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[TowerTalk] removing silicone

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] removing silicone
From: ab5tv@ix.netcom.com (Madison R. Jones)
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 1997 08:55:04 -0500
Steve Sawyers n0yvy wrote:
> 
> I cann't guarantee this will work, because I don't know exactly what you
> have.
> 
> I would use a hot lacquer thinner product from Ditzler Paint their
> identification is DTL-16. This is a high volitility lacqer thinner that
> is very aggressive. I discovered it when I wasworking in my Dad'a body
> shop as kid. I usually buy a couple of gallons at a time. Last time was
> two years ago and his price was $20 a gallon. We always used it in
> primer to get the primer to dry fast so we could get to final sanding
> faster. I use it for cleaning stuff.
> 
> Some times you have to soak the alluminum part in it for 5 or 10 minutes
> and use paper towels so you don't fill a rag with the dissolved stuff
> and spread it all over.
> 
> You can dispose of the paper towels by spreading them out single layer
> in a well ventilated garage to finish evaporating, then put in trash.
> 
> Do keep it away from plastic parts - it will eat up any thing -
> including your hands and it has a tolulene in it - a know carcinagin. So
> use rubber gloves and a face shield for any splashes.
> 
> My wife hates the smell and I try to only use it out doors.
> 
> Great stuff if it doesn't kill you.
> 
> de n0yvy steve
> 
> Dennis Schaefer wrote:
> >
> > I'm refurbishing a used KT-34A.  The capacitor caps have all turned white
> > (maybe they WERE white when this one was made) and some of them have
> > cracks.  I have a new set of caps, but the problem is that the previous
> > owner gobbed silicone all over the caps and other joints.
> >
> > I have removed silicone from coax connectors before, and I don't remember
> > it being this tough.  This stuff looks and feels like a silicone compound,
> > but is not completely clear - has a little off-white tint to it.  It seems
> > tougher - adheres to the aluminum better. You can't  just peel it off.
> >
> > Is there something that would make it easier to remove this stuff, or do I
> > just need to keep whittling away with my single-edged razor blade?
> >
> > Dennis,  W5RZ
> >
> > --
>

Hoo, boy, I would certainly be hesitant to use something like that by
applying it with my hands, and REALLY be leery of putting the dried
cloths in the trash.  I just finished reading about the Woburn, MA toxic
waste trial on using perc and TEC, where everyone in the neighborhood
ended up with leukemia, apparently caused by the stuff leaching into the
local water system.  Buying a few bucks worth of parts which you can't
salvage from the ravages of silicone seem like a small price to pay. 
You can buy a whole new KT-34A, complete with shiny parts, all in the
box for about $500, which, I would guess, is the amount of the
deductible on your health insurance policy for 1997.

Regards,

Madison
w5mj

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