VK Logger Ham Radio Forum Archive

I have been asked to try and restore a vintage transistor radio which had the batteries left in for months/years resulting in verdigris and other goo on the battery terminals and holder. Any good good ideas for removal of same?

73

Wayne VK4WDM

Wayne

It is probably more than the cost of the radio but I highly recommend investing in an ultrasonic cleaner. I've had one for a few years and it has payed for itself several times over. There are plenty to choose from in Aliexpress - I recommend an all stainless model.
For a cleaning agent I normally use simple green which is PH neutral and not experienced any issues.

I had a PRS radio in the same situation (leaked nicad battery) and I placed the dismantled parts into the bath. After 5 minutes it looked as good as new - PCB as well (less speaker/mic which is not water compatible).

Wayne ZL2BKC

Edit: Fix auto correct typos

Soda blast is effective and cheap

Thank you for the suggestions. This is a small radio and the battery holder is firmly attached to the circuit board so I will try and clean it in-situ. Fortunately the corrosion has not leaked into the rest of the radio.

Another site recommends 10% citric acid (or lemon juice) applied with a cotton wool applicator followed by isopropanol so I will give that a try.

Re ultra-sonic cleaner. I can imagine many situations where that would be very useful. I might not need to buy one. The RAAF base avionic instrument technicians are very likely to have one that I can access. On the way I will check with the surface finishers to see if they do soda blasting which may also be useful for some of our RAAF Museum projects.

73

Wayne VK4WDM

Wayne
Soda and walnut shell blasting can be done with an 8cft @ 45lbs compressor and a small hand held gun you can buy from most auto parts suppliers , the media is easy to obtain and walnut shell strips light paint back well without destroying things iike cabinets , I recntly used my cheap 5 gallon bottle and small hand gun to clean the head off my Bmw back to no carbon and looks like new condition ( off the car) a worth while exercise which cost almost nothing but time

Hi Barry

The museum has a good compressor. I wonder if the guys restoring our aero engines have heard of walnut shell blasting?

73

Wayne VK4WDM