[Hammarlund] Cleaning HQ 140XA dials

[William A Kulze]

John, I recently went through an HQ-129x and had the same concern. With the panel removed I tested a part of the dial with some markings that don't show through the window when the panel is on. I used water with just a couple drops of a very mild dish soap, using only slight pressure. I didn't hurt the dials on this receiver. There was some black dirt/dust buildup, the dials looked crisper, but since they weren't too dirty to begin with it was only a slight improvement. If yours are real dirty I imagine the improvement will be more noticeable. I would suggest testing a section as I did before you hit the numbers.

I've got an old RCA console that I tried to clean and wound up learning the hard way, took the stuff right off of the glass. It was that nice gold flake paint, too.

Bill W2NVD

-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of John King

Subject: [Hammarlund] Cleaning HQ 140XA dials

I have an HQ 140XA that needs the dials cleaned badly (nicotine and dirt). I understand that the dials on some makes of receivers have fragile dial markings that will dis-appear if wiped with water or other liquid.

My question is whether the dial markings on the older Hammarlund receivers such as HQ 140XA and HQ 150 are cleanable with water without eradicating the markings. Do any of you have experience at cleaning Hammarlund HQ 140XA dials. Do you have actual hands on experience cleaning the HQ 140XA dials? If so, what cleaning method and solution did you use and what result did you get? 

I don't want to destroy these dirty dials that are otherwise very good. Your help will be greatly appreciated. 73, John, K5PGW