Cleaning a TR82CL

[Martin Bush]

'Original' is what I've just found... I was searching things like 'neutral' and 'no colour'. We just need a pound land in Oxford now

I have some greygate, but that seems a bit gritty to me for this sort of plastic. I may be wrong.

I was quite encouraged to see a faint blue come through after some concentrated work with the wadding.

[paulsherwin]

There is a Poundland in the shopping area opposite the Cowley Centre / Templars Square. There is also one in Abingdon, and probably other local towns by now. I agree that the (hopefully temporary) loss of the central Oxford one is a nuisance though.

The Greygate stuff is a bit aggressive for plastic but you could try it on an inconspicuous area.

[Martin Bush]

Thanks Paul.

This one is proving to be a joy and a pain. Parts that appear shot at come up well, then I look somewhere else (ie the rexine type covering) and spot another 'challenge'. I guess that's what this is all about.

There are Poundlands I can get to, but the Oxford one was about 20 yards away from where I am sat.

[Refugee]

Perhaps Oxford city centre is considered a bit too posh to have a pound shop?
If there is a call for it I will ask permission to add a web link. I have a web link to a gem of a story about building a store on thin air literally.

[paulsherwin]

There is a huge shopping centre development underway in central Oxford which has forced a large number of shops to close or relocate, including Poundland. The branch was always extremely busy, being very popular with tourists and language school students as well as locals. Oxford's Morse/Brideshead public image is very misleading.

[Martin Bush]

I'm. Thanks to advice on another thread I now have a better dial on its way.

It's not perfect but hopefully clearer than the current one.

So my question is how best to clean it? I presume the main part will be fine with soap and water. However in my experience the ridged rim always has mystery dirt almost welded in one or two of the valleys between ridges as well as decades of ingrained dirt.

What should I use to get at these without risking damaging the perspex either by scratching or discolouration? Would white spirit be OK for instance?

[Refugee]

I use an old tooth brush with foam cleaner.
White spirit is a bit too harsh and may well make the dial worse.

[paulsherwin]

T-cut is good. For thin ridges use a fingernail and a thin layer of rag such as a bit of old cotton shirt. Foaming cleaner is good but won't remove surface dullness. I never use solvents other than meths or IPA on plastics if I can avoid it as you never know how the plastic will react.

[Refugee]

T-cut is what I use for the shiny areas.
The foam cleaner is better for textured or ridged surfaces with a brush.

[Goldie99]

In stubborn cases, if an old tooth brush is not sufficient, I've used wooden tooth picks (cocktail sticks) to good effect, they're usually soft enough not to damage most plastics.

[Martin Bush]

Cheers chaps. I thought white spirit was gentle... now I know better

[paulsherwin]

It's not one of the more aggressive solvents by any means, but not the best thing to use in this case.

[Martin Bush]

Thanks for the help so far chaps. The set is coming together slowly - I am currently battling with some suspect transistors.

So, while I work that one out, I will return to the case.

I was wondering what the best way was to revive the Rexine type covering. I have cleaned it up and it's come up well but looks a bit parched in places - it was like that before I took to it with the toothbrush.

I want to sympathetically restore it and fill in and equalise the bits that look dry rather than aim for perfection. I did try shoe polish on a set once... that set is living in the drawer of horrors - it's the only occupant but I look at it when I need reminding to take care And not hope for the best.

Is there a way to 'water down' polish or dye?

[paulsherwin]

Some people have found that rubbing the rexine with meths or IPA causes dye from below the surface to migrate to the top.