115 replies to this topic

[Kasmos]

Here I go again! 

 

Last Feb. I purchased a Atco 1252 on SGW.

I normally wouldn't have purchased another 69mm scope but:

 

1. I'm attracted to Gray and White scopes.

 

2. 1252s are fairly rare.

(I've only seen maybe 3 other Gray & White ones and probably about 8 that are Black and White)

 

3. It's very close in style to my Kenko TA 710 which doesn't have a azimuth slow motion.

    (if it turned out to be too bad to restore I might adapt it's slow motion to the Kenko)

 

4. It was only $45 shipped.

 

To kick this off, some pics from the auction....

 

Not a whole lot included. No Hub, No Tripod Legs, No Dewshield.

 

 

Not the best photo to judge an objective by

 

The shape of things to come?

 

Box looked decent

 

Rust City

 

...then I'll follow up with what I dealt with.

Edited by Kasmos, 17 August 2023 - 10:44 PM.

[Kasmos]

As Recieved Part I

 

No real padding except for some paper crinkled on the top.

The wood case was only wrapped in paper and fitted to the cardboard box so tight

that it wouldn't come out and started to lift and split some of the laminate off the bottom.

 

Overall the box is pretty decent and I'll re-glue the bottom

 

Inside it revealed again more minimal packing plus a broken upper support.

it was only shipped from about 30 miles so it probably survived better than if it had traveled further.

Why not pick it up? The shipping was only $13, so it wasn't worth the estimated 2 hours of travel,

2+ gallons of gas, and scheduling hassle to pick it up.

 

Hmm 

 

The corrosion is worse than it showed in the auction with lots of bubbling beneath the paint.

It's that terrible white powdery stuff that afflicts oxidized aluminum.

 

Same goes for the cell.

Some old paper work and a lens cap, but no dewshield to hold it.

 

The hex piece in confusing. There's a slot for it in the box (lower left in the last photo),

but these scopes don't pack with the tripod and hub put together so what's its use?

 

More on the way...

Edited by Kasmos, 17 August 2023 - 10:51 PM.

[Kasmos]

As Recieved Part II

 

The heavy duty metal handle is nice change from the usual plastic ones found on most small classic Japanese scopes.

The ID sticker above it is the same one used on the focuser (shown at the bottom of this post)

 

(L to R)The arrows point to the detached reinforcing piece (under the accessory box lid) and the gap where the bottom support is loose.

The controls were in pretty sad condition and I was quite concerned on how to go about restoring them.

 

All older Atcos have this label attched to the upper lid of the box.

I'm not sure it's included on the later Towa models?

 

A better look at the scope out of the box. It's going to take more work than I bargained for.

 

The 5x24 finder is probably the roughest component of the scope. It's a neat all metal unit.

Inside and out, the box didin't show too much abuse, so I suppose the scope spent most of it's life outside of it.

 

The focuser body managed to stay fairly corrosion free with only a few small chips and blisters on it's bottom.

 

Considering the scopes's overall condition, somehow the focuser's upper side faired well.

I wondered about the OTS makers mark and how this version of the 1252 is related to the

earlier Yamatar black and white version?

 

A reply to my question was answered here:

https://www.cloudyni...ols/?p=12617382

Edited by Kasmos, 17 August 2023 - 10:42 PM.

[oldmanastro]

Nice catch ! You will enjoy the restoration.

[apfever]

Soak the controls in the new rust dissolving fluids. Evaporust is one, Metal Rescue is another I've seen at Home depot. The fluid will go through the cable controls. You'll want to swish them around on occasion. Take them out and drain them then put them back to get a good fluid exchange all the way through.

 

You have the same situation as I did with my recent Monolux 4384, but I think you faired better. You had actual outside wrap, less box damage, better packing inside, nice focuser pinion and more. How is the objective?

[badback]

Here's a smattering of 1252's:  https://www.cloudyni...-atco-60-x-700/

 

I purchased the "legless" black one (post 83-86) from Dave Trott in Feb 2016.

It had some probs but was a Heck of a deal. Thanks again Dave. 

The legs shown on that one are from spindly, but handy, DSJ stuff.

Hey...I was anxious to take a peek so... let's not grind. 

 

[Kasmos]

Nice catch ! You will enjoy the restoration.

Guido,

I've been working on it for sometime, but between going out of town 2 times and getting side tracked with the Mayflower 814 box,

I just now got around to posting on it.

