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Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula?
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Hi folks, ? I am sure this has been asked before, so please point me to the correct links if so. ?A quick search of the archives didn't find anything easily. ? How does one clean the nickel-plated adapters and input connectors of old scopes? ?I am thinking of two situations here. ?The first is the BNC or UHF connectors on the panels of the scopes, that cannot be easily removed. ?The second case is things like BNC T's and BNC to UHF adapters and the like which are small and can be completely dipped in some cleaning solution. ? I have a number of adapters and connectors where the nickel is getting black, and they are filthy. ?I would Ideally like to deoxidize them so they come out shiny and new. ?Some sort of chemical dip or a series of washes would be preferred, where I can keep the
amount of physical scrubbing required to a minimum. ?I envision perhaps scrubbing once with a toothbrush (maybe with tooth paste?),?wrinsing?in an ultrasonic bath, then dipping them in some magic formula that shines them up. ?Connectors on the scope would have to be brushed and washed in-situ. ? The question is, what is the magic formula? ? Thanks. ? Dan |
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Hi Dan. On all the TE I have, the connectors appear to be Silver plated. You could (!) carefully clean them with "Tarnex" liquid. Then clean off that stuff with Windex, etc.
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Most of the time, I simply give then a quick brushing with a stainless steel detail brush, which looks like a toothbrush. ron N4UE? -----Original Message----- From: Daniel Koller To: TekScopes Sent: Fri, Feb 22, 2013 3:33 pm Subject: [TekScopes] Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula?
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Hi folks,
? I am sure this has been asked before, so please point me to the correct links if so. ?A quick search of the archives didn't find anything easily.
? How does one clean t
he nickel-plated adapters and input connectors of old scopes? ?I am thinking of two situations here. ?The first is the BNC or UHF connectors on the panels of the scopes, that cannot be easily removed. ?The second case is things like BNC T's and BNC to UHF adapters and the like which are small and can be completely dipped in some cleaning solution.
? I have a number of adapters and connectors where the nickel is getting black, and they are filthy. ?I would Ideally like to deoxidize them so they come out shiny and new. ?Some sort of chemical dip or a series of washes would be preferred, where I can keep the
amount of physical scrubbing required to a minimum. ?I envision perhaps scrubbing once with a toothbrush (maybe with tooth paste?),?wrinsing?in an ultrasonic bath, then dipping them in some magic formula that shines them up. ?Connectors on the scope would have to be brushed and washed in-situ.
? The question is, what is the magic formula?
? Thanks.
? Dan
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Good point! ?I wasn't really thinking. ?They likely are mostly silver since they tarnished black. ?Nickel will probably go greenish (or perhaps that's from the copper underneath that oxidize on a couple connectors I have). If the concern with the Tarnex is removing it, at least on the adaptors I can sonicate them in warm water and that should be effective in removing the solution after a couple?rinses. Dan From: "bonddaleena@..." To: TekScopes@... Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 3:42 PM Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula?
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Hi Dan. On all the TE I have, the connectors appear to be Silver plated. You could (!) carefully clean them with "Tarnex" liquid. Then clean off that stuff with Windex, etc. Most of the time, I simply give then a quick brushing with a stainless steel detail brush, which looks like a toothbrush. ron N4UE? -----Original Message-----
From: Daniel Koller To: TekScopes Sent: Fri, Feb 22, 2013 3:33 pm Subject: [TekScopes] Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula?
?
Hi folks,
? I am sure this has been asked before, so please point me to the correct links if so. ?A quick search of the archives didn't find anything easily.
? How does one clean t
he nickel-plated adapters and input connectors of old scopes? ?I am thinking of two situations here. ?The first is the BNC or UHF connectors on the panels of the scopes, that cannot be easily removed. ?The second case is things like BNC T's and BNC to UHF adapters and the like which are small and can be completely dipped in some cleaning solution.
? I have a number of adapters and connectors where the nickel is getting black, and they are filthy. ?I would Ideally like to deoxidize them so they come out shiny and new. ?Some sort of chemical dip or a series of washes would be preferred, where I can keep the
amount of physical scrubbing required to a minimum. ?I envision perhaps scrubbing once with a toothbrush (maybe with tooth paste?),?wrinsing?in an ultrasonic bath, then dipping them in some magic formula that shines them up. ?Connectors on the scope would have to be brushed and washed in-situ.
? The question is, what is the magic formula?
? Thanks.
? Dan
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓýIf you can get to all of it, a pencil
eraser actually works pretty well. It would be tougher to get
around the base, though.
