Hallicrafters rebuild update.

[Retrovert]

Originally Posted by earlyfilm

The first cleaner you mentioned has some nasty chemicals in it:
SODIUM HYDROXIDE; caustic soda; soda lye
ETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER; 2-butoxyethanol; butyl cellosolve
SODIUM XYLENE SULFONATE
SODIUM DODECYLBENZENE SULFONATE; linear alkyl aryl sodium sulfonate; Sodium
DDBSA
DIETHYLENE GLYCOL MONOBUTYL ETHER; 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)-ethanol; butyl carbitol

The NaOH isn't necessarily harmful. True, it's a strong base and will chew up your skin/eyes, but in practice one wears eye protection, gloves, long sleeves, and doesn't use it as a dessert topping. Just don't use it to degrease yourself.

Butyl cellosolve is ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGBE).

Glycol ethers should give you the willies, however. Not only are they a known carcinogen associated with all sorts of tumors, but they cause testicular atrophy. (Yikes!) And the amount required isn't huge. I believe the EU and Canada tightly regulate their use and may have banned a number of them.