Toothpaste - Next level of clean

jobrewer1983

jobrewer1983

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Any of you guys ever use toothpaste to clean face plates?

the stuff is amazing. I’ve found stuff with baking soda seems to make them look like new.

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This set had some serious oxidation and I’m assuming cigarette smoke all over it. Soap and blue dawn wasn’t enough to get the discoloration out,

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This was after soap and water ^^

I may be late to the game on this one, hope others find this is helpful.

method -

.1 wash face plate with dawn soap to remove any oils

.2 apply toothpaste and scrub with stiff plastic brush or toothbrush in small circular motion.

3. wash clean with dawn soap to remove any tooth paste residue.

4. dry and enjoy

Blown away at how well this worked.
 
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Toothpaste is an abrasive, I wouldn't use it on anything that had collectible value. Note that many different methods were used to print the lettering on gear, some better than others; 50 years onwards, much of the lettering is really easy to remove without care.
Soap, mildly warm water, soft cloth, patience; it's very rarely that I encounter filth on gear that cannot be removed using just these. For sharpies and other lettering on gear, spot placement of 99% alcohol works, but note this will float some times of lettering almost immediately (hello Akai!). This is all IMO of course, but I've done many a restore over the decades and the hard lessons are the ones you never forget. Cheers. :thumbsup:
 
titanstats said:
Toothpaste is an abrasive, I wouldn't use it on anything that had collectible value. Note that many different methods were used to print the lettering on gear, some better than others; 50 years onwards, much of the lettering is really easy to remove without care.
Soap, mildly warm water, soft cloth, patience; it's very rarely that I encounter filth on gear that cannot be removed using just these. For sharpies and other lettering on gear, spot placement of 99% alcohol works, but note this will float some times of lettering almost immediately (hello Akai!). This is all IMO of course, but I've done many a restore over the decades and the hard lessons are the ones you never forget. Cheers. :thumbsup:
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Don’t use it then :)

Soap and hand scrubbing can cause silkscreening to be removed as well.

I think If toothpaste and a toothbrush is good enough to not remove your tooth enamel it’s fine for silkscreening.

that said; yes I agree, be careful with valuable gear.

I can tell you this, toothpaste seems to clean the face plate or knobs off with super light scrubbing and even just finger rubbing. Pull an old knob off some of your gear and test it out. Try it prior to making assumptions;)
 
I've heard people use the term "abrasive" as if it's a pejorative term. Fine abrasives are used to polish metal to a mirror finish. There's nothing bad about abrasive compounds, you just have to use a fine one and use it carefully. Toothpaste sounds like a good idea.
Here's what Colgate says are the five most common ingredients in toothpaste:
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-...-toothpaste-five-ingredients-and-what-they-do
 
stereofanboy said:
I'm glad you finally started using toothpaste. You'll find it to be a game changer.
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it really is, it takes that familiar layer of brown gunk off the thin film of age that seems to never be completely removed after a good washing. You can always see it with different angels or lightning. It really took the game to the next level and got all the metal work to look spotless.

took care of a 104 in minutes

D9D72F86-7905-468D-8574-56B65123BC2F.jpeg 3475A3ED-DEA7-4C63-ABDE-AA86B7DDBF36.jpeg
 
jobrewer1983 said:
it really is, it takes that familiar layer of brown gunk off the thin film of age that seems to never be completely removed after a good washing. You can always see it with different angels or lightning. It really took the game to the next level and got all the metal work to look spotless.

took care of a 104 in minutes

View attachment 2637631 View attachment 2637632
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Get the 112 tuner and you will have the best of the best for your baby Marantz matching separates stack. ;) I had the 3200 preamp to go with my 140 amp and 112 tuner. But personally I thought the model 33 preamp I had and my 1060 used as a preamp sounded better. The new owner really likes the 3200 though.
The 112 tuner is a really nice sounding tuner and is more sensitive than the 105 and 104 tuners I had. The biggest difference though really was the sensitivity.
The 112 is better at picking up stations. I don't know if it's true or not, but I read something about it a few years ago claiming the 112 was very similar to the 125 circuit wise minus a few of the features like the added meter, adjustable muting, etc.
I use the 112 in my main system. I've had other Marantz tuners, 104, 105, 115, 120 scoped tuner and even an early 80's ST-400. But I kept the 112.
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Lavane said:
Get the 112 tuner and you will have the best of the best for your baby Marantz matching separates stack. ;) I had the 3200 preamp to go with my 140 amp and 112 tuner. But personally I thought the model 33 preamp I had and my 1060 used as a preamp sounded better. The new owner really likes the 3200 though.
The 112 tuner is a really nice sounding tuner and is more sensitive than the 105 and 104 tuners I had. The biggest difference though really was the sensitivity.
The 112 is better at picking up stations. I don't know if it's true or not, but I read something about it a few years ago claiming the 112 was very similar to the 125 circuit wise minus a few of the features like the added meter, adjustable muting, etc.
I use the 112 in my main system. I've had other Marantz tuners, 104, 105, 115, 120 scoped tuner and even an early 80's ST-400. But I kept the 112.
View attachment 2637656
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Nice :) yea I like the 112 I Was eyeballing them last night lol
 
jobrewer1983 said:
Don’t use it then :)

Soap and hand scrubbing can cause silkscreening to be removed as well.

I think If toothpaste and a toothbrush is good enough to not remove your tooth enamel it’s fine for silkscreening.

that said; yes I agree, be careful with valuable gear.

I can tell you this, toothpaste seems to clean the face plate or knobs off with super light scrubbing and even just finger rubbing. Pull an old knob off some of your gear and test it out. Try it prior to making assumptions;)
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Tried it all, and just my advice, nobody is obliged to take it. Cheers.

rothwellaudio said:
I've heard people use the term "abrasive" as if it's a pejorative term.
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Around vintage faceplates? Yeah, it is a pejorative term in my books, I'd never use an abrasive on a piece of gear, but that's just me. Everyone is of course free to do what they want with their own gear.
 
titanstats said:
Tried it all, and just my advice, nobody is obliged to take it. Cheers.



Around vintage faceplates? Yeah, it is a pejorative term in my books, I'd never use an abrasive on a piece of gear, but that's just me. Everyone is of course free to do what they want with their own gear.
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I was just poking at ya a little I realize we all have opinions:) And methods and experience. I really was just being snarky as a joke as the 1st response to my thread was negative;) your comments are welcome just as others are too :)
 
I've heard of people using toothpaste on faceplates but never tried it myself . I've always just used a magic eraser on my faceplates being extra careful around the settings .I just picked up a non working heathkit tuner and amp so I'll give it a go on that project .
 
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