The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Hey everyone,

I was trying to clean up my "recently" (I got it in January) VV-35, and I came across a dilemma. The exposed part of the crank and the carrying handle are rusted.

A couple coats of WD-40 cleared a little bit up, but not much has changed. Any advice?

0000 steel wool works great for removing surface rust. Use in conjunction with a metal polish for even better results.

WD40 won't de-rust anything... it could prevent some future rust, but won't remove it. A Dremel with a wire brush will take it off, along with steel wool, unless it is heavy and pitted. If it is, you have to sand it off and then polish the bare metal. Some will disagree with this method as too harsh, but in reality rust is hard to remove completely...

You might try some of the rust removing methods mentioned in other posts, since this has been discussed many times before, but they may require soaking in chemicals. I have heard that soaking an item in a baking or washing soda solution might work, since a soda solution is used in reverse electrolysis, which I have used successfully, but never tried the solution without electricity...

Right, thanks guys. I'll use those suggested methods.
Thanks!

Electrolisis

I use PB Blaster rust remover and penetrating oil and 000 steel wool. On really stubborn rust, I use PB Blaster and 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. After the rust is removed, I use Flitz metal polish to shine it up. Sometimes the rust is so deep that even after it is removed, there will be significant pitting of the metal which is not attractive even if it is polished.

Got before and after pics?

Cliff

I built one of these - easy and cheap to make. Great for cranks and other steel parts large or small

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ADeB6V1rQ