Best way to clean rust from I/O ports and MB?

[akator]

A Mac Plus I took a chance on arrived today. At some point it was exposed to serious moisture/water damaged, which was immediate obvious from the condition of the original box, manuals, floppy labels, and I/O ports on the back of the CPU. On the other hand, the case, keyboard, mouse, and cables are dirty but un-yellowed, which is relatively rare for 80s Apple products.

 

I took out the corroded PRAM battery, plugged it in, crossed my fingers, and fired it up. To my surprise, the computer ran fine, as did all of the original 3.5" floppies. (I can't imagine a modern system of any kind being that abused and still working after 24 years.)

 

Obviously, I can clean up the cases easily. I'm more concerned about tackling the rust and corrosion that has attacked the I/O ports and any metal visible metal. I haven't taken anything apart yet, but I suspect the motherboard and keyboard need some serious TLC as well.

 

Is there a electronic cleaning product that will remove the rust and corrosion? I've only used CRC Electronic Cleaner on switches and potentiometers, and those situations were nowhere near as bad as this. Is CRC safe for motherboards? Will it handle rust? Or is there a better product?

[phaxda]

Ah, I love it when there is crossover from my two favorite forums. This thread over on Audiokarma might help you out and if you search the site there are probably others. I just remembered this one because it is recent.

 

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3604285#post3604285

 

In general, Coca-Cola, Brasso, and fine steel wool tend to be the contenders.

 

Good luck!

[akator]

Ah, I love it when there is crossover from my two favorite forums. This thread over on Audiokarma might help you out and if you search the site there are probably others. I just remembered this one because it is recent.

 

http://www.audiokarm...285#post3604285

 

In general, Coca-Cola, Brasso, and fine steel wool tend to be the contenders.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the link, that was very useful. I think I'll try the Brasso first. Gotta go buy some first, though

[+save2600]

Staples I use is a little less caustic and aggressive:

 

Toothbrush w/ baking soda and vinegar. Nice chemical reaction going on there and helps neutralize any acid damage or oxide fuzziness. Be sure to rinse extremely well after that. If that doesn't clean things up or if you'd like to take it one step further - contact cleaner OR brake parts cleaner and a toothbrush. Brake parts cleaner REALLY gets rusty metal to shine up. Again, be sure to rinse afterwards and either take a hair dryer to it or let dry for a loooong time before plugging in.

Edited May 13, 2010 by save2600