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Cleaning SX-1250 RCA Connector Question

70'sMusic

70'sMusic

Well-Known Member
Hi Everyone,

Been loving my newly acquired SX-1250 and want to clean the RCA connectors. There is something on the outside of the RCA connectors. I used very fine steel wool along with DeoxIT to clean the metal "jumpers" to get what looked like rust off of them. Don't know if it's dust that has settled over the years but after cleaning the outside of the RCA's with DeoxIT, it is better but still present. Will using fine steel wool on the outside of the connectors cause any damage to them?
 
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Yes, the steel wool will wreck the plating totally and it will rust.

The way I do it is with a nut driver which is slightly larger in diameter than the RCA outer. I then cut a small square of felt (a few mm thick maybe ~40mm square) and push it over the RCA socket. Find the socket that suits your felt thickness and the spacing. Put some metal polish (a small amount of maguiars or mothers) on the felt on the sides and then spin it at a low speed on your cordless drill- pushing gently on the socket- it will wrap right around and cover the entire outer of the RCA.

Basically it makes a felt-lined firm-fit socket with polishing compound on it.

sockets.JPG
like these above.

It will polish them to an as-new shine with minimal effort and no damage to the metal back plate as the felt hangs over the edges of the socket and prevents the metal touching the panel.

Just change your bit of felt regularly.

You can do the same with the RCA plates removed from the chassis to get that little bit deeper, right to the base.
 
Last edited:
restorer-john said:
Yes, the steel wool will wreck the plating totally and it will rust.

The way I do it is with a nut driver which is slightly larger in diameter than the RCA outer. I then cut a small square of felt (a few mm thick maybe ~40mm square) and push it over the RCA socket. Find the socket that suits your felt thickness and the spacing. Put some metal polish (a small amount of maguiars or mothers) on the felt on the sides and then spin it at a low speed on your cordless drill- pushing gently on the socket- it will wrap right around and cover the entire outer of the RCA.

Basically it makes a felt-lined firm-fit socket with polishing compound on it.

View attachment 1248552
like these above.

It will polish them to an as-new shine with minimal effort and no damage to the metal back plate as the felt hangs over the edges of the socket and prevents the metal touching the panel.

Just change your bit of felt regularly.

You can do the same with the RCA plates removed from the chassis to get that little bit deeper, right to the base.
Click to expand...

GREAT TIP !!! Thanks John for sharing
 
Hi Restorer-John,

OK, I've got the felt and the nut drivers for my drill. Just having a hard time finding metal cleaner. So far all I'm finding is Brasso and Tarnex. Will not touch Tarnex but used Brasso in the military. The Brasso can doesn't list silver as one of the metals it cleans. Will keep you posted my friend, almost there...
 
Report back and show us a few pics of before and afters. Remember, slow speed until you get the hang of it... :)

Any stray polishing compound that gets into the hole of the RCA can be cleaned of with a q-tip. You don't need much at all, just a tiny bit.
 
Hi restorer-john, will do. Won't get to it until the weekend. Armed and ready to go!
 

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Hi Everyone,

Well, my cleaning project turned out well with one exception. I used restorer-john's method and it worked great. But, on two RCA connectors the felt went into the socket a tab bit to far and I had some metal-to-metal contact. Nothing damaged or dangerous but given my receiver's condition I hate that it happened. Was able to remove most of what was there but will have to take the RCA connectors out to thoroughly clean the jacks at their base. Photos are attached. THANK YOU everyone for your help, I truly appreciate it!
 

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70'sMusic said:
Hi Everyone,

Well, my cleaning project turned out well with one exception. I used restorer-john's method and it worked great. But, on two RCA connectors the felt went into the socket a tab bit to far and I had some metal-to-metal contact. Nothing damaged or dangerous but given my receiver's condition I hate that it happened. Was able to remove most of what was there but will have to take the RCA connectors out to thoroughly clean the jacks at their base. Photos are attached. THANK YOU everyone for your help, I truly appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Excellent. What did you use to clean and polish inside the holes?
 
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