[ARC5] Cadmium plating

[Mike Hanz]

I'll add a vote for John's approach.  WD-40 or LPS-1 is what I usually 
use, because it provides a thin sealant layer that retards return of the 
efflorescence in a humid environment.  As long as you don't breath it as 
a powder, I don't think there's much more danger than most other common 
chemicals.  It is certainly used in almost every manufactured item we 
have made for the last hundred years or so.  You might consider tin 
plating rather than cadmium - it is something you can do at home.  A 
clear coat of lacquer and it will look very similar.  My particular 
solution is to spray paint the can (or whatever) with chrome bumper 
paint, then rub it down with an old tee shirt after a week or so.  It 
produces a finish that looks amazingly like fresh Type I cad plating, 
but will not darken over time like cadmium will.  It's only drawback is 
that it isn't very good in a high traffic area.

73,
Mike

On 9/3/2011 9:02 PM, J. Forster wrote:
> I've had good luck just wiping them with a rag and a little mineral oil. I
> don't know how toxic, but I do wash my hands well after handling them.
> ==============
>> I have a number of old ARC-5 receiver capacitors and choke on which what I
>> assume is
>> cadmium plating over the brass "flower-pots" has oxidized to a white
>> powder.
>>
>> I am thinking of buffing this off and having them replated.
>>
>> However, it seems to me that I have read somewhere that cadmium oxide is
>> poisonous.
>>
>> Is this true, and if so, HOW poisonous?