Problem with Old Style Pneumatic Cylinders

[Freekysch]

Hey guys, this is the first time I had a problem with a LEGO part. I bought today a second hand 8459 and when i inspected the pieces i discovered that all 3 pneumatic cylinders were ... rusted or suffered oxidation ? (as you can see in the below picture). Now I am wondering if I can bring them intro shape, they work ... okysh, but I really do not like them in this state. What should i do ? With what should I clean then and can i clean them ?

If any of you encountered this problem, please help me.

[Lakop]

They've been sat in water for a while. You need to use alcohol wipes, what nurses and doctors use on patients. Get onto it quickly before they rust.

H

Edited March 9, 2015 by Horace T

[Freekysch]

That is what ill try to do, but ... looking closer I see that they already a bit rusted. Hope I can remove the little rust too, if not, there will be a problem.

Who keeps their pneumatic cylinder in water ? Pfff ...

[DrJB]

I've seen that happen to those that shipped with the Mindstorms RCX Add-On set (Ultimate Builder's), those with a clear body. You can clean the outside part, but inside, not sure. Has anyone successfully disassembled such cylinders without damaging them? Also, alcohol might dissolve the silicon grease so, if you wash with alcohol, make sure you replenish the grease.

[Milan]

Disassembling cylinders.

[kabelbinder]

A bit of chrome polish (eg for cooking pots) and a clean soft cloth, gently polish, then they looks nearly brand new.

[darsedz]

Try toothpaste. I"m using it for polishing silver spoons.

[Freekysch]

Thank you guys for your suggestions, I am going to try firstly the toothpaste and then the other solutions - because I have it in my house. Hope all goes well.

[Blakbird]

I've used #0000 steel wool to remove oxidation from these in the past. The important thing is to keep the surface smooth so it won't damage the seal when it retracts.

[nicjasno]

Very fine coarse sanding paper. I encounter this all the time when buying used cylinders for my pneumatic engines.

[DrJB]

Not to go off-topic but ... I just noticed BlakBird has a new avatar. Is 8480 your all-time favorite Technic Set?

[sonar]

How about putting them in hot vinegar for couple of minutes? The chemical cleaning should be safer instead of mechanical abrasive cleaning like sanding and polishing. It works for cleaning pennies if I recall correctly.

Edited March 9, 2015 by sonar

[allanp]

I'de use very fine wet and dry sand paper and then protect the rod as well as replenish the seals with silicone based lubricant. Try to avoid anything petroleum or alcohol based.

Edited March 9, 2015 by allanp

[dr_spock]

A Dremel tool with polishing and buffing wheels might make quick work of it.

[BusterHaus]

CLR should do the trick to remove the stains and rust, although I'm not sure how safe it is with ABS (quick Google search says it's OK, but I would do a test first). The bigger problem is pitting created by the rust - you can smooth it out manually with a Scotchbrite pad, but the irregular surface may damage the seal in the long run, or cause leaks.