Neilvanstem Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Only a few photos of my machine to show the stipes on the mandrel and to ask if something can remove those or if I should just ignore it? I assume those stripes are from a cylinder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auxetophone Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 From your photos, it looks like a spiral. My guess is that it's tape residue from someone trying to play cylinders that were too loose on the mandrel. If it were mine, I would clean it with naphtha lighter fluid and then give it a good polish with Mother's or Flitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodPickett Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Good point. A common technique to fit a Busy Bee cylinder on a mandrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilvanstem Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 Often folks suggest items not commonly found around the house. Any suggestions for items I have around the house? Naptha? Lighter fluid? Any more common household items you can suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auxetophone Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Neil, while you may not have naphtha lighter fluid at your house, you can literally buy it at every hardware store, grocery store, even gas stations. Commonly sold under the ronsonol or zippo brands. I always have some on hand. I use it for removing labels constantly. Same with mothers mag & aluminum polish or flitz metal polish, you can buy it at any hardware or auto parts store. You can also buy both on amazon. Why settle with something improper when you can spend maybe $5 and get the right stuff? These are things every phono collector should have on hand, in my opinion. Along with a good light oil, a good grease, and either non-pumice gojo or my favorite: new life furniture masque. I wouldn't be caught dead without any of these! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilvanstem Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 I have so much under my kitchen cabinet just wonder if some of that stuff might also work. I do love gojo, restore a finish, and etc. But worry about now having to buy another item when I have two cabinets full of stuff. I do have metal polish too...... two kinds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auxetophone Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 I've learned the hard way: the right tool for a job will save a lot of headaches. Having cabinets full of solvents, polishes, oil, etc. comes with the territory of collecting anything mechanical. We all have those cabinets. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinfoilphono Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 It's very hard to tell from a photo, but to me that looks like corrosion. I'm guessing that someone left a cylinder on the mandrel for a very long time, and the contact between the ribbed lining of the cylinder reacted with the nickel. I've seen similar corrosion on mandrels that had Blue Amberols left on them for decades. I suspect the plaster retained moisture, which was then kept in direct contact with the plating. It is absolutely worth trying a solvent, as previously suggested, in case it is something on the surface. If that doesn't work, I would suggest lightly buffing it with 0000 steel wool, followed by a good metal polish. It may not be possible to bring back a perfect luster but it should look much better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I agree with with the advice so far. I had a similar problem with a mandrel a couple of years ago. I started with solvents and then ended with polishing the mandrel on a buffing wheel. I was not able to remove all of the damage (it was like rust that caused a pitting in the nickel surface) but after buffing the mandrel looked a lot better Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lioret Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 I have had excellent results removing corrosion using Evaporust. You can get it at Harbor Freight. You soak the piece in the solution overnight and it removes the corrosion. It is not acid. Then scrub it and polish with Flitz or Simichrome. I have had zonophone bedplates and support arms that looked pretty tough turn out amazing. Gregg 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilvanstem Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Finally something I have around the house though taking things apart and soaking sounds extreme. But I do have evaporust and polish though not the ones mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonL Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 The lines look like areas where the nickel plate has worn off. Polish the surface with metal polish. The remaining nickel will come up silvery and if the areas are devoid of plating, they will probably be brassy or at least different from the shine of the nickel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinfoilphono Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 I'm just curious -- how did this work out in the end? Were you able to improve the appearance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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