I'm normally the patient type but it's been a bit of a challenge with some ups and downs along the way. At least I'm mostly over the hump now. 

 

Soak the controls in the new rust dissolving fluids. Evaporust is one, Metal Rescue is another I've seen at Home depot. The fluid will go through the cable controls. You'll want to swish them around on occasion. Take them out and drain them then put them back to get a good fluid exchange all the way through.

 

You have the same situation as I did with my recent Monolux 4384, but I think you faired better. You had actual outside wrap, less box damage, better packing inside, nice focuser pinion and more. How is the objective?

Neil,

I got impatient one day so first removed some of the rust manually with a wire brush.

I also heated and bent one of them where it was badly bent. Before going further I bought some Evaporust and gave them a dunk.

It was the smaller bottle and they fit just right into it with the knob sealling the spout.

I'll post some photos and more about them when I get them off my other computer.

 

I've been following the Monolux so I've seen what you are dealing with.

 

As for the objective, it had no dewshield to protect it.

And it's probably the most beat up one I've had so far, and very dirty.

Heck, you can't even see the spacers.

 

It cleaned up pretty well, but there are several marks that don't show in this photo that won't clean off.

Maybe I can get a picture to make them show up.

I haven't given it a good look since the cleaning, but I think there are some small scratches and water stains.

 

Here's a smattering of 1252's:  https://www.cloudyni...-atco-60-x-700/

 

I purchased the "legless" black one (post 83-86) from Dave Trott in Feb 2016.

It had some probs but was a Heck of a deal. Thanks again Dave. 

The legs shown on that one are from spindly, but handy, DSJ stuff.

Hey...I was anxious to take a peek so... let's not grind. 

Hey Badback,

So you are still out there. I was going to post a link to that thread but you beat me to it.

I've had it bookmarked for some time and when I re-read how your gray one had a bad objective I started to get buyer's remorse.

The last thing I needed was to look for another 60/700mm objective, but thankfully an intial test makes me think it's a winner.

 

Link to my intial testing

https://www.cloudyni...-it/?p=12513524

 

For those who want to jump straight to your matching gray one:

https://www.cloudyni...-700/?p=6507056

 

and lower down to it's mount:

https://www.cloudyni...-700/?p=6508666

 

I have lots of photos of the resto process to go thru and edit, so please be patient. 

Edited by Kasmos, 18 August 2023 - 03:43 AM.

[Kasmos]

Back to As Recieved Part III and the start of work

 

This shot really illustrates the finders state of corrosion plus the dirt and patina of the hardware

 

It looks a little better on this side, so the scope probably laid on this side for many years.

That said, for some reason the diagonal is more corroded on this side.

 

The finder mount had several chips and blisters of corrosion in it's paint.

and it would take too many photos of both sides to show them sufficiently.

 

The rear 2 inches of the rack tube was likely exposed as it's shows brassy speckles.

While the section that was protected in the focuser survived better and later polished up well.

 

Unlike other restorations I've done, this one needs it's few remaining accessories restored.

It's missing 2 EPs, a Barlow, and a (porro prism) Image Erector.

 

The eyepiece was stuck in the diagonal with the thumbscrew sheered off.

 

The dirty, stained, and discolored tube has 38 scratched under the finder mount along with a red registration mark.

 

While the bottom of the finder mount has it marked with a China Marker 

 

Based on the other parts of the scope it's actually suprising that the tube was as good as it was.

It really isn't corroded and only suffered a few small chips.

 

After a thorough cleaning and treatment with polishing compond it was still discolored and yellowed.

I wanted to try bleaching it out but since it would likely run and drip all over,

I made up a slurry of diluted bleach mixed with Soft Scrub (which also contain bleach).

Several times it was applied with a brush, working back and forth and keeping it wet .

Every now and then I'd stop, wipe it clean, inspect and continue.

 

I'm please how it cleaned up but you can still see a slightly whiter section where the mount's tube clamp protected it.

The tube is flipped in this photo but you can compared it to the previous one to estimate where the tube clamp was. 

It's just about below the right cup.

Edited by Kasmos, 20 August 2023 - 01:38 PM.

[Kasmos]

It's been awhile since a lot of this work was done so I'm going by memory

 

One of the first things done was removing the 5mm EP from the Diagonal.

I just used some WD-40 to lube it and thankfully it pulled out with little effort.

