culp686 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