On 02/22/2013 02:52 PM, Daniel Koller wrote:
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Rob
¿ªÔÆÌåÓýTarnex is the best I have found if you want to be quick and consistent. I think the amount of metal loss is trivial. Rinse and neutralization are key. ? Most all of the ¡®wives tale¡¯ methods of silver detarnishment ¡bam made up ?a word¡. work as well. A web search will delineate them better than I can. I cannot think of any that would cause major damage. ? On a side track, I have become intrigued by reverse electrolysis methods of both cleaning rusted iron and tarnished silver and aluminum. Archeological metal restoration.? By and large all of them work by making the material you want to clean/derust/deoxidize the positive place it in an electrolyte solution (preferably with one of the salt constituents the metal of interest if not then a gass/inert)¡throw in a suitable sacrificial material on the negative¡. and then¡..the key is¡.. ?low current vs. high¡. ? In any event, I realize very un technical in my description above as I have not perfected anything yet and tried to keep it general. I have however brought some old military connectors and other things I am restoring back to brilliant condition. (not to much better than a Tarnex treatment in the case of connectors hence starting with that). ? ? Anyway, hopefully helpful Rob ?? ? From: TekScopes@... [mailto:TekScopes@...] On Behalf Of Cliff White
Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 4:08 PM To: TekScopes@... Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula? ? ? If you can get to all of it, a pencil eraser actually works pretty well. It would be tougher to get around the base, though.
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Hi to the Dutch and maybe other European Tekkies,
In the Netherlands you can buy Staalfix (Mr Muscle, a Johnson Product). Near perfect results (is is some cleaning liquid in combination with a ultra fine polishing substantion). A good cost effective alternative for replacing connectors by new originals. Greetings, Egge Siert |
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Hi folks, ? Thanks for the silver cleaning advice, particularly to Chuck Harris for the Tarn-X suggestion. ?In the end, it was more elbow grease rather than magic that got my adapters cleaned. ?Attached is a photo summarizing some of my results.? At the top left are some adapters that were soaked in the "traditional" recipe of baking soda and salt (2 tbs each per cup of water) and placed in an aluminum tray. ?They were brushed with a toothbrush and Ajax (actually I think it was Comet) rinsed and returned to the baking soda bath twice. ?The piece on the right was brushed, but instead soaked in TarnX for 20 seconds each time. ? To my eye, the piece on the right looks as clean and shiny as the piece on the left, but the camera makes it look a little more tarnished. ?And perhaps the camera is right and it's enhancing the effect of the tarnish, so it's a good tool. ?They eye is easily fooled. The baking soda method is actually quite effective, but unlike the TarnX which seems to dissolve the tarnish instantly, the baking soda method loosens the tarnish which needs some scrubbing to be removed. ?Looking at the pieces across the middle row, the one on the left was dipped in baking soda for 5 min and you can maybe imagine that it is a bit shinier in the lower half. ? There is really no change. ?On the other hand, the piece in the middle was dipped in baking soda, but here, I brushed half of the piece. ?The left side is clearly shinier than the right side, even down into the knurls. ? On the right is shown the effect of the TarnX. ?The lower part of the piece was dipped for 20 seconds,
instantly making it shiny. ?But it's not 100%. On the lower left are a bunch of parts before cleaning. ?They look a lot darker in the photo than they do to the eye in comparison with the parts on the right, to which I applied an "all of the above" approach. ?They were each soaked twice in baking soda, and dipped in TarnX for 20 seconds with brushing in between. ?All the parts were then rinsed in hot water and soaked in an ultrasonic bath for 5 minutes, 3 times. ?They were then dried loosely, blown clean with air and left on a heater to warm up and fully dry. Finally, I did try to use TarnX on a Q-tip (cotton swap, for those not brand-attuned) on the input connectors of my WWV comparator and while I removed a little tarnish that way, it was not particularly effective. ?I also worry about the liquid wicking in around the edge of the base of the connectors. ?I think polishing/cleaning BNCs in-situ is going to require a fair amount of labor. ?My only thoughts at present are to put some sort of washer over the connector to protect the front panel and go at it with a small buffing wheel on a Dremel (high-speed motor tool). Hope someone down the line finds this info useful. ? Dan From: Daniel Koller To: "TekScopes@..." Sent: Friday, February 22, 2013 3:32 PM Subject: [TekScopes] Cleaning nickel-plated adapters and input connectors? Magic formula?
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Hi folks, ? I am sure this has been asked before, so please point me to the correct links if so. ?A quick search of the archives didn't find anything easily. ? How does one clean the nickel-plated adapters and input connectors of old scopes? ?I am thinking of two situations here. ?The first is the BNC or UHF connectors on the panels of the scopes, that cannot be easily removed. ?The second case is things like BNC T's and BNC to UHF adapters and the like which are small and can be completely dipped in some cleaning solution. ? I have a number of adapters and connectors where the nickel is getting black, and they are filthy. ?I would Ideally like to deoxidize them so they come out shiny and new. ?Some sort of chemical dip or a series of washes would be
preferred, where I can keep the
amount of physical scrubbing required to a minimum. ?I envision perhaps scrubbing once with a toothbrush (maybe with tooth paste?),?wrinsing?in an ultrasonic bath, then dipping them in some magic formula that shines them up. ?Connectors on the scope would have to be brushed and washed in-situ. ? The question is, what is the magic formula? ? Thanks. ? Dan |
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hi,
Place a sheet of aluminum foil in bottom of glass dish or pie plate, etc. fill with white vinegar and add a tsp of table salt. stir it up and place the connectors on top of the foil and keep them submerged under the vinegar salt solution. The tarnish will migrate off the silver and onto the aluminum foil. no brushing or scrubbing necessary. The plating is not damaged in any way. It's science but it works like magic. 73 james ke4drn |
james27613 KE4DRN
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