 

What was left of the thumb screw had sort of a raised notch where it broke.

I can't remember if I drilled it out or if I turned it inward with a small screw driver.

I think it threaded in easily. 

 

The Diagonal with the VB's Thumb Screw temporarily threaded in.

While the Diagonal looks really bad the EP protected the prism.

 

To clean it up I tried to remove it's back and the head of the upper right screw broke off.

I drilled and picked out what was left it and was lucky that I didn't ruin the threads.

I had screws from another diagonal for replacements but since they were black Phillips heads,

I used them to replaced the 2 on the bottom (not shown) and used 2 of the chrome ones on the top where they show.

 

The diagonal, the EP and VB will be re-painted later.

 

The focuser was next on the list and this bottom view shows it's condition

 

One knob wobbled meaning the pinion was bent on one side.

I like to set the knobs in a protected vise and use the toothed edges of the knob

to fine tune rotating it to the high spot and use a wood dowel as a punch.

A black mark is used to indicate the high spot.

It's rotated so that it shows in this photo but it helps you if you need to slightly

rotate and gauge it's position while you work.

 

If it looks good rotated in the vise I then check it by laying it loose in the focuser without the rack tube. 

Lightly holding it's cover down when rotating I couldn't detect any wobble so I knew it was good to go.

I don't know how else to guide you other than a few light blows on the high spot was done by feel.

Punching it on where the shaft doesn't ride in the housing or under the cover is also a good idea.

 

The focuser felt way too tight so I think that's why I removed the shims.

In retrospect I'm not really sure why I did. I think they just fell out?

The center one has 3 marks from the small screw adjusters in the top of the focuser housing.

 

After cleaned of residue and roughness they were re-glued using a clear contact cement I found at Dollar Tree.

A test showed it felt great, but later I made the mistake of setting it on a heater to cure.

I got distracted and left it too long so it must have swelled the glue which made it once again too tight. 

I lightly sanded them (in place) and they now feel just right. 

 

I made some black index marks to mark the shim's locations.

One shim was cocked so I glued it back the same since it was already twisted to that shape.

Like the finder and the tube, the housing is also marked with a #38 in red.

 

Before putting it back, all of the OTA's hardware was cleaned and polished.

As always I tend to use Nevr-Dull and Blue Magic for this type of stuff.

Edited by Kasmos, 20 August 2023 - 07:03 PM.

[deSitter]

Nice work! What causes so much aluminum corrosion? I have yet to see something in that condition. Is this from salt air?

 

-drl

[jragsdale]

Nice work so far! My diagonal looked the same from my Monolux 4384. I documented the before, during, after photos in this thread: https://www.cloudyni...ing/?p=10191952

[Kasmos]

Nice work! What causes so much aluminum corrosion? I have yet to see something in that condition. Is this from salt air?

 

-drl

Thanks. I began to think, what have I got into?!

 

I've seen this kind of corrosion before but not usually on a telescope. Possibly from salty air but maybe just exposure to moisture? The scope came from Goodwill in Garden Grove CA and I wouldn't expect that region to have salty air, so maybe it was left outside on a patio for years? The box has signs of being wet on end and the bottom but no issues from it on the inside, so I think it was out of the box for much of it's life.

 

Bomber Bob's 60/400mm Lafayette looked like it had even an worse case of the white powdery stuff and he battled with getting all of it off.

[Kasmos]

Nice work so far! My diagonal looked the same from my Monolux 4384. I documented the before, during, after photos in this thread: https://www.cloudyni...ing/?p=10191952

Your diagonal was probably in some ways a worse looking twin! I fogot about that one and can't believe it's the same thread that Neil has lately been posting on. Reviewing you album it looks like there's corrosion here and there but not quite like the diagonal. Did you repaint the focusers body and or the tube collar?

Edited by Kasmos, 21 August 2023 - 04:18 AM.

[jragsdale]

Your diagonal was probably in some ways a worse looking twin! I fogot about that one and can't believe it's the same thread that Neil has lately been posting on. Revuing you album it looks like there's corrosion here and there but not quite like the diagonal. Did you repaint the focusers body and or the tube collar?

No, not yet. I'll probably try to get matching touch up paint and just get the bare metal covered. I don't want to get involved with removing and replacing the badge.

[Kasmos]

Some of the first things I did was clean both the finder and main the scope's objectives.

 

I couldn't get the lens out of the finder so I made a tool from a old reciprocating saw blade.

