The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

My tone arm is heavily oxidized right where it would be handled when lifting the sound box.
What can I do to clean this up?
The rest of the gold plating has been worn down to the copper so I don't think I would mind bringing this area down to the copper as well.
Suggestions are appreciated.

Gold plating on Victrola parts is fragile. You can clean it by wiping it down with ammonia. How is the plating on the rest of the mechanism? It would really be nice to see a photo or two. Jerry B.

All of the plating is pretty much gone.
I see a lot of copper and brass.
She's not quite ready for debut yet. Once I have it cleaned up and displayed the way I want it (and figure out how to post pics) I'll show her off.

In that case, I'd use rouge on a buffing wheel to get rid of the rest of the gold and give the part a nice polish. Be advised that the copper layer is in there just as an intermediary between the base (brass, in this case) and the final layer (gold), and as such will be very thin. (Just like the copper plate you'll typically find between a brass part and the nickel plating.) So, in order to clean/polish it you'll likely end up with a brass part, not a copper-plated one. But regardless, a little time with a buffing wheel should make the tone arm look great again.

Best of luck!
Mark