Filthy chassis

[Bob M.]

I have a couple of absolutely filthy chassis (chassi?) I have to first clean completely and then rebuild. They have both been garaged-basemented for a very long time and are really funky-looking but luckily I'm not really dealing with much rust at all. One chassis had a fan installed at one time and is encrusted with an awful lot of dust and dirt. One is a silverface and the faceplate needs a deep cleaning. Is there a solvent I can use to clean the metal chassis that is an improvement over soap and water to remove all the funk and get them back to shiny metal? I'd like to clean this faceplate and not loose the silkscreened lettering. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Bob M.

[stokes]

Try lighter fluid,cleans pretty much anything.

[madkatb]

Careful with the lighyer fluid, it can remove paint/silkscreen. I've used compressed air and a brush but the other thing that works great is brake part cleaner, aerosol in a can. Probably not very environmentally friendly but effective. Doesn't appear to damage paint but try it on an unseen part first.

[Bob M.]

I wonder what guys in metal shops use to clean parts after fabrication? I'm afraid this is way beyond a brush and compressed air - it's practically Jurassic!

Bob M.

[Gtr_tech]

This stuff works great on silverface faceplates:
http://www.hardwarestore.com/media/p...2_front200.jpg

Removes any oxidation and really shines them up.

Wanna make the tube shields look like new? Try this:
http://www.idealtruevalue.com/catalog/755437.jpg

Fast, easy, wonderful. I've used it as a cymbal cleaner for years. Tried it on nasty looking tube shields on a lark just to see what would happen. Works great.

Chassis can be a problem to clean. If its just dirt, then 409/fantastic do ok. If its petrefied bar smoke or worse......crapshoot. Lighter fluid (naptha) takes off the bar gunk. Maybe try Nev-r Dull on the chassis for the oxidation. Its not great at it, but its ok.

[Bob M.]

Thanks for the solid suggestions!

(Popular Mechanics suggests using 1,1,1-trichloroethane for cleaning metal).

Further research revealed: By 1996, 1,1,1-trichloroethane will no longer be made in the United States due to its effects on the ozone layer.

[Twist]

Simple Green works great on metal surfaces.

[Bob M.]

I bought some Simple Green, based on the recommendation of a local metal shop... it struck out...

[Mark Black]

For steel parts only (definitely keep away from aluminum & paint), try a little Easy Off (or equivalent) oven cleaner. Maybe spray some in a container & use a q-tip to do a test on an unobtrusive spot first.

The stuff also works great on filthy or sooted PC boards too (fiberglass-types, I wouldn't use it on old Fender-style fiberboard), and removes flux residue as a bonus. It doesn't seem to bother the silkscreened PCB graphics or resistor paint markings, but may remove SOME letter-markings on caps, transistors and such (most do just fine).

Bear in mind you have to be able to do a thorough water rinse afterward - most components don't mind but I wouldn't advise wetting transformers & the like.

[allante666]

Dont know if they do it over there but here in uk we used to be able to get some flux remover called 'Flux-Off' (yeah, try ordering that over the phone!) which cleaned circuit boards up really well.
For ingrained dirt and nicotine I use some hard floor cleaning fluid, its supposed to be diluted like 50 to one but i use it neat, its like a really powerful detergent. Again you have to rinse it well after.

oh yeah, and for the benefit of non Americans...whats 'crapshoot'??

[madkatb]

While it is very tempting to sit back and read what would likely be numerous posts leading you down the garden path regarding the definition of "crapshoot" it might be safer if you google "crapshoot definition".

[gbono]

Brake clean works (I like CRC) - 3M still makes an adhesive remover that will even take off silicone RTV - doesn't seem to damage painted surfaces though. It contains xylene, toluene, and bezene so kiss your liver goodby.

[olddawg]

If you have stripped the chassis naked and it is steel, you might go to an auto machine shop and have it hot tanked. That will remove anything but shiny metal and it will look like new. The last time I had something hot tanked it cost me $10 but that was years ago. Chrome shops will do it too.

[Enzo]

Oh, crapshoot - "craps" is a gambling game played with dice. Casinos have tables devoted to it, and people in urban neighborhoods might get a crap game together in an alleyway. MAybe you call it dice over there, I sure don;t know. All it takes is a pair of dice. Well that, and people willing to wager on it.

To play the game, you throw the dice to see what numbers come up. That is called shooting craps. The rules are not all that complex, but you can look them up.

SO a crapshoot, used in daily speech generally means take your chances and see what results - you might win, you might lose.

[allante666]

Yep, I was reading it out of context. yes we call craps dice and I now realise it meant that anything worse and it was a 'crapshoot' as in 'you pays yer money and takes yer chance!'

I actually read it as '..if its petrified barsmoke, or worse still, it could be covered in crapshoot'!!