[Hallicrafters] EXT :Re: Power washing a dusty, grimy rig??

[Stevens, Bill (ES)]

Gents
Let me add a few comments please not that I am an expert but have worked in this field for 40 years and learned some hard lessons. If you have any kind of rust issues STOP!!!  Don't even think of using steel wool or for that matter scotchbrite.  If it is only surface and not eaten into the steel try a small bit of naval jelly applied with a Q tip followed by cleaning with alcohol and cotton balls swabs, an old T shirt (cotton Rag!!) again elbow grease is the magic potion here. If the rust is bad either on the chassis or case unless you have access to industrial chemical strip tanks, junk it and find another. My work place was flooded by a half million gallons of water mixed with mud and we had a lot of equipment that got damaged.  We hired a pro restoration company to come in. they were here for 2 weeks to clean and all they used was a weak Windex solution brushes and rags, did the trick and saved a lot of gear.  The big systems that were damaged got junked there is only so much you can and the company got help from insurance THERE.

Washing gear is a whole different ball of wax, UNLESS you have the correct equip and knowledge don't do it, again elbow grease is best.  The use of a kitchen range is not recommended since they are very poorly regulated, besides the materials used in the old sets could be very vulnerable to damage from any kind of heat, chemicals ETC. 


Oh on eBay.....................well I see  a lot of 40 year old Hondas that look like they came right out of the showroom??? If they look that good and the seller doesn't say it's been rebuilt then RUN!!! Besides when something has been "restored to like new, sorry it is not an original. 

That's my 2 cents worth and good luck on your first project.
Bill Stevens
WB2UFC



-----Original Message-----
From: hallicrafters-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:hallicrafters-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Everette
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2011 10:07 AM
To: hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net; Michael Peron
Cc: mikeqrpfun at aol.com
Subject: EXT :Re: [Hallicrafters] Power washing a dusty, grimy rig??

Let me guess... this is your first project?

You need one thing in great quantity:  PATIENCE.  P-A-T-I-E-N-C-E.  Patience.

You also need another, called COMMON SENSE.

Another is known as ELBOW GREASE.

You don't buy any of the above at True Value, Best Buy or even Sears 'n Rareback Inc.

Without all the above, your project is going to fail.

If you have a screen name on eBay, please let us know what it is.  I wouldn't want to be tempted by a sparkling clean looking radio that doesn't work.

There are NO quick-n-easy paths in this business.

You may see "factory new" looking radios at antique radio shows or in museums... you may think "Oh wow golly gee that's what I want mine to look like."  May be possible, but not by putting water in it.  

Would you take a shower with a tube radio playing in the shower alongside you?  

Well, maybe, if you want a first-class ticket to the Promised Land, or.... um.... wherever.

Don't send your radio to that Big Radio Store in the Sky, with water.

Moisture is one of the worst enemies of electricity.

And inside the SR-400 are voltages that can and will FILL you, with th' gul-LOW-rey of the Lord if you get your hands or tools where they should not be.  If moisture lingers among some of the nooks and crannies, Sha-ZAM!

Golly gee, this ain't no PeeCee with only 5 volts inside.

Next time you go to one of those shows or museums, you might ask: "Does it really work?"  It may be like those classic cars that folks trailer around and put mirrors beneath them while they are on display.  They wouldn't dare start 'em up; and DRIVE them?  Oh Heavens NO!  They might get DIRTY...!

Now...  All the above having been said, let's get serious.

If the radio is merely dusty, DUST IT OUT.  With a brush, or brushed.

The "canned air" used to clean out computer keyboards is a pretty good too.  Use it sparingly.  It ain't "cheap."

Use long Q-tips to get into tight spots.  Go ahead and buy a couple or three packs of 100.  You'll need 'em.  It's amazing how fast you'll use 'em up.

Also, use paper towels or cotton balls on the end of a stick.

If the dust is mixed with some kind of goop, more work is required.  I have never put Scrubbing Bubbles on a chassis; but I have used various kinds of aerosol "Equipment Degreaser" sold in electronic stores.  They work pretty well, in various degrees depending on what you are trying to remove.  

If it's really nasty, you may need something a little stronger.  I've used WD-40, Liquid Wrench, and for the really bad spots, P-B Blaster.  But DO NOT "HOSE" the stuff on.  Spray it on a cotton ball or paper towel, and scrub.  Yeah.  SCRUB.  I wouldn't want any of the above to get into a coil can or a transformer, especially P-B Blaster which is kind of strong stuff and might attack the insulating varnish or wax inside these things.

