[TowerTalk] best way to shine up an old yagi?

[fred.spinner at gmail.com]

If you don't care that the surface gets a little rough and "brushed".. I  
used a grill brush (a wire one meant to clean BBQ grills) to clean up the  
Cushcraft A3 I refurbished. Why? I had to replace a few sections with new  
tubing and I didn't want the antenna to be two colors for 5+ years when it  
all oxidizes again. Also it helped to uncover damage in some of the  
aluminum tubing that wasn't readily visible. (The antenna was "free" but I  
ended up putting $150 into it. And rebuilding 2/3 of the traps... sigh...  
But it's better than new now literally and a new one goes for $600)

This works FAST. I tried polish, Scotchbrite and even fine sandpaper.  
Arrgh.. a lot of work... The brush will do a element in 10 minutes if you  
are good.

The aluminum does become a "brushed" finish. From 3'+ away you can't tell.  
I didn't "brush" the new sections of aluminum and you can't see the  
difference up in the air or even when it was on the ground.

Fred W0FMS


On Jul 12, 2010 11:34am, Eric Dobrowansky K2WD <k2wd at comcast.net> wrote:






> Any recommendations on the best way to shine up a yagi that has been  
> lying unassembled under weeds and leaves for a number of years? I just  
> picked up a used M2 20m yagi, and want to "shine it up" a little before  
> installing it. Any recommendations appreciated.











> Thanks,











> Eric


> K2CB


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