 

Worked like a charm.

I've made similar smaller ones from x-acto knife blades for working on EPs and other finders.

 

Both objectives after being cleaned.

The finder shows coating loss and was temporarilly put back in it's cell.

The left arrow points to some kind of water staining or coating loss on the objective.

The right arrow points to some more of that along the edge.

 

With the tube, focuser, and objective cleaned up, the OTA was put back together for some testing.

 

At this stage the Objective cell still needed restoring and the finder mount had some preliminary work done to it.

The visual back and diagonal were borrowed from the Mayflower 814

 

My intial impression was that it's images looked very good, so soon after I tested it against my Mayflower 814.

I mentioned and posted a link to that testing earlier but here it is again

 

https://www.cloudyni...-it/?p=12513524

 

A lot more work is needed so there's a lot more to post

Edited by Kasmos, 21 August 2023 - 11:04 PM.

[Kasmos]

Since the Dewshield was missing and it's a uncommon scope and size I was going to have to make one.

I was hoping to find a piece of a jar or something laying around that would work but didn't have any luck.

A couple of jars looked promising but being made from #1 plastic they don't glue well.

So I reluctantly decided to make one from a Mailing Tube using a technique I'd used for making objective caps.

 

https://www.cloudyni...mple-materials/

 

I realize In this day of 3D printing it's kind of out of date but I still like to make things by hand the old fashion way.

 

I didn't have a mailing tube close in size so I had to cut a section out to make it fit.

The biggest reason for my reluctance was I knew gluing and keeping it evenly round was going to be a challenge.

 

A thick piece of art paper would be glued inside and out with their seams opposite the joint's for strength

 

First I did the inside and when wetted with glue I found that the cardboard wanted to get a bit wavy and uneven.

It also tended to want to come to a peak at the joint.

I was working on the fly and found a piece of scrap plastic and a tin can to clamp it and keep it round.

The cut section was also used to clamp over the lower area for the same reason.

 

It was brushed with thinned glue 3 times inside and 6 outside.

Before doing this I flexed and squeezed it to keep it round

Extra glue was applied to the edges and the outer seam to fill and make them smooth.

 

I really should have sanded it between coats but only did it after the 6th.

 

After it was primed I wasn't sure which surface to paint first.

Should I paint the outside first and then brush the inside black?

And if I spayed the inside how would I mask the outer lip?

I tested some Testors Flat Black model paint and when brushed on it dried way too glossy,

But when airbrushed, it dried very flat.

 

On a hunch I found that if I kept it parallel near the edge very little overspray went past it.

 

A few tiny areas needed spot puty.

Then it was carefully dry sanded with 220 making sure not to get dust on the inside.

 

I was a bit concerned if masking the inside might lift the paint or leave marks.

So I covered most of it with paper and only masked the edges with the tape extending further past the edge.

 

Then used a rolled piece of cardboard that opened firmly against the inner surface.

This was done so I could hold it while spraying and so I could put a hole it to hang while drying.

 

If you look carefully under the right lighting it isn't perfect but I'm fairly happy with the results. 

If I did it again I'd have removed the tubes outer overlapping wrap before gluing on my own outer wrap.

This is because after the last coat of glue the underlying overlapping ridges still ghosted and had to be sanded down quite a lot.

Edited by Kasmos, 25 August 2023 - 03:37 PM.

[jragsdale]

Anything you can use from this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204440341494

[Kasmos]

Anything you can use from this one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204440341494

Not much there but it's interesting. Actually, everything about mine is different.

[Kasmos]

It's time to get a little deeper into the restoration.

 

I always try to do the minimum by touching up the paint and not repainting anything if I can.

But In this scopes's case I couldn't avoid it.

 

Since I really wasn't up for doing a ton of work, as crazy as it sounds, I first did some temporary touch ups.

But for some reason they stayed tacky and then I over heated them by leaving them on a heater too long.

 

The first attempt at restoring the finder didn't go well.

I thought it might be cool to paint the black parts gray to match the mount and focuser,

But when they came out too light a shade of gray I decided to just paint them black.

Then, since it was on hand I used a can of satin white for the finder tube and also didn't like it.

I later found I already had a can of gloss white all along 

 

These are the paints I ended up using. 

The black gives a pretty nice finish but the spray nozzle is really hard to press down making it easy to screw things up.

The white is OK but is brighter than the main tube of the OTA.