USE THIS STUFF WITH PLENTY OF VENTILATION.

"Wow, Mister Wizard, how d'ya get th' chassis so clean y'kin eat off it?"

It might not be 100 per cent possible.  There is such a thing as GOOD ENOUGH, or like the broadcast engineer I apprenticed under back at the Dawn of the Wireless Age used to say: "Better than had nothin' been done."

But seriously... it is possible to do some heavy-duty shining-up.  Again, armed with patience, common sense, and elbow grease (none of which anyone in this computer generated plug-n-play age seems to have in much quantity), POLISH IT.

The thing I have used with excellent success is NEVR-DULL, a cotton-wadding polishing agent sold in automotive stores.  Open the can and tear off small pieces of the wadding, and then SCRUB with it, using your FINGERS (EEEEUUUUUGGHH...!) or put it on the end of a Q-tip or stick.

My SX-28 was apparently stored near a coal pile or coal frunace and was liberally dusted with soot.  This stiff is corrosive, and had pitted the unpainted metal surfaces.  About TWO WEEKS (tha's right, Jack) of intense scrubbing using the above methods got the chassis shinier than I would have ever believed.  "I could almost see myself in it!"

"But Mister Wizard... I wanna git th' bottom of th' chassis just as shiny too."

Kid... fergit it!  Unless y'want to remove all the components and wiring... ALL of it... and scrub.

Then y'gotta put it back together, like a Heathkit, WITHOUT the manual.  And despite Heath's motto "We Won't Let You Fail,"  I have heard plenty of heartbreaking failure stories.  And those people had the manuals.  

Do an ASBESTOS hob.  That's ASBESTOS YOU CAN.  And don't lose sleep over it.  It'll be GOOD ENOUGH, and waaaaay better than had nothin' been done.

The old broadcast engineer had another saying, especially applicable here: "Th' 'lectricity don't care!"  That is, as long as you've done everything you can to remove short and arc-over hazards... it REALLY DOESN'T CARE if the chassis is super-shiny.

Dare I assume, you want to actually use this rig instead of embalming it?

If you do feel compelled to take anything apart (and you will probably need to), TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES.  MAKE LOTS OF NOTES.  MAKE LOTS OF SKETCHES.  and, SORT AND LABEL YOUR PARTS, especially screws, which can come in multiple sizes and lengths.

DO NOT rely on your memory.  If the phone rings, you need to answer a call of nature, or your babe comes in and distracts you, whatever you just did will be quickly forgotten.

Tha's right!

Tell ya what, Kid... go to this web site:

www.radioblvd.com

And look at Henry Rogers' restoration articles on stuff like the SX-28, AR-88, National HRO, etc etc.  Then go to 

www.antiqueradio.org, aka Phil's Old Radios.  

Look.  Read.  LEARN.

Benefit from the experience of others.

And one last comment:

That article about putting radios in a dishwasher?

Ot was in an APRIL ISSUE of a magazine.

That tell ya anything?

April fool....!

Oh yes:  NEVER EVER use ANY kind of liquid on a dial!!!!!  Yu'll be SORRR-reeeeeee!

Someone else made a comment about ordering a new dial and maybe new IF cans....?

Yeah.  Right....

73

Mike
W4DSE



--- On Fri, 9/30/11, Michael Peron <mikeqrpfun at aol.com> wrote:

> From: Michael Peron <mikeqrpfun at aol.com>
> Subject: [Hallicrafters] Power washing a dusty, grimy rig??
> To: hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net
> Cc: mikeqrpfun at aol.com
> Date: Friday, September 30, 2011, 4:59 PM
> I purchased an SR-400/PS-500 at a
> local estate sale but it is in need of restoration. The
> undersides are quite pristine but both top chassis are very
> dusty and full of grime (luckily no smoke smell). I first
> plan to dust it with a dry brush followed by compressed air
> as mentioned on the Hali site. I've also read about the use
> of Windex, 409, soap and brasso but this could be quite
> labor instensive. I didn't find anything on using a power
> washer (on low to medium pressure). I've cringe at using
> water on vintage electronics but recall folks drying these
> boat anchors in an oven. Does anyone have any suggestions if
> this approach is advised? My electric power washer has a
> small tank where I can mix in "cleaner" to the water flow.
> Any ideas on what type of cleaner to use? What about
> compressed air drying instead of oven baking? A good friend
> of mine and fellow member suggested covering the IF cans
> before spraying with water (sounds like good advice). Thanks
> in advance. Mike WB6UTW
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