[Hallicrafters] Wrights Brass Polish

[Barry Hauser]

Wow, Scott!

That's pretty impressive.  Based on some posts I've read about some
strong cleaners and polishes, I might have some concerns:

-- Read somewhere (R-390 reflector, I think) that ammonia is bad for
brass structurally.  Somehow it can weaken brass gears and bearings,
making them more brittle and subject to wear.  I don't know if this is
so, or to what extent, etc.  Will shining your belt buckle with Brasso
will eventually cause your pants to fall down?  I think someone might
have noticed that phenomenon by now.

-- Really strong chemical cleaners, like Tarnx, are said to get things
bright and shiny right away, but by virtue of stripping the metal, cause
much more rapid oxidation thereafter.  Also, some of these products
consume some metal along with the oxides, and might be a bit dicey on
plated surfaces.

-- Ionizing cleaners, such as Simple Green and 409 can soak into porous
insulators like phenolic and ceramic, leaving salts behind which can
result in arcing.  Doubtful that Wrights also has this property. 

But --it's all hearsay and that section of the cover you did looks
terrific.  Of course, very shiny SX-28 chassis may not be traditional
;-).  It would probably be a good idea to protect newly cleaned surfaces
with something, but I'm not sure what.  Would be nice to to replicate the
MFP coating the mil radios have, but not quite so yellow/gold.  I
sometimes do a final wipedown with WD-40 which leaves a residue, but it's
not a great solution.  Maybe some kind of spray on clearcoat that is heat
resistant and won't discolor.

As a final note:  Many of these chassis are cad-plated, and cadmium oxide
is supposed to be nasty stuff.  Does anyone know if the witches brew
concocted by polishing it off represents any particular hazard?

Barry






On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 20:09:36 -0500 "Scott Seickel"
<polaraligned at earthlink.net> writes:
> I tried this stuff on my SX-28 chassis on the 
> advice of  a 390 buddie.  I am amazed by this 
> stuff.  My chassis has a wonderful green patina
> very much like well weathered copper, though 
> there are no signs of water damage.  There is no
> scrubbing it seems to work by chemical action.
> Has ammonia in it and smells strongly like ammonia.
> Wondering if anyone has used this stuff on a chassis
> and if you all think it is safe to use.  Let me tell you that
> it makes the chassis look like NEW and I mean NEW.
> Unbelievable.  Pictures do not do it justice.  Cleaned
> metal really looks like new.
> Check out pictures I posted:
> http://home.earthlink.net/~polaraligned/_wsn/page3.html
> 
> Let me know what you  think.
> 

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