Ypsilanti, MI
First off, this post could probably go in the Restoration sub-forum but since it's an EM machine, I decided to post it here instead.
I have a Williams Suspense and the legs are VERY rusted. It also looks like someone may have spray painted them at some point. I've got the machine working for the most part so I decided to start working on its looks. Last night I got some fine and also some very fine steel wool and began scrubbing the hell out of one of the legs. It does seem to get the rust off and also some of the dullness and I can see shining metal (chrome?) again. However, the steel wool method is a pain in the butt so I started looking into other methods that might save time. After all, I could just buy new legs but I'm trying to save some money. I already think I overpaid for this machine in the condition it's in.
Tonight I tried two other methods on the inside of the legs. I figured the inside wouldn't be a big deal if these methods caused scratching, etc. First I tried a wire brush attached to my drill. I knew this would most likely leave scratches so I was careful to only do it on a small area (and on the inside). I just wanted to know how well it worked. It did remove the rust and it did scratch it up a bit more than I would have liked but I was surprised to see that the area that I did this on turned kind of dark grey. Maybe I took the chrome plating off? Oops...well, I of course didn't keep going with this method.
Now I know I've read that some folks like to use aluminum foil and Coca-Cola. I found some other videos where folks were using aluminum foil and plain water. Since I didn't have any Coke on hand, I went with the water method. I found a pretty good explanation for why this should work better than steel wool here:
http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html
I don't think I really used any less elbow grease than steel wool alone and the results were not really much different. It did seem to cause that dark grey that I saw with the wire brush. So again, is the leg missing chrome plating or something? Not sure...
While searching around, I found some info from a guy that was using electrolysis to clean EM legs. If I get time this weekend, I'm going to give this a try. If not, it will be later in the week or next weekend. I will post the results here (or should I write a story/article?). For the curious, here is the info I found (from https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.games.pinball/LwFL82onmUA):
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I use an electrolytic rust removal process. This is a process that my
friend, Kevin Wing, first prepared a set up for about ten years ago
and I have been using it ever since. To get everything set up takes a
bit of work. But once set up it is a breeze and does the best job
with the minimum amount of work.
Here is a good explnation of the process:
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/rust/electrolytic_derusting.htm
I use a 36" piece of 4" schedule 40 PVC with a cap (flat face makes it
more stable - I had to check several stores to find this instead of
the domed caps) on the bottom for the container and have this standing
vertical on end. You can buy this at any home improvement store.
I had three 1/4" UHMW rings with a 4" OD and a 3" ID with three 5/16"
holes at 120 degree spacing made to hold three 1/4" all thread rods
thatserve as the core. I can have these made if anyone is
interested. Probably around $15 a set plus shipping.
Get three 36" long 1/4" all thread rods - steel erodes faster -
stainless steel lasts longer - stainless steel is known to put off
hexavalent chromium. You can get these at any home improvement store.
Assemble all thread to UHMW rings with nylon nuts (as opposed to steel
so they don't degrade as you use it). Attach the three all thread
rods through the UHMW rings and space the rings about 12" apart
leaving a leg on each rod. This holds to all thread rods at even
spacing fully encompasing the leg.
Attach a piece of 12 gauge copper wire with stainless nuts at the top
of each all thread so they make a common core.
Double nut a 3" long 3/8" stainless steel bolt with another piece of
12 gauge copper wire and and make a pigtail on the wire and thread the
bolt tight into the leveler hole of the leg. Thread a stick or dowel
through the loop in the wire and bridge across the top edge of the
PVC.
Fill the container, about 2 gallons, with water and add 1 tablespoon
of washing soda to the water.
Suspend the leg in the solution being sure it is fully submerged.
You will need a quality 6V battery charger to charge the system. It
needs to have adquate amps to work. I have used a cheapy charger and
it never implemented much derusting action.
Attach the black clamp from a 6V battery charger to pigtail that is
attached to the leg.
Attach the red clamp from the charger to the common wire at the top of
the all threads or one of the all threads. (you did wire them all
together double nutting them to make them a common core, didn't you?)
Plug in the charger and let it work for 4-6 hours. If the leg is
touching the core you will see the meter peg/ground and need to
rearrange the leg so it does not ground to the core. It will read in
the realm of 4 to 8 volts over the course of the process.
After the 4 to 6 hours, unplug the charger and pull the leg out. The
light surface rust will be eaten away and will buff off with a wet
sponge. Never use a scotch brite pad or steel wool, no matter how
fine. It will scratch the surface of a chrome finish. Dry the leg
off and then follow with a buffing with Mothers Mag Polish paste.
This process will give you the best results with the least effort.
You don't have to deal with the acid in the Lightening Rust Remover
and other similar products. I spend three minutes setting up a leg in
the tank. I spend 5 minutes taking it out of the tank and buffing the
loose rust off with the sponge. I spend up to 10 minutes polishing
the leg with Mothers. As soon as I take one leg out I put another on
in to cook.
I used to have pictures of the equipment I use for this on John Wart's
site until it crashed. I can take new pictures and send to anyone
interested. If you go through any volume this process really works
well but takes some investment in parts and time to get it set up.
Once you get it going you have to monitor the rods as they will
degrade through the process and need to be replaced. Also, the
washing soda solution will get very grundgy and ineffective over time
so it will need to be removed and replaced from time to time.
This process will not overcome extreme pitting. The lighter surface
rust is where this process really shines. In the end, it makes any
plated leg look as good as possible. I run all the plated legs that
come through my garage through this process.
Mike O.
Team-EM
One post further down, Mike O. says:
I meant to say add 1 tablespoon of washing soda per gallon (2
tablespoons in this case) to make up the solution.
Mike O.
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If you also check out that stovebolt link, you can read more about it.
Sorry for the long post. My question here though is...
What method do you prefer and why? Have you tried more than one method?
Just thought I would spark a discussion here. 
Leduc, AB
