Cleaning Rigs-Excellent Product Found

[Ed Tanton]

There was a recent mention of rig-cleaning... and my wife just brought home
something pretty good: Mr Clean's "MAGIC ERASER". I had seen ads for this
recently, but my imagination conjured up abrasives. Not so. Its a soft foam
pad with no chemical odor I can detect. You wet it, and rub it on stains.
She got it for scuff marks on painted chair-rails and sheet-rock walls. Was
"magical" on both. Obviously won't dig out scratches, but otherwise amazing.

So I figured, when she did a demo, I'd try it on some equipment. I had
handy a B&W signal generator with a very fine medium green wrinkle paint
(original) and a stainless steel 6 or 7 inch frequency dial/knob. The top
of the unit had some near-gouges, as well as a 2 inch square stain on top
that neither of my 'regular' cleaner favorites (Castrol Super Clean
'Regular'/Castrol Super Clean 'Wheel Cleaner') had touched.

First the Stainless. Black paint in the engraved dial marks and numbers.
Worked fine with no residue. Shined up nicely-only a little better, but
better. Didn't hurt the paint a bit. Not even when vigorously scrubbed. (I
figured I could replace Black-Engraved paint if it did.)

Next a couple of heavy scratches on the top, left, front. It was hard to
tell for certain, but either it was down to the primer, or it just didn't
work. Didn't make it worse or anything, but if any better, only marginally.

Then, the stain. Wow. Neither my cleaners, nor straight isopropyl had
changed what appeared to be a 2 inch square dark stain. This thing lifted
it right off. You do rub it... even vigorously... but as I said, it is not
abrasive. The paint underneath was somehow not bothered. I have no idea how
this worked-but work it did.

Finally, I had an old Curtis Electrodevices Keyer with what I believe is a
silk-screen-on-aluminum front panel. Cleaned it well. Removed no paint.
There were no other marks on the panel-just some paint-deep scratches
(which is why I used it to test on.) Your results may vary.

I did NOT test it on clear plastic. I just didn't have one (in something I
didn't care if it messed it up) handy. I will do so and get back in the
next couple of days if it bothers anything of mine.

I think these pads will do a great job on the exteriors of most equipment.
It is water-based, so it should not be used on decals unless they're
protected well. I suspect it would take off ordinary
'dry-transfer-lettering' also... but if you put those on, and don't coat it
afterwards... well... enough said. You couldn't even use Windex without the
coating.

I repeat: your results may vary, so be careful, and test a small area first.

73 Ed Tanton N4XY <n4xy at earthlink.net>

Ed Tanton N4XY
189 Pioneer Trail
Marietta, GA 30068-3466

website: http://www.n4xy.com

All emails <IN> & <OUT> checked by
Norton AntiVirus with AutoProtect

LM: ARRL QCWA AMSAT & INDEXA;
SEDXC NCDXA GACW QRP-ARCI
OK-QRP QRP-L #758 K2 (FT) #00057

--------------------------------------------------
"He that gives up a little liberty to gain
temporary security will lose both and
deserve neither".
--Benjamin Franklin

"Suppose you were an idiot ...
and suppose you were a member of
Congress...  but I repeat myself."
--Mark Twain
--------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------
This list is a public service of the City of Tempe, Arizona
-----------------------------------------------------------

Subscription control - http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=BOATANCHORS
To post - BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV
Archives - http://interactive.tempe.gov/archives/BOATANCHORS.html