[Hallicrafters] Power washing a dusty, grimy rig??

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Fri, Sep 30, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Michael Peron <mikeqrpfun at aol.com> wrote:
>  I've also read about the use of Windex, 409, soap and brasso but this could be quite labor instensive.

True enough, doing things in a thoughtful, thorough manner can indeed
take time and elbow grease. The rewards are worth it, IMO. Trying to
take a shortcut will more often than not create problems worse than
you already have, and it's always too late when you realize it.

I knew a fellow who bought a nice Collins 30K-1 from a collector out
west, had it shipped to northern New England, where he then 'restored'
it using his dishwasher for the different chassis. He sent me before
and after pictures. It looked like it had just left the factory, with
only a light coat of dust from sitting idle for decades. Sure enough,
the rig that was dusty at most looked shiny inside, but all the E F
Johnson decals on the back of the loading caps had been blown off, and
I heard later that he ended up with a shorted transformer on the
modulator deck. He even wrote an article about how he restored this
transmitter. Somehow, he neglected to mention the damage done trying
to make the rig more impressive.

Be careful with things like 409. They work well on some tough grime
but will remove paint and other things you'd just as soon keep, like
lettering. Even Windex deserves some respect. Water usually won't
hurt, provided you use it sparingly, don't blow it into/under things
under pressure, and let it dry thoroughly as John indicated.

An old toothbrush, some Q-Tips or long, cotton swaps, plenty of paper
towels and a few hours of time should yield pleasing results. When in
doubt, take a break. Step away and ask yourself 'Is what I'm about to
do likely to improve it or make it worse?' I've certainly had a few
situations where the mess I made trying to improve something ended up
worse than the mess I thought I had.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ/4