20 replies to this topic

[glueside]

OK, all you old Retro guys:

How do you clean your K&S piano wire? It comes with an anti-corrosion film that is extremely hard to get off and I have my ways (sanding), but I thought there might be other ways out there.

[JerseyJohn]

Naphtha and a Scotch-Brite pad. Then I wipe it with a rag. Clean and shiny...

[slotcarone]

I just use a Scotch-Brite pad and when it is nice and shiny it is ready to solder. Use plenty of acid. Be sure to clean/polish the other parts too before soldering.

[Bill Seitz]

I'm not an old Retro guy, but I build wire chassis. Scotch-Brite pad or sandpaper whichever I happen to have. It's not just the steel wire that needs cleaning, same works for brass, copper, and other steel or metals, too.

[slotcarone]

Young or old, we're both doing the same thing! LOL.

[Jim Difalco]

Brillo or SOS was my choice in the 1970s. 

[Dominator]

Sand with 220 grit. Tin the wire with solder. Assemble chassis. Then place it in a tumbler for six-eight hours with ceramic median and brass polish. Everything comes acid free and shiny.

[slotcarone]

Brillo or SOS was my choice in the 1970s. 

 

If you have seen my chassis building posts, I aways use SOS pads many times during the builds and after to shine and remove the acid residue. Brillo is too coarse and scratches the brass.

[team burrito]

400 sandpaper and rubbing alcohol does the trick.

[SpeedyNH]

Doesn't Mike Swiss have tinned piano wire? 

[Pablo]

If you find some, buy all of it.   

[MSwiss]

My plated wire was the victim of getting promoted by a kid's influencer on Instagram, and later on FB Reels,  approximately 20 and 12 months ago.

 

I.e. I hosted 34 parties this past March and an almost equally insane 28 in both February and April.

 

I managed to get my floor repainted a few weeks ago, right before a large milestone party I hosted for my wife a few weeks ago, so there is hope I'll get to the miserable job of cutting the 3-foot lengths of K&S wire down to 1 foot, before I send it to the platers.

[Bill from NH]

During the '70s, foot lengths of K&S wire in the .032"-.063" sizes cost a nickel and it came plated. Sullivan also sold 3' lengths plated. 

[MSwiss]

I remember plated K&S wire.

 

I don't know what it was plated with, but it soldered poorly.

 

Probably why you don't see it on vintage slot car chassis.

[zipper]

Zinc probably?

[Bill from NH]

No, it was not zinc. In the day, it soldered just fine and I built a number of chassis with it. So did Jan Limpach, Tony P,, Brandon Kaaron, and others. It's not used today for anything because it is no longer available.

[MSwiss]

We had this conversation 8 years ago.

 

[bbr]

"Researchers Say You Become A New Person Every 7 Years"

 

we all forgot about that conversation 

[team burrito]

I remember plated K&S wire. I don't know what it was plated with, but it soldered poorly. Probably why you don't see it on vintage slot car chassis.

mike, how does your plating react to bending?
 

[MSwiss]

Not an issue.

 

That's how I test the adhesion when I get a new batch done.

 

I solder 2 straight pieces to each other and take a pair of pliers and bend one of the pieces, grabbing the wire just beyond the solder joint.

 

Because in this case, it's .047" wire, I'm able to almost bend it back parallel before the solder started to shear.

 

With .062", the solder will start to shear a little bit after bending it 90 degrees.

 

Bottom line, the plating never cracks or peels.

 

 

[Pablo]

mike, how does your plating react to bending?
 

I've bent a ton of it. It bends perfectly, the same as non-plated K&S.

Bends a nice tight 90 degrees or more no problem.

Never fails.

 

There is some "other stuff" on the market that is NOT as straight, NOT as hard, and bends in a bigger arc than Swiss wire. No bueno.

You can spot it because it's shinier than Swiss wire.

 

No pre-cleaning or tinning required. One swipe with a napkin with iso alc on it to purify and you are ready to solder.