More about my new (old) 1954 Philco...

[Raddion]

Originally Posted by N2IXK

Be careful with that yellowish powdery deposit on the insides of the metal chassis. The chassis was most likely cadmium plated, and the yellow stuff is finely powdered cadmium "rust", such as cadmium oxide or cadmium sulfide.

Cadmium compounds are quite toxic. You don't want to inhale the stuff, or otherwise ingest it.

I was wondering about that yellowish dust! Will it be difficult to get off of there, yikes....

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by Raddion

I was wondering about that yellowish dust! Will it be difficult to get off of there, yikes....

It cleans off easily with a liquid cleanser and paper towels. Wear rubber gloves and don't lick the stuff, and you will be OK. This is oxidation of the cadmium plating, so your goal is just to clean up the dusty stuff, not remove the plating or make it shine like a mirror (which it never did, anyway).

If a chassis is very greasy & dirty underneath, you can stand it on its side on some newspaper and clean with a spray bottle of cleanser (I like isopropyl alcohol) and a soft brush. Work from top to bottom and dab up the excess with paper towels. Alcohol is nice because it evaporates without leaving a residue.

Phil Nelson