[TowerTalk] Cleaning Aluminum Eelements

[Scott Detloff K8DX]

I use the metal brushes that are made for cleaning gun barrels.
Attach on to the end of your drill and it does a terrific job!

Scott K8DX


>
>Cleaning the outside is easy. How do you clean the inside of those small
>diameter elements?
>
>--Dave
>K0QE
>
> ----------
> From:  Arne Gjerning [SMTP:gjerning@flash.net]
> Sent:  Sunday, March 19, 2000 9:09 PM
> To:  Tower Talk
> Subject:  [TowerTalk] Cleaning Aluminum Eelements
>
>
> 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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