Cleaning alu

J!m

J!m

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I like CLR but I don't know if you have it.

If aluminum gets pitted, only sanding and polishing can fix that.
 
marcok

marcok

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Thank you guys .
All the products suggested are available here , but there are many equivalent .
For example you can use vinegar instead of CLR.
I will try if I buy this preamp .
Ciao
Marco
 
Chris Cables

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Duraglit in the 70's used to be awesome on most metals. Not sure about Al though.
It was so good my old man gave me a tin for Christmas to use on the mudguards of my Ralleigh Chopper. I had the shiniest mudguards in the park. Especially handy for catching the sun during extended wheelies and dazzling the spectators. As a 10 year old little narcissist I thought back then that it was especially important to have shiny chrome bits on my bike. What a tool, lol.

il_794xN.4617013723_j9vx_1.jpg

Duraglit these days, re-ingrediented and sold as Brasso is sh!t on a stick and totally different to what it was as Duraglit.
Gone is the superior polishing capability and more importantly, the smell. When using Duraglit way back when I was so intoxicated by the smell of petrol/hydrocarbons that I was almost scared to use it in direct sunlight for fear that it would spontaneously ignite and set me on fire. Hilarious.

s-l640.jpg
 
J!m

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Brasso wadding sucks but the liquid is okay. Oxalic acid is the main ingredient.

You can buy it as a dry powder too and mix with water to make a paste like Comet cleanser.

White vinegar is not a bad idea but different acid than CLR.
 
WOPL Sniffer

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Bob Boyer said:
I never want to see another container of Brasso as long as I live. had to polish the brass bits on my uniform every damn day in middle and high school until Baylor got rid of military my junior year. Brass and shoes - every day.

There is no love lost between me and my high school.
Click to expand...

Try 20 years in the service................
 
mlucitt

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Most of these audio equipments use anodizing on the aluminum parts. Any type of abrasive cleaner/polish will remove the anodizing and leave you with raw aluminum. You can polish the aluminum with Flitz or Semichrome or any of the products mentioned above until they look like a mirror, but unless you seal the knobs in wax or a clear acrylic/polyurethane, they will oxidize.
Some people will polish them and then scratch them with steel wool to give a brushed appearance.
 
Bob Boyer

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WOPL Sniffer said:
Try 20 years in the service................
Click to expand...
I get it. Thanks for putting up with it on our behalf. Perhaps I should have added that at that time, Baylor's "military" program was an excuse for the older kids to beat the shit out of the younger kids. Could possibly be why I've had issues with authority figures my entire life...
 
WOPL Sniffer

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Bob Boyer said:
I get it. Thanks for putting up with it on our behalf. Perhaps I should have added that at that time, Baylor's "military" program was an excuse for the older kids to beat the shit out of the younger kids. Could possibly be why I've had issues with authority figures my entire life...
Click to expand...
I too had Authority issues. My first hitch I managed to get myself "Awarded" Correctional Custody for a short time. That's another story. Me and the Army didn't get along so I got out, joined the Navy, and grew up a bit. I managed to turn myself around and had a very rewarding career.
 
WOPL Sniffer

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mlucitt said:
Most of these audio equipments use anodizing on the aluminum parts. Any type of abrasive cleaner/polish will remove the anodizing and leave you with raw aluminum. You can polish the aluminum with Flitz or Semichrome or any of the products mentioned above until they look like a mirror, but unless you seal the knobs in wax or a clear acrylic/polyurethane, they will oxidize.
Some people will polish them and then scratch them with steel wool to give a brushed appearance.
Click to expand...

I painted my knobs green but they make some great paint these days and it looks like aluminum,(aluminium as our friends may say), Paint em Marco. If you don't like them, acetone and a rag and paint em again.... :)


remember these???


AAA.jpeg
 
Chris Cables

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mlucitt said:
Some people will polish them and then scratch them with steel wool to give a brushed appearance.
Click to expand...
I remember seeing a carguy using a drill attachment consisting of long multiple polishing straps using it to get the brushed effect on a replacement alu panel for a DeLorean. Looked tricky to use but the net result was impressive.
 
marcok

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Too many solutions ! Better to wait for an other unit with knobs in a decent state .
Anyway thank you for your answers .
Ciao
Marco
 
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