Cleaning legs Rhodes 73 mark 1?

[Raw2019]

Hi all,

I finally got 1 but i want to clean the legs. There is some rust and dirt on it but before i damage them I would like to know what is the best way to clean them to make them look good again.

I searched the net but couldn't find it so here i am. I used water, some washing soap and brush but that only cleans the dirt. If anybody can help me how to get the rust off i would be very happy. Do i need to polish them?

Thanks in advance! 

[David Aubke]

Short of replating I think the best you can do is Simichrome.

[Ben Bove]

You can use a rubbing compound from autozone - I've used the turtle wax red-colored heavy one and they come out great.


I recently tried this out on a set of chrome wurlitzer 200 legs that were so badly oxidized that if I messed them up, it wouldn't matter.

I used an orbital buffer (commonly used in auto detailing) with a high cut strength compound.  The buffer obviously takes out all the manual hand work.

To my absolute amazement, the legs came out looking brand new.  You can barely see the holes in the chrome from the pitting... it was remarkable.

[bumpyrhode]

Has anyone ever used Flitz? It's supposed to remove rust.

http://www.flitz.com/flitz-polish-paste/

[voltergeist]

A guy I did some work for used WD40 and a brass wire brush to remove surface rust on his legs.  They came out looking great- much better than I would have thought possible.  Most of the rust was in the knurled areas.

[Ledbetter]

Glitz is good stuff, but lots of elbow grease.  I would use a chemical rust remover first, polish with Flitz or similar and put a couple of coats of Johnson's Paste Wax on afterwards to prevent new rust.  Good luck and let us know how they turn out.

[Raw2019]

Txs!!!

I'm gonna try the WD40 with the brass wire brush option. Do i have to be really careful when using that combo or doesn't it give any extra scratches?

[Ledbetter]

The legs are chrome plated.  If you abrade or scratch through the chrome and expose the steel underneath, that's bad.  That's why I recommended a non-abrasive chemical rust remover.  However, chrome plating is much harder than brass, especially when the chrome plating is new.

[Ben Bove]

Rubbing compound is great for auto chrome - no different than fender rhodes leg chrome - recommend to give it a shot and it's readily available.

[Ledbetter]

Almost forgot:  if you use a brass brush, make sure it's a new one.  An old one may have particles of steel or chrome in it which would scratch the chrome.

[Raw2019]

Thanks all. Nothing really helped. I think the rust went going through the chrome so the difference was that big. I tryed steel wool too but that also didn't help. Must find myself a new set of legs i guess. As i do need a cover because it wasn't included.

[voltergeist]

Vintage Vibe is selling reproduction legs.  I bought a set of them for my early '75 88 Satellite, and found them to be high quality.

[David Aubke]

I haven't ordered a set yet but would like to say that this is a very good thing.

Vintage Vibe is selling reproduction legs.  I bought a set of them for my early '75 88 Satellite, and found them to be high quality.

[Peter Hayes]

The VV legs are sweet.

[Pants]

I know this is kind of an old thread, but I just signed up today!

Anyway, I learned this chrome-cleaning trick whilst working on old motorcycles. You can take aluminum foil, dip it in water and rub it on the surface rust of chrome-plated parts. Don't ask me why it works, but it does. Now, if the plating is damaged, there's no saving it; but surface rust will come right off.