Last Night's Work...

"It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it..."

Time to clean and polish the correct 27 inch chrome legs. Most legs have some sort of corrosion, rust or scratching, but for this game, I picked out the best chrome legs I could find. But they still had issues. Not to worry, with a bit of work they will do the job. As long as they are straight, and don't have ridiculous amounts of corrosion, then the amount of time spend on them will dictate the finished product. They are all a little "dull" and two of them (rear) have the leg levellers still intact. One leg has evidence of a previous attempt at removing the leg leveller. Rather than remove the leg leveller, the bottom was cut off with a hacksaw.

I'll create thread in the "Tips" section just for the legs as well..

There are a couple of techniques I use to clean up legs. The first task is to remove the leg levellers. I have started with a leg with a leg leveller "rusted" in the thread of a leg. The failed previous attempt resulted in the bottom of the leg leveller being sawn off. The thread on the leg leveller looks like it was chewed by a Dinosaur. 

Leg Leveller removal


The first step is to grab some clamps and secure the leg on the workbench;





The second thing to do is clean the thread with a wire brush
With the correct spanner, loosen the nut almost towards the end of the thread, away from the castor. You may need to squirt oil along the thread to make things easier. The nut is a 14mm. I screw on a 17mm nut on the end of the thread and then by using a 14mm and 17mm spanner, I tighten them against each other, like this (sorry about the Flash);





Now grab a 17mm socket and ratchet and start to loosen the nut... Like magic, the entire leg leveller starts to move. No matter how stubborn, it will eventually move. Sometime you need to "tap" it with a hammer (gentle persuasion)..





After a couple of minutes - Out comes the thread...





... and all that has to be done is to remove the 17mm nut and discard the rest of it in the bin..


Rust Removal

Here's a challenge... Our American friends use a product with great results - "Lightening Rust Remover".. They buy it by the gallon, and soak the entire legs in a container overnight. The legs turn out almost new the next morning. I've never found the product here in Australia, however, the "lightening" product range do have some industry standard abrasive cleaners in the Bunnings shelves...

I use "Ranex" products - available at Bunnings and very cheap. The other products you need are Windex, water (I use grey water), a toothbrush that has been trimmed to make the "brush" harder, some rags, gloves and EYE PROTECTION... Don't skimp on the eye protection... in fact, if you don't have a pair of safety glasses, then don't try this AT ALL. If you don't believe me, then buy the Ranex Rust Remover and drop some on your hand... OUCH... That could be your eye...

Below is a picture of a fairly good leg. It does have surface rust on it. You can feel it if you run your hand along the surface. To the left in the Ranex and in the background are my safely goggles.





I've set the side of the leg on a flat surface and gently poured the Rust Remover on the leg and used the brush to spread out the chemical along the length of the leg. No need to work it in.. just spread it equally. About a capful will do one side of a leg. Wait 5 - 10 minutes, the chemical reacts with the rust and turns a cloudy white.

Put your safety glasses on.

Check that you have your safety glasses on.

With the toothbrush, work the area in a circular motion... The chemical removes the rust as if it is mud on the floor. VERY easy to remove. The bruch MAY pick up the "holes" left by the brush and "flick" on your hands, clothes or face. Work the chemical in - Don't wipe it off.. No need to - yet. For stubborn rust, use another capful and wait another 10 minutes.. Scrub again... Then use an old rag and wipe it clean.

Do the same for the other side of the leg.

For the inside of the leg, you can use the same method. Since it is not seen, I usually pour the chemical into the "channel" of the leg, and then work it into the rust with the toothbrush.. You can use a scotchbrite pad here - it is not seen and is usually "dull" anyway...

Here's a picture of the chemical at work on the left hand side of the leg. I have not worked it in at all - just spread the chemical out on the top half of the leg and left it for 10 minutes...





Closeup of the area..





After finishing the scrubbing, I wipe it with a cloth (later discard the cloth), and then spray it with windex and wash it straight away in a bucket of water and an old bucket... Finally, dip it into another bucket of clean water. Hand dry it with a cloth.

Polishing

Two choices - Buffer wheel or by hand. I use Brasso and do it by hand... The buffer can be used for more stubborn polishing, but it can sometimes be a bit dangerous to handle a large leg on a buffing wheel.


Polish the new legbolts and install new leg levellers, and it should look like this ;





I STARTED the legs at 6:00 PM and FINISHED around 10:00 PM... About an hour per leg...