Marantz 18 scope fixable??

Txturbo has been kind enough to help me out quite a lot already. I've been a member on lots of forums over the years.. Hunting / Harley's / woodworking / guns / etc and I can honestly say although all great forums in their own right, none can compare to this one.

GT.
 
Thanks for the links. All very interesting reads. I’m still thinking that this brassy yellow is the anodized finish on the metal and not nicotine though. I have some Autosole ( that may be spelled wrong ) that I’m tempted to try if I knew for sure it was nicotine but it doesn’t smell. I use Autosole on my Harley to clean the chrome and stainless steel and it works great The control knobs were stained i can see,but I’m on the fence with the face plate.
 
In my experience, the Model 18s are not a brassy yellow. They are a light champagne.

txturbo posted a pic of his 3000 serial here a while back. His unit was made a few months before your 3600 serial. His earlier unit doesn't appear to have the yellowish brown cast your does.

Granted, there could be some production variations in the hue of the faceplate anodizations Marantz used, but the fact that your faceplate has the same yellowish brown hue as the control knobs (which you confirmed to have residue via cleaning) points to a smoker's unit covered in tar.

It's possible what you are seeing is worn off anodization, but I still think there is a strong chance that it's smoker's tar.

Here's txturbo's 3000 serial

3000.jpg

Your 3600 serial

image-1.jpg

Your cleaned knob (left control below) virtually clinches the "caked in smoker's tar" theory. The gunk still on the right uncleaned control in the picture below is the same color as the gunk on the faceplate. Same stuff.

image-3.jpg
 
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I like the look of your 18. I might take a chance on the Autosol if I can get up the nerve to try it.

What you need is a cleaner that won't harm anodization or lettering, but will remove nicotine / tar stains. Such a cleaner will confirm if the colored splotches are tar stains or not. It may be that your control knobs clean up easier because the faceplate has a clear coat or porousness that is "gripping" the tar.

I'm not sure what cleaner would be best to test the theory. Perhaps others here can chime in.

But if you do try cleaning the faceplate, I would start out with the mildest, least abrasive, most conservative cleaner and work your way up to something stronger only if you need to. The Model 18 face plates are unobtanium unless you source a donor unit or have a new one made. Test the cleaner in a small inconspicuous location first vs. applying it to the entire faceplate at once.

It looks like all your faceplate lettering is intact. That is fairly rare! On a positive note, smoker's tar stains can act like a preservative and actually keep the faceplates in excellent condition under the grime. So your unit may clean up very nicely if you can find a non-abrasive cleaner ideal for the task.

Also - does the unit smell like smoke? If that coloring is tar, the entire unit would likely still have a cigarette smell.
 
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Here's another thread on smoker's tar removal from faceplates.

Forum member sriskie used Windex and posted before and after photos (see below). I'm not sure how Marantz lettering would react to Windex, so YMMV.

Picture 020.jpg

Picture 023.jpg
 
18-2018 down, 18-7460 up.
Both are clean.

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Unless heavily contaminated I would leave that faceplate alone, the lettering is really nice.


For cleaning I normally use windex, it's my go to for removal of tar. I have also used a magic eraser very carefully. Do not use IPA. You need to be VERY gentle when cleaning the 18 face plate. The lettering is lightly printed on and can rub off easily. (see below)

I think some of the 18 faceplates have a champagne look to them while others are silver. Anodization is known to fade over time so maybe they all started the same and some faded a bit. I will take a front and back picture of an insert and see if there is a color difference.

This is one that I used for a template to make a new plate. The plate is clean and still a bit of a champagne color.

38802213200_851545fea4_b.jpg
 
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