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Re: [TCML] Cleaning Copper Primary Coil (with Muriatic/Hydrochloric Acid)



Hi,
I wrote about polishing last year and YES, some elbow grease and Brasso is the best.

The problem with acid or pickling, besides being much more complicated and dangerous to use, is it etches the copper and depending on the composition of the tubing, yes, it might not be pure, it can remove more parts of the metal than others. It makes the surface bright for sure but also rough. A rough surface is perfect for discharge points and you will end up with losses and a lot of corona around your primary. This will also kick out a lot more O3.

On a smaller scale but still the same is using a wire wheel, it will make the tubing bright but it will also make the surface very irregular.

I wax my tubing with a good high quality Carnauba type car wax. Depending on how much you run your coil, it will last a good while. Varnish or lacquers are great but sooner or later you will have a weak spot and tarnish will start and to resolve it, you have to remove the coating, polish and start over, wax is much easier to use.

Hot glue or tie wraps both work good, tie wraps get brittle with age and O3 and break eventually but they look cleaner than glue.

Frank

At 05:54 PM 10/4/2012, you wrote:
Looks like I'll be whipping out that old can of Brasso. After hearing
about all the underlying grief with the acid, I think a little TLC
might be for the best.
So which is going to protect the copper best after I get it all nice
and shiny? The car wax, lacquer, or something else? I imagine applying
either of the suggested coatings would be quite the mess/complicated.
Unless the wax would just be applied with a rag like the brasso, but
then I'd be doubtful as to how durable that coat would be compared to
something else, like lacquer for example. I can also imagine the
lacquer would be tricky to apply throughout without making a huge
mess.

Oh, and one more thing. Hot glue or zip ties for securing the coil?
I'm also open to other suggestions of course. Those are simply easiest
and more or less preferred. But still, your ideas are invaluable to
me, I'm always happy to hear them. ;)

Thanks for all the help,
Brandon H.

> forget the steel wool and just pick up a can of Brasso from your local dept store.

>> As an alternative to this, brasso is basically the
>> same thing minus the waxes, so get some high quality car wax, and be
>> prepared to use some elbow grease...

>> You can lacquer it when you are done (except
>> on the tap point) if you are really worried about it.


>>> Steel wool seems to be the way to go. I had a brilliant man tell me once
>>> to apply a vary thin coat of car wax to the copper after getting the
>>> primary situated. Seems to keep the tarnish away ;)
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