Tone Bar Cleaning

[Scottsguitar]

Whats the best stuff to clean tone bars. PLease let me know. I don't want to take the finish of.

[pianotuner steveo]

I do not know what to use, but I can tell you that cleaning them does not make them sound better.

It may not be worth the effort.

[Scottsguitar]

I know I want to clean the oxidation off them

[David Aubke]

I don't think it's possible to restore the tone bars to their original appearance without re-plating. The corrosion - assuming it's of the white-powder variety - is what's left of your zinc plating. The zinc corrodes on purpose so that the base metal does not. From my research on the subject, even the white powder actually provides a little protection.

If you're just trying to remove some discoloration, a damp rag is about as abrasive as I'd get. Anything more - any polishes or rubbing compounds - will quickly remove the yellow chromate coloring. I think you'll still be left with some zinc plating but the yellow will rub off easily.

[Scottsguitar]

So the white powder is normal due to age. So the tonebars should be fine

Scott

[Platner]

I just replaced all the grommets and screws in my 1979 Rhodes stage Seventy Three. The tone bars were in pretty decent shape except for some minor oxidation powder residue here and there. I used 0000 (quadruple zero) steel wool and ever so gently rubbed each tone bar and tine with it. The steel wool took off all of the surface oxidation rapidly without leaving any scratch marks and did not alter the original plated surfaces.

[Scottsguitar]

tHnaks will try that

[guizmo]

Hi ! I recently bought a 78' Rhodes stage. It was on an humid environment so the tines are rusted and the tonebars have the white oxydation.
I removed all the tine+tonebar assembly and tried a bunch of processes to remove the oxydation on tonebars but I can't find one to not leave the zinc coat.
I tried with the 0000 steel wool but in my case, the coating desapears... Platner made it and it worked so...

The best solution for me is to put the assembly 10min in white vinegar, after that the coating and corrosion leave instantaneously, and after I brush a bit with a 000 steel wool and all the assembly is shinny !

What do you think about that ?

[guizmo]

Here's the result

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mGlsgZMvACxcDiROLsBgcSxPlYPJYPHP/view?usp=drivesdk

[guizmo]

No idea on how to clean TB without removing the plating?

[pnoboy]

Your tonebars can be sent to a plater for yellow chromate.  Also, check out this youbute video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF-lhfpwlMs

[guizmo]

Thanks a lot for that reply ! I was searching for a tuto to do a yellow plating myself, and that's the link!

So you're agree with me that it's impossible to clean an oxydised TB without removing the plating?

I live in one of the biggest city in France, there're a ton of guys who make plating, and its impossible to find one that want to do this kind of job! That's crazy, they don't like challenges, changing tasks, helping a guy like me who wants to plate 73 steel bars... Sure that's not the same in US or UK...

So I'll make myself, like always..