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Fisher Dial Glass

dcgillespie

dcgillespie

Fisher SA-100 Clone
Subscriber
Alright all you Fisher refurbish/rebuilders out there, before I button my 400 back up, is there a safe, effective way to clean the silk screened side of the dial glass so that no harm will come to the lettering? I've always heard the horror stories and as a result, have never touched it. Suggestions appreciated!

Dave
 
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I have had success on numerous Fisher dial glasses using ordinary dish soap and luke warm water. First I test the lettering on the corner of the glass where Fisher printed the glass part number. If that survives the wash and dry, I go ahead with the entire glass. Dip a soft cloth into a fairly concentrated batch of soap & warm water and rub very gently while standing it on end. Two or three passes on each side usually does it. I don't submerge it and try not to take too long. The 'nervous' part is hanging on to the slippery glass edges to make sure it doesn't get loose.

I then rinse both sides directly under the faucet and lay face down on a doulble folded paper towel. With the lettered side face up, I blot and do not rub the lettered side with another folded paper towel. Mine have all turned out great.

By the way if there is gasket residue around the edges, I use a Q-tip with lighter fluid or alcohol before washing, being carefull to stay well clear of any lettering.

Good luck with yours,
Dennis
 
Thanks Al -- I never even thought to check out Don's superb cleaning procedures. There's a "Duh" moment for ya!

Dave
 
No matter what others say, on FISHER's it's time for Qtips and a very steady hand. Don't matter if it's 1950's Mono or a 1970's Sanyo unit. They all get the same. Q-tips, and 1:25 solution of Simple green to water. Lay the paper towel on top to dry and DO NOT RUB or exert any pressure on the lettering! Let it sop the excess off then dry qtips to get the residual off, by rolling the qtip along.

On the non lettered side, Windex on a paper towel and wipe one way only.

Larry
 
Just cleaned my 800C dial off...used a Swiffer duster on the glass and the black part behind it..worked great although it wasn't bad to begin with
 
I've done six 400 dial glasses. The first one I just used a little dishwashing soap and found the paint to be tough as nails. So, second one used a bit of ammonia and it shined up very nicely. Got really cavalier on the next ones and used straight ammonia - boy, they looked amazing. The last one, did my ammonia and the numbers and print ran all over the place - just ruined it. So, I'd say it's a crap-shoot. Some will probably run just with water so best to try a little corner with q-tip as suggested.
 
As near as I can tell, nicotine residue kills screen printing on glass. If the unit hasn't been smoked around too much, it should be OK for cleaning - but test the part number first.
 
bhamham said:
..... Some will probably run just with water so best to try a little corner with q-tip as suggested.
Click to expand...

I'm with Bruce & Larry on this one.

I've done 3. First one with just water on the lettered side. I watched in horror as the letters immediately started to swim . Next two I did with a little more care: Windex on the front side rubbing to my hearts content while supporting it with the other hand at one end. It keeps the letters off the surface you're working on so that you don't have to be concerned with friction taking the printing off.

Other side: alcohol in the big, clear areas with q-tips and tissue. BARELY damp tissue very lightly passed over the lettering. I found that the alcohol was a good solvent and it evaporated fairly quickly.

Needless to say, every time I did it my sphincters always tended to spazz!
 
Thanks everyone. Many years ago, I too watched my dad cleaning up the dial glass of his Fisher KM-60 FM tuner, and watched the log numbers start floating around on the glass. I just didn't want a repeat incident!

Dave
 
Only safe method is a Q-Tip for cleaning with no contact on print. Liquid and old paint does not mix.
 
I learned my lesson on a KM-60 glass as well. A gentle wipe with a damp paper towel, turned the towel over, and all the numbers were on the paper, not on the glass.

I've cleaned a lot of dial glass, including shortwave radios, and there are two primary rules:

1. There is no one method that is always safe.
And...
2. Start with the least aggressive method, always.

If the attachment of the lettering has already deteriorated, if you touch the lettering, it will come off, no matter how gently you do it.

There are two approaches:

1. Never touch the lettering at all. Use a q-tip and carefully work around the lettering. Not always necessary, at all, obviously time-consuming, but always safe.
Or...
2. Start in an inconspicuous spot, and start carefully.

I always begin with a visual examination of the lettering, using a well lit magnifying lens. You're looking for any indication at all that any of the lettering is buckled or lifting from the glass. If you see that, you're done. Don't even try to clean the back side. The only thing you can do is to attempt, carefully, to clean the glass around the lettering. And start watching ebay for a replacement glass.

If I don't see any signs of lifting of the lettering, I usually begin by breathing on a low risk spot, just to put a tiny amount of moisture on the glass. Then, I will blot, not rub, gently with a piece of tissue. If the test letter or number remains firmly attached to the glass, then I will breathe again and this time very gently rub with the tissue. If the lettering is still tight, I will gently and briefly rub with warm water (NO soaking!) and gently dry. This is all you need to do in the vast majority of cases.

If the glass has a nicotine or other greasy residue, and the lettering remained tight during your moisture test, then you can move up to lukewarm water with a few drops of gentle liquid soap, no soaking, and a gentle rinse. This is really all you should ever need to do.

If the lettering is nice and tight, then any glass cleaner, Simple Green, etc., will work just fine, but you should NEVER start with these cleaners until you know the lettering is good. And, no soaking. A very short spritz, a quick, gentle rinse, a quick, gentle wipe.

Always examine visually first, and always start with the least aggressive method.
 
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Hiya,

To add to the excellent pointers here I will throw in that if you have a scanner .. scan that puppy before starting and if successful afterwards.

Its not outside the realm of possibilities to make a reproduction. Although it would be expensive I figure.

Frannie
 
I've updated the "How to deep clean a tube amp" post on cleaning a dial glass and linked to this thread.
 
I've cleaned the dial glass on a lot of things, including several tubed Fishers without problems. I usually only use a bit of alcohol on a paper towel, followed by a microfiber cloth.
 
Not on a Fisher but on a Trio mpx tuner:

Using water, I managed to mess the lettering but fortunately, it was on the log scale, not the main mHz scale. I had to repair it with a bit of white paint and a bit of sticky white paper.

It looks fine when viewed a 4-5 feets but you can see the damage looking carefully.

I also messed a plastic dial on Stromberg-Carlson tuner: I used alcohol to clean it and all the white translucent paint disappeared... I had to use a white color pen on waxpaper glued on the back of the dial to repair it...

Lesson: even if I stumble on a dirty glass, I let it as is...

Patrice
 
Hi Guys

I need your help :tears:

I start to clean my 400, and I did as describe in this thread the procedure to clean the glass but unfortunatelly some letters were gone!! :tears::tears::tears:

Anybody knows if somebody sell the glass of any kind of sticky letter in the proper scale for the glass??

Any advice will be very appreciated!!!

Thank you!!!
 
That's a real bummer! Been there... your heart just drops to your feet to see it happen.

My suggestion is to put an ad on Barton Town for a good condition used one and set up a search on ebay - one usually comes along. I got one in less than a week on Barton Town.
 
400 lettering is rugged, I've cleaned two 400's. for the final step i used slightly dampened lens paper to remove leftover lint.
 
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