The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Torjazzer wrote:

mattrx wrote:Before polishing, you might consider soaking it in ammonia for a few minutes and then cleaning it with a soft bristle toothbrush. This does a great job of removing the "crust" that has adhered to the finish over time. Polish later if needed.

Matt

Many thanks, Matt. Should I disassemble it and soak all the metal parts (screws included) in ammonia?

The last repro I cleaned up, that is exactly what I did. The ammonia works wonders on gold, and may not be necessary on the nickel, but I used it and all the grease and grime just fell away with the ammonia and a toothbrush.
Good luck!
Matt

OrthoSean wrote:Hi Gene,

I've never tried Mothers on gold, for gold plating, I use ammonia. Ammonia works great on gold plated parts and won't damage the plating.

Sean

Will add to the chorus of "amens" on this!

Never, never, ever use anything with an abrasive of any kind in it on gold!

Clay

Thanks guys I do appreciate the info, I will try the smelly ammonia
Gene

ejackett wrote:Thanks guys I do appreciate the info, I will try the smelly ammonia
Gene

I use the lemon scented stuff

I'm glad I found this topic. I know it's a few years old but still great information. I will take pictures before and after and post them. I have a 1911 L Door and the gold needs cleaning. I knew my fist step before touching it was to see what others have done. More to come.

ejackett wrote:Thanks guys I do appreciate the info, I will try the smelly ammonia
Gene

Always start with ammonia as it dissolves the shellac that Victor and others coated their polished nickel and gold plate with. A lot of the crud that comes off was growing in the shellac! And, yes be careful with the old gold plating as it is quite soft and wears away quickly.

Should we re-coat with shellac or lacquer to help preserve after cleaning, or just paste-wax ?

De Soto Frank wrote:Should we re-coat with shellac or lacquer to help preserve after cleaning, or just paste-wax ?

I think wax is fine for nickel plate as it's pretty tough. The gold plate will suffer from polishing the wax (it really is soft) so painting on some shellac seems to be the way to go IMHO. I dont know if the shellac sold in a spray can dissolves as cleanly with lacquer thinner or ammonia as the brush-on type. This would be good to know as stuff we do should be reversible.

I've never put anything on the plating after cleaning with ammonia and never noticed a problem with any further wear or thinning of the gold. I'd like to hear if anyone else has.

Sean

Maas Metal Polish was recommended to me and I was amazed by the results. I polished up to a nice shine a Victor Exhibition reproducer that was nearly black with tarnish and crud. The polish acts slowly enough that you can work up to whatever degree of shine that you want to match other parts.

You could buy it online at https://www.maasinc.com/ but I found some at a local Ace Hardware store.