[Amps] Air variable pitting - repairable?

[Vic K2VCO]

Jeff Maass wrote:
> We have a TenTec Titan III at PJ2T which is currently unusable because of serious arcing
> on 20 meters. It is so bad that the amp will only run 300 watts.
> 
> The problem is clearly in the loading capacitor, an air variable. There is an area on one
> of the rotor plates that is burned and broiled so badly that it has fattened up the rotor
> and it is nearly coming into contact with the stator at the spot where 20 tunes up best.
> 
> Can this be fixed by sanding it down (and perhaps coating the plates with something) or is
> this always going to be a "weak spot" on the capacitor that will start to arc again?

If the capacitor is the type that you can take apart the individual 
plates, you can file it smooth, and then polish it on a buffing wheel. 
I've done that successfully with SB-220-type tuning caps.
-- 
73,
Vic, K2VCO
Fresno CA
http://www.qsl.net/k2vco