On Aug 11, 2:40*pm, Winston wrote:
Searcher7 wrote:
On Aug 7, 10:34 am, *wrote:
Karl Townsend wrote:
On Sat, 6 Aug 2011 22:25:07 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
* *wrote:

I need to polish the rust off of a few joystick shafts I have and I'm
not sure what kind of steel the shafts are made of.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l.../Arcade%20Stuf....

I tried Nver-Dull, but it didn't seem to do much.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, new York.

look up electrolytic de rusting.Been discussed here several times.

And it works a treat!

The picture shows some pretty minor oxidation, though.
I would chuck them in the drill press at *low
RPM* and use strips of 'shop roll' starting at
relatively coarse and continuing with finer grits:http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...=28071899&PMAK...

... and finish at 'maximum shiny' after a few
thousand revolutions with crocus cloth:

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?P...=28071896&PMAK...

Just hold the ends of say 24" of the strip
between thumbs and forefingers. If it snags
on the work, it will snap out of your fingers
without pulling you into the tool.

--Winston

The joystick shafts actually look a little worse than they do in the
picture.

WD40 does nothing, and my local hardware store, as well as Home Depot
don't have any shop strip or crocus cloth.

In a pinch, you can make your own 'shop roll'.
Place a sanding belt grit side down on a piece of scrap wood.
Use a straightedge and carpet knife to slice the backing into
1" strips. Viola!

If you can find sheets of crocus cloth (very fine abrasive
paper) you can cut it into strips as well.

I can't even find alligator clips at any store to try the
"electrolytic de rusting" idea,

Anything springy can be used to hold the wire on to the
workpiece and cathode.
Clothes pin, worm clamp, rubber band, twisted wire tension....



So, since I need to get this done today, I guess I'll pick up that
"rust remover" in a bottle I saw at Home Depot yesterday and try that.

Good luck! *

--Winston

I also wasn't sure how a battery charger is to be hooked up to do the
electrolytic de rusting.

But I now have a 16oz bottle of Loctite Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver.
(I'll see how that works).

P.S.: Can you tell me what grit of sand paper would be used before
Nevr-Dull is used to polish the shafts? (At the moment, the finest I
have on hand is 400).

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.