Removing Nicotine Stains and other Dirt from BA's

[Roger W. Stevens WA3FLE]

Fellow BA enthusiasts,

Gee, it's nice to have an outlet to share one's minor little
successes in this hobby.

If there is a better agent for removal of (especially)
nicotine/smoking stains from the metal surfaces of both bare
aluminum and painted surfaces than Formula PRO409,
I haven't found it.  Full strength, let it sit 10 seconds, and rinse
it off.  Watch the nicotine literally fall off the metalwork.  I cleaned
the perforated top cover of the rf compartment of my Viking 500
this way, and couldn't believe the difference--what I thought was
some kind of heat-induced discoloration, was just nicotine, tar, or
whatever--smoke byproducts.

You may have to repeat the process a couple or more times, but it will
produce a pristine piece.  It's almost as if the smoke preserves the
original finish under a protective coat that when removed, looks like
new again.  Mummification!

I did the same thing with my SB-200--the outer cabinet, with the
wierd speckled green finish came up like nobody's business.  Not to
forget the front panels and cabinets of both a Valiant and the
aforementioned 500.  The weak link is the E.F. Johnson maroon--you
may get some surface color come off, but it left a clean finish
underneath.  Yet you should work fast around that color area.

Just thought I'd throw this in.  It's all visible on my website, the
URL of which is listed in the sig below.

Carry on.

73, Roger WA3FLE
Norristown, PA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger W. Stevens (rstevens at voicenet.com)
amprnet: wa3fle at wa3fle.ampr.org [44.80.12.33]
ax25: WA3FLE at WB3JOE.#EPA.PA.USA.NOAM
"Be a Hero--Be a Donor!"--Mickey Mantle
Visit my homepage at http://www.voicenet.com/~rstevens
-------------------------------------------------------------------------