[TR] Cleaning Bakelite without turning finish to dull haze - was Control Head

spook01@comcast.net spook01 at comcast.net
Sat Oct 22 16:41:16 MDT 2011


Gojo handcleaner WITHOUT any grit.  Been using it to clean bakelite on pre-war cars for a long time.  Works a treat, but won't repair that which has been ruined previously.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

----- Reply message -----
From: "John Macartney" <flywheelcoventry1 at yahoo.co.uk>
To: "Chris Simo" <ccsimonsen at gmail.com>, "list Triumph" <triumphs at autox.team.net>
Subject: [TR] Cleaning Bakelite without turning finish to dull haze - was Control Head
Date: Sat, Oct 22, 2011 11:58


Seemingly, an interesting solution (no pun) for faded Bakelight, Chris. For
those of us outside the US, what exactly is Go-Jo? A search through Google
suggests it may be some kind of hand cleaner or barrier cream? As the importer
in the UK seems to stock a vast array of Go-Jo products, which one is this and
what is it specifically used for? Your post was timely as a friend has just
about finished a ground-up rebuild of a Standard (Triumph) Ten and the black
instrument binnacle and alonside heater controls are badly faded. Seems this
could be the thing he's looking for

Jonmac
http://standard-triumph-books.co.uk/ 


>________________________________
>From: Chris Simo <ccsimonsen at gmail.com>
>To: list Triumph
<triumphs at autox.team.net>
>Sent: Saturday, 22 October 2011, 13:28
>Subject:
[TR] Cleaning Bakelite without turning finish to dull haze - was Control Head
>
>I saw Gary's Control Head post and sent him a message on the evils of using
>some solvents to clean Control heads.   The finish on bakelite is very thin
>and can be damaged by aggressive solvents and abrasives.
>
>I did a quick
search and saw that it had not been discussed here (at least
>in the past 5 or
6 years) so I thought I'd bring up the subject.
>
>The control head on my TR2
was a dull dark brown color - the button even
>lighter brown.  Never thought
there was an issue - my  brother in law plays
>with old table radios from the
30's and 40's and said that someone destroyed
>my control head and button
finish using the wrong stuff to clean them.
>
>He said  - Alcohol and ammonia
should not be used.  And figured any brake or
>carb cleaners should be avoided
likewise - paint thinner is ok.  Any alkali
>or ammoniated cleaners should be
avoided.  He uses Go-Jo with success.  I
>stole the term from the article
before as it seems more descriptive than
>what my brolaw told me.
>
>My
control head was broken - so I pulled it out - since the finish was
>destroyed
there was no fixing it.  The old box of control head parts was in
>the attic -
and after careful washing with paint thinner and gojo - I had a
>set of almost
brand new shiny bakelite parts for the rebuild.  Lucky for me
>the only broken
bits were the horn button and gunk and bugs nests inside the
>housing. 
Reassembly was a bit tricky but Randall (I think) has a nice hand
>drawn
illustration on his google docs site that aids greatly with reassembly
>(a
third hand helps too).
>
>I just did some searching to try to validate what he
said and found the link
>below it gives a pretty good explanation of how
Bakelite is made and why the
>finish is so thin and how it can be damaged by
cleaning.
>
>http://www.radiolaguy.com/info/clean-shine.htm
>
>From what I can
tell there is no way to rejuvinate the finish of bakelite
>other than cover
with paint.....
>
>Please add your two cents to this thread - I'd like to hear
what others have
>done or their contrary opinions.
>
>Chris
>
>
>triumphs at autox.team.net
>
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