Maintaining/Cleaning tools. Used crimp tool. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 01:59:29 pm
content: Hi,Just purchased an used Amphenol coaxial crimp tool for 5€.It's lighty rusty and the plastic handle has lost its brightness.Any advice on how to lube, clean plastic and metal parts?It has a "regulator dial". How is it used?

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 03:47:51 pm
content: Personally, I would use WD40* on everything. It cleans up plastic beautifully.After cleaning up with paper towels and allowing a bit of time for the WD40 to evaporate, I would put some machine oil on the moving stuff.With some luck, you should not need to adjust the tool tension. While I've never crimped coaxial connectors, my preferred method for crimping tools of unknown qualities and origins is to sacrifice a few connectors: crimp one connector to a bit of wire, observe the crimp (not too squished) and then try to pull the cable from the connector. A few iterations of that should give you a feel for the correct tension.Some tools are accompanied by adjustment instructions that specify the height of the crimped portion. Example: see page 4 of my PWRCrimp manual:http://www.westmountainradio.com/pdf/PWRcrimpmanual.pdf* Yes, you may hate WD40; please feel free to list all its evils

author: tx8
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 05:10:46 pm
content: Ballistol is the best. You can use that as a salad dressing, too.http://www.christian-merten.de/DAF/Rostschutztest/Rostschutzmitteltest.htm

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 23, 2014, 06:26:28 pm
content: So it is a tension regulator. I didn't know.I hve read great thing about Ballistol. I will try it. It looks it has more than thousand uses.

author: CaptnYellowShirt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2014, 03:55:59 pm
content: +1 WD40It sucks as a lubricant, but its great at cleaning things -- especially rust.Dish scrubby sponges are great at cleaning rust too. Scotch-brights ftw.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2014, 04:28:50 pm
content: Scotch Brites are abrasive though, and remove coatings off the surface as well. I found the best is to go to a floor cleaning company and get a floor buffing pad that you use on industrial polishers. You cut that up into smaller pads and use it to gently clean the surface with any cleaner of choice. I tend to use simple soap and water to get the worst off, then switch to illuminating paraffin to remove the rest and leave a film of oil on the surface. Then clean the IP off with light mineral oil and use it to lubricate all the slides and bushings.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2014, 06:17:21 pm
content: I recently removed light surface rust from a lathe and lathe tools using a combination of WD40 and the very fine steel wool that is used for carpentry. You can often buy a bag of various grades of steel wool and use the finest one first, only progressing to harsher grades if the fine does not cope with the rust. The WD40 with steel wool worked wonders on the lathe and tooling. A light coating of WD40 applied with a rag then protects against further corrosion.Some trivia..... the Royal Navy cover their helicopters in a WD40 and fresh water mix that protects the airframe exterior from corrosion....good stuff :-)

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2014, 06:32:58 pm
content: We used Tectyl as a corrosion prevention. as I worked at one of the few airports that are exactly at sea level ( or at least within 10m of it) and we got it in 44 gallon drums and applied it with brushes inside the airframe. Every major service you take it all off and replace it all after doing the usual crack checking and replacing of pretty much every rivet. We also used a protective coating between every panel part when doing that. No idea of the name, it came in a plain can with a part number only on it, but it was bright yellow and very sticky. I used it on all the piping as well, after a few issues with rigid piping that would break when removed, as the fittings had frozen fast. Thin coat on the threads and it came off easy next time.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2014, 07:07:13 am
content: With WD40 on your rag rub it into the rust areas, most rust will rub right off.Plastic parts I would clean with some dish detergent on a warm damp rag. Just don't get water into the handles.WD40 is petroleum based and I bet it breaks down plastics and especially the softer rubbery handles over time.Another thing is you don't want your sweaty hands in WD40 every time you use the tool.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2014, 01:23:58 pm
content: As a side note......After removing the surface red rust from my lathe bed I noted a 'watermark that remained on the surface but that felt smooth. I was about to use an abrasive metal polish to polish off the marks....... fortunately my father knows more than me and advised against such action. As others on here may already know, surface rust does cause microscopic pitting of the surface beneath and this causes the 'watermark' shading. To remove such pitting you actually have to remove the metal around it down to the level of the pits depth. Not a good idea on a induction hardened lathe bed ! My watermarking was so minor that I can happily live with it and lathes are utility items rather than pretty toys, so it matters little.I just cleaned up an expensive pair of bootlace crimpers that are black enamel painted (?) but had little spots of rust forming all over the painted area. The fine wire wool soaked in WD40 removed all the red rust and did not damage the paint. For a long lasting anti rust countermeasure you could even coat the rusty areas with Kurust or similar rust converter. I used it on a spot of rust on my wife's car and it was not over-painted due to location (black painted door upright) The spot turned black and virtually matched the paint around it....a year and a Winter later and no sign of Rust re-appearing. I understand the Kurust products convert the rust and encapsulate it in a sort of plastic ? Trivia...... rust converter chemistry made great leaps forward as a result of the Holland 1 challenge.The is a historic British submarine that was recovered from the depths of the sea after many years in Davey Jones Locker. The problem faced by the conservators was how to stop the huge lump of rusty steel turning into a pile of rust once removed from its watery graveRust conversion chemicals were created for the specialist task but sadly even they were not the total solution. The conservators were in unfamiliar territory and though the rust converters initially worked....the steel continued to deteriorate. The reason was discovered and corrective action taken. The steel had taken up salts from the depths of the sea and these had to be soaked out of the metal in order to prevent on going destruction. Once the salts were removed using a sodium carbonate solution soak over several years, the metal could be conserved to protect it. There is plenty of information on the Holland 1 submarine and its conservation to be found on the internet. It makes interesting reading. I am fortunate enough to have visited the submarine museum at Gosport (UK) several times to seethe Holland 1 preservation program in progress. It is now on display in its own hangar and you can even go inside it. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Portsmouth (UK) it is worth popping across to the Submarine Museum that is opposite in Gosport. Its a short ferry ride and easy walk to the museum. There are all manner of interesting submarines present from the Holland 1 right up to more modern deep sea mini subs. You can go for a tour of a 1940's design diesel submarine as wellNo good if you don't like closed spaces ! They even simulate a depth charge attackIt is also interesting to note that we only have the Holland 1 on display because she sank ! She sunk on her way to the wreckers yard as she had become obsolete. Who knows...maybe 'she' knew her fate and 'decided' to dive for one last timeOff topic I know....but submarine preservation has to deal with a lot of RustLinks:Submarine Museum Gosport -http://submarine-museum.co.uk/Holland 1 -http://submarine-museum.co.uk/what-we-have/our-submarines/holland-1/holland-i-conservationhttp://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_19/royal_navy.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland-class_submarinehttp://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/war-and-conflict/first-world-war/art455957

author: BTO
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2014, 06:38:53 pm
content: WD-40 or you can use C-L-R Kill Rust Works Wondersi'm in the Antenna installation game as wellat one point My Crimp tools were rained on and they got very rustyWD-40 Cleaned it up right away

author: CaptnYellowShirt
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 02:12:47 pm
content: Quote from: BTO on April 27, 2014, 06:38:53 pmNinjas use WD-40?

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 28, 2014, 02:20:28 pm
content: I use a lanolin based rust retardant and lubricant, stays on for a lot longer than the oil in wd40. Good as a tool lubricant for tapping and turning steel. Nicer on the hands as well.