[TowerTalk] Cleaning Aluminum Eelements

[Arne Gjerning]

This should start another discussion

Do NOT use steel wool to clean aluminum.....

Small particles of steel can actually be imbedded into the aluminum,
can't be seen, and cause probelms later.  Instead, I use the 3M Scotch
pads, they are green in color and can be found a Home Base, Home Depot,
etc and work wonders on aluminum.

To clean any aluminum parts I just get a bucket of water, get the Scotch
pad wet and start rubbhing the surface. You will be amazed how fast it
cleans corrosion from the aluminum. This is the technique I have used
for about 10 years. I used this method to clean 2ea TELREX 20M326 (3el
20M yagiselements and booms) and if familiar with TELREX you know its a
lot of aluminum surface. And 1 yagi was badly corroded from salt water
(both came from San Franncisco area)..

Added bonus, no steel slivers in your hand. Just rinse the Scotch pad
frequently and go back to the manual labor of love. (Is not antenna work
a work of love?).

The Scotch pads are better than the pot scrubbers used in the kitchen.
And they are about 6 X 9 inches in size. I cut mine in half with
ordinary scissors. My only suggestion: TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT.

Side affect: Very fine aluminum  powder gets ito the pores/cracks of
hands and is hard to get rid of totally. So, be ready for grey hands for
a day or two.

73 de Arne N7KA\
New Mexico


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