 

I striped the diagonal bare and sanded off all of the corrosion

And did the same to the visual back, finders parts, and eyepiece.

 

As mentioned above the finder tube was painted twice.

 

This and the photo above is basically to show how I masked and held them for spraying and drying.

I later slipped wire thru the holders so they could be hung in the garage for a few days.

 

The finder tube was originally primed so it was once again. The black parts were not primed so I didn't.

The other reason the blacks weren't primed was I didn't want to fill the knurled areas with too much paint.

I was also hoping the engraving on both eye pieces wouldn't fill.

 

This scope is taking more time and work then I'd planed for so I'm trying to just get it cleaned and done and not be so picky.

If later I don't like how the white on the finder and dewshield looks compared to the OTA, I'll repaint them.

Edited by Kasmos, 30 August 2023 - 01:32 AM.

[Kasmos]

The Diagonal and the SR5mm Eyepiece

 

The scope suffered lots of corrosion but since the EP was in the diagonal, and the diagonal in the rack

the prism was sort of sealed in and survived better than I might have expected.

 

The prism was cleaned and two side pieces were made to cushion the centering screws.

They were made from a manila folder and blackened with a Sharpie

This is the first one like it I've taken apart that didn't have these.

 

The same goes for the back since it also didn't have a piece of card paper for cushioning.

I also made the pressure spring from one of those pieces that holds a picture in a frame.

It had been apart so long I can't remember what happened to the original spring or if it had one and what it looked like.

When I work on stuff I keep everything in pill containers so I'm puzzled about that.

 

Since one of the original chrome screws broke during removal

I used two phillips heads from another broken diagonal on the bottom.

I could have switched out all of them but I like the chrome ones and being on top they show more.

 

Other than the tarnished area of the barrel where it was partly exposed, it cleaned up nice.

 

Many times I'll photograph parts as a referrence for assembly, but I also usually make a sketch in case the photo is lost.

The great thing about a sketch is you can add any notes you might need to refer to later.

I found the two retaining rings (with a larger and smaller apeture) at the bottom to be a bit strange.

 

The restored SR5mm flanked between two others

On the left is an older all brass one which I believe is from RAO.

The one to the right is the kind typically found with APL and SYW Manons and Mayflowers.

Edited by Kasmos, 30 August 2023 - 01:43 AM.

[jragsdale]

Gorgeous work so far and just as gorgeous of documentation, keep em coming! These are the posts that make this forum so juicy!

[Kasmos]

Finder Restoration

 

Removed from the mount really illustrates how bad it was

 

As mentioned earlier, I first tried painting the black parts gray but it was a shade too light.

It's just as well since I actually prefer to make things look as original as possible.

 

This is after restoration but shows the small cell holding the crosshairs.

It's very small (about 3/8" dia.) and was frozen and difficult to remove.

The hairs were intact but I broke them  when I attempted to see how difficult reinstallation would be.

 

Like the SR5 eyepiece I made a sketch to help with reassembly

 

I used some of my own hair and Super Glue applied with a toothpick.

My technique is to tape them and progressively move inward with additional pieces to tension the hairs

 

I didin't see any traces of prior blackening on the retainer or the inside of the cell so I left them bare.

I could try but it's just a finder and the image looked very good during a test.

 

I hoped I could repaint the EPs 5x24 engraving with white paint

but after sanding and repainting twice it's just too faint to fill in and wipe.

 

The paint might not match the quality of a factory finish but it's much better than it was.

And maybe one day I can make a little sticker with 5x24 on it?

Edited by Kasmos, 30 August 2023 - 04:32 PM.

[Kasmos]

Slow Motion Controls

or as strdst Keith called them in that other thread "deely bobbers"

 

Back then there was also conjecture if badback's single control was original to the kit or if they came with one or two.

Well obviously at this point we know the Gray OTS models had them and there were two.

 

From the begining I pretty much thought these would be impossible to restore to their original look.

They were bent, very rusty, and stiff as a rock.

I figured I might have to replace them with look some likes, or remove and replace the springy cables,

or possibly cover them with something like shrink tubing.

 

While working on other parts, every now and then I took them out of the box and would bend and flex them.

One time I applied some Liquid Wrench while flexing them to break up and free the contacts between the spirals

The main section of the spring was starting to look fairly straight but that top one was kinked pretty bad at the ferrule.

