Cleaning the Ampex
351Brushed Stainless Steel Faceplates (also known as “panels” or “overlays”)
and Plastic Parts
Contributors are David
Dintenfass, Kurt Greske, Peter Haas and Perry Roper.
Remove all components from
the transport faceplate, including the torque motors, plastic reel guards,
supply reel idler assembly, head assembly, take-up tension arm assembly, all
four push button switches, both toggle switches and the switch faceplate.
Remove the capstan idler wheel, but not the arm. Then, remove the capstan
motor.
Remove the VU meter and the
knobs and retaining rings/nuts from various controls. Take the stainless
faceplate to a laundry sink.
Using hot water and some
powdered or liquid laundry soap, wet a green kitchen-grade 3M Scotch-Brite pad
and get it soapy. Gently scrub the
faceplate going with the grain of the brushed finish. It's important here to
move only with the grain. If you're paranoid, you can use a well-worn (but well
cleaned) Scotch-Brite pad, which has less "bite."
If the faceplate is really
scratched and dinged, try the industrial grade Scotch-Brite pads. This requires
more careful application as the material is far more aggressive, so be VERY careful
Be very careful when
cleaning brushed stainless-steel Ampex panels.
It's very easy to "over polish" the panels, particularly when
using the kind of pressure required to remove years of accumulated grime. Heavy
rubbing on the front panels makes them look unnatural (sort of an uneven mirror
finish, with shiny "hot spots").
Liquid polishes and steel
wool pads are completely unsuited for brushed-finished panels. All they do is created shiny spots. You want
the panel to look snappy, not shiny. If someone has previously created shiny
spots, the Scotch-Brite pad should undo these nicely.
Towel the faceplates dry by
gently rubbing in the same direction as the brushed grain. Suggest you buy
Scott Rags In A Box, 200 lint free cloths that hold up much better than paper
towels. Don’t confuse these with other Scott towels, which are blue and more
like automotive shop cloths. The ones you want come in a yellow box. You’ll
need all 200 by the time you’re done with a full 351 restoration!
The lettering is etched and
filled and is pretty durable. If you
lose any, order a black “Lacquer Stik” wipe on paintstick from Antique
Electronic Supply, part number S-F438.
Finish the faceplates by
rubbing them with off the shelf Isopropyl and some of those Scott lint free
rags. Then, you can eliminate the residual “smear” by applying Meguiar's Mirror
Glaze #10 Clear Plastic Polish, available at automotive supply stores.
Use either Mothers Mag and
Aluminum Polish (available at automotive supply stores) or Rain Dance No. 7
White Polishing Compound (available at hardware stores).
Avoid replacing the control
nuts with new ones from Radio Shack. They are thin and the threads are poorly
cut. Take the extra time to clean up the original control nuts.
Use repeated applications of
either Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish or Rain Dance No. 7 White Polishing
Compound and a ton of the Scott Rags. You’ll see decades of dirt, cigarette
smoke and whatever else disappear.
This cleaning will leave the
plastic with a dull finish and the white lines on the electronics knobs will be
grayed out. Use a white “Lacquer Stik” wipe on paintstick from Antique
Electronic Supply, part number S-F229. Let dry, then apply Meguiar's Mirror
Glaze #10 Clear Plastic Polish to the knobs and all the plastic parts. They’ll
look like new.
This may seem like a lot of
work, but if you're going to do a full overhaul on the Ampex anyway, why not
start with squeaky-clean front panels?
John Hughes