[R-390] More geartrain rebuild info

[John KA1XC]

Well, I've found the best solvent is old-fashioned Elbow Grease and a few
good brushes, there's no other way to dislodge the really solid gook. For
brushes I use old toothbrushes, nylon wooden handles brushes, and for long
reaches into tight spots the brushes made for silk-screening work well
because they have long handles and short stiff bristles. Q-tip type swabs
are also a must for small areas, I buy them in the biggest packages I can
find.

Kerosene works as a grease solvent, but I usually use mineral spirits or
WD-40 for cleaning. They are good grease solvents but have a low enough
evaporation rate so as not to cause breathing problems and are generally not
to rough on the skin.

Carb cleaner works well but it's better as a spray-flush to use after the
main cleaning is accomplished because it evaporates too fast to remain on
the "work". It can also be rough on the skin and creates loads of fumes and
I usually don't use it unless I can take the gizmo to be cleaned outside.
Ditto fume warning for the brake cleaner aka carbon-tet type sprays. A can
of Carb cleaner (with a stem) is also my weapon of choice for instantly
taking out big spiders and wasps. :^)

John




> This geartrain was just a tad dirtier than my first one, but not by much.
I
> did not tear down the first one because I had no instructions for putting
it
> back together.  Now that I've done the complete teardown on this one and
> found what I have found, once I get this radio finished, I'm probably
going
> to tear down my first one and do a complete cleanup on it too.
>
> After taking all the gears off, I took the cam/frame assembly to the
> automotive shop here at work and washed it in one of their parts cleaning
> tanks.  It didn't really do much to cut the dried grease.  I tried
denatured
> alchohol with not much better results and am now using kerosene.  That
works
> a little better than the other things I've tried, but it doesn't really
> dissolve the dried grease without a lot of rubbing either.  While it might
> work better, I really don't want to have an open container of gasoline.
Any
> other good solvents?  Brake Cleaner?  Carb Cleaner?  Fire?
>
> Barry(III) - N4BUQ