19 Jan
2009
19 Jan
'09
12:29 p.m.
On Mon, 19 Jan 2009, Chuck Guzis wrote:
Definitely not rubber covered, but with some sort of
chemical or
electrolytic (i.e. not paint) finish. Whether it was simple
anodizing with a pigment, alodine, or something else, I don't know.
It would seem that whatever was used needs to be conductive, so
perhaps the brown color was intrinsic to the process.
From what I see in the FE manuals, the starwheel sensing arms are used
to mechanically close contacts and not to complete a circuit through the
program drum itself. I always thought it was the latter, until I started
digging into the manuals.
I do have some aluminum oxidation remover which contains a small
concentration of phosporic acid which I might try (on an interior section
at first). A stainless steel brush might be a starting point to remove
the surface layer. I'll continue to collect suggestions for a bit.
Mike Loewen mloewen at cpumagic.scol.pa.us
Old Technology http://sturgeon.css.psu.edu/~mloewen/Oldtech/