Cleaning metal parts of plastic blocks

Brodie · Post by **Brodie** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 12:01 pm

I removed all the blocks from the boat for the winter. Most of them are the standard Harken plastic blocks with the metal cheek pieces. What can I use to polish up the metal parts that won't do anything weird to the plastic?

David · Post by **David** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:15 pm

Barkeeper's Friend, Comet or a similar household cleaner. Maybe an old tooth brush.

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 11:35 pm

If they are a bit rusty, Davis FSR (fiberglass stain remover) takes it right off. I did all my blocks and it has not affected the plastic.
There are other alternatives mentioned inthis post, too.

Brodie · Post by **Brodie** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:24 am

Great, thanks for the ideas! They are a bit rusty, which is fine, but they just look old even though they aren't, and I thought that cleaning them up would be a good little winter project.

jollyboat · Post by **jollyboat** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 12:47 pm

Brodie,
you can also soak them in lime scale remover such as Lime-Away. I use Lime-Away on all kinds of projects that involve my wanting the metal aspects of the project to be cleaned up, from fishing reels to winches. Works well. A white vinagar soak would work well too.

Zach · Post by **Zach** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 10:20 pm

Mothers Mag Wheel Polish.

Its the quickest way I've found to clean up polished metal... short of a buffing wheel. It does have wax in it, so if you get it on the plastic it'll leave a little bit of a mark. Dawn dish detergent will strip carnuba wax... or you can just polish up the plastic too, as mothers works on it too...

Zach