 

I knew the best way to bend a spring or sprung metal is to heat it, so I did that with a torch.

During that I noticed the solder melting, so I brushed some of the excess off with a stainless wire brush.

I planned on dunking them in Evapo-Rust, but was impatient and started to wire brushed them by hand.

At this point I stopped and thought it's best not to remove too much material so set them aside.

 

Several weeks later I dunked them one at a time in a small bottle of Evapo-Rust with the knob filling the spout.

I can't recall for how long but it was at least a few hours.

I wasn't too trilled when they came out since they weren't completely de-rusted and looked dull and gray.

 

Loosing patience again, I figured all the chrome was gone so it couldn't hurt to use my grinder's wire wheel.

After that, I ran it under a polishing wheel treated with red rouge thinking at least I could polish the bare metal.

When I saw how good it was begining to polish I cleaned off the rouge and switched to Blue Magic.

Which I used as a final polish and also to polish the plastic knobs.

 

I wouldn't have ever believed how well they turned out and now they will really ad sparkle to the finished scope.

It's been pretty long since they were polished and they seem to be holding up nicely.

And If they ever start to dull, I'll just buff them again.

Edited by Kasmos, 31 August 2023 - 02:01 PM.

[deSitter]

Slow Motion Controls

or as strdst Keith called them in that other thread "deely bobbers"

 

Back then there was also conjecture if badback's single control was original to the kit or if they came with one or two.

Well obviously at this point we know the Gray OTS models had them and there were two.

 

Controls-Box.jpg

From the begining I pretty much thought these would be impossible to restore to their original look.

They were bent, very rusty, and stiff as a rock.

I figured I might have to replace them with look some likes, or remove and replace the springy cables,

or possibly cover them with something like shrink tubing.

 

Controls-B4-700.jpg

While working on other parts, every now and then I took them out of the box and would bend and flex them.

One time I applied some Liquid Wrench while flexing them to break up and free the contacts between the spirals

The main section of the spring was starting to look fairly straight but that top one was kinked pretty bad at the ferrule.

 

Controls-In-Prg.jpg

I knew the best way to bend a spring or sprung metal is to heat it, so I did that with a torch.

During that I noticed the solder melting, so I brushed some of the excess off with a stainless wire brush.

I planned on dunking them in Evapo-Rust, but was impatient and started to wire brushed them by hand.

At this point I stopped and thought it's best not to remove too much material so set them aside.

 

Several weeks later I dunked them one at a time in a small bottle of Evapo-Rust with the knob filling the spout.

I can't recall for how long but it was at least a few hours.

I wasn't too trilled when they came out since they weren't completely de-rusted and looked dull and gray.

 

Loosing patience again, I figured all the chrome was gone so it couldn't hurt to use my grinder's wire wheel.

After that, I ran it under a polishing wheel treated with red rouge thinking at least I could polish the bare metal.

When I saw how good it was begining to polish I cleaned off the rouge and switched to Blue Magic.

Which I then used to polish the plastic knobs.

 

Controls-Af-700.jpg

I wouldn't have ever believed how well they turned out and now they will really ad sparkle to the finished scope.

It's been pretty long since they were polished and they seem to be holding up nicely.

And If they ever start to dull, I'll just buff them again.

Wow that's amazing. The 6335 I'm working on was so grimy and oxidized I doubted it could be brought back to an acceptable state without stripping, filling, and painting. But no! Everything cleaned up fine. Not much rust, just a little on the cotter pins and chain roots on the legs. My main tool was my forefinger, armed with a charge of cerium oxide polishing compound, and a roll of paper towels.

 

-drl

[apfever]

Some mechanical method of removing heavy rust is always a good idea before evaporust type treatment. It will make the Evapo last a lot longer as well. I also strain the used evapo stuff through a very fine mesh like panty hose and even cloth. Occasional agitation is important in order to get fresh fluid around the items. I've done floppy controls before and flexing them while in the fluid helps a bunch. I don't know of anything besides a fluid that will treat the inside of the floppy windings. I haven't risked using Metal Prep yet, which is a phosphoric acid treatment for painting. I use Metal Prep for treating highly alkaline well water for irrigation. Metal Prep is aggressive. 

 

I'll often leave items in Evapo overnight. They will come out dull, mottled with grey areas, streaked, and the like. Extended treatment with Evapo can also stain the metal by letting dark deposits settle into microscopic pores. Agitation helps against staining.