sat
outside for a year. You'll see rust all over the surface, no matter
how thoroughly the piece was washed with soap and water after it was
cleaned.
--
***********************************************************
Hank van Cleef vanc...@bga.com vanc...@tmn.com
***********************************************************
Peter Fraser
Bill VanAlstyne
(Barry Zimmerman) says:
> As a word of caution, noble attempts at cleaning can cause a few
>problems which can be costly. Most cleaners (ammonia, windex, alcohol,
>etc) will leave a residue which in some cases can get into places from
>which they can not be extracted without great difficulty. Three of
>the most annoying are the bases of tubes, phenolic tube sockets, and
>the killer, band-switches...
Here's another no-no I discovered the hard way as a still *very* green
radio restorer:
In attempting to lift quite a few years of corrosion from the chassis of
a Hallicrafters S-20R short-wave receiver, I found that a fine steel wool
pad seemed to do the trick very efficiently. Unfortunately, however, a
tiny fiber of steel shred got into the tuing capacitor, producing a short
whenever the dial was rotated to particular spot! After finally
convincing myself that the capacitor's plates were not bent and shorting
together, I took a strong flashlight to it and discovered the little
culprit hiding down in the bottom of one of the stator stacks. Once
removed, the shorting problem was gone. I've since read that non-metallic
kitchen cleaning pads and a mild metal polish work very well for what I
was trying to do with steel wool.
> Final note on cleaning, RCA, Atwater Kent, Philco (worse case),
>and other manufacturers used water soluable ink on their dials. I have
>shipped many dials to well-meaning restorers who were not warned. If
>you feel you must try to clean the dial, find a spot where the dial
>escutcheon covers, and try some cleaners there. Otherwise, rubbing
>with a soft cloth to "wear off" the dirt may be best. Any more ideas?
No, but a question: I have a Philco 37-610 whose dial has two defects:
First, it is radially cracked (and repaired with some pretty antique
looking scotch tape!). Second, some of the printing on it is worn away
along a circular arc where it apparently rubbed against the bezel. It's
not in unusable shape, but if there were a way to get one in better
condition... Does anyone have one they would be willing to part with?
***********************************************************************
* Bill VanAlstyne N6FN StarQuest Data Services *
* bi...@cruz.com Aptos, CA *
***********************************************************************
mark vanroojen
Nice comments on various solvents deleted.
: >
: The tube-washing fetish amuses me. Date markings and lot numbers are
: almost always water-soluble, and tube numbers aren't far behind. A
: moistened sponge will get most of the crud off, and you can just stay
: away from the marked areas.
: I saw a posting that mentioned steel wool. NO! Don't use steel wool
: on anything. Little steel particles will break off and cause problems
: later. If you want to see something really ugly, look at a piece of
: aluminum that has been cleaned up with steel wool---after it has sat
: outside for a year. You'll see rust all over the surface, no matter
: how thoroughly the piece was washed with soap and water after it was
: cleaned.
Maybe I'm feeling defensive, since I'm the culprit who posted that
tip. I was suggesting it as a method of cleaning glass tubes, which
would of course not be in the chassis when cleaned. I have used the
method for years had had *no problems*. When I'm talking about steel
wool, I'm talking about the very fine stuff (OOOO) that is used by
finishers of all sorts to rub out finishes such as lacquer, not coarser
steel wool, or heaven forbid, brillo pads. With a new pad of steel
wool, very little of it breaks off, and what does break off will
easily wipe off the tube with a soft cloth.
I should stress that I've been cleaning tubes this way for 5 or 6
years now, with never a bad result, seldom even rubbing off any
lettering.
This doesn't mean that I would suggest it for cleaning anything and
everything. Chrome for example will scratch even with the finest
steel wool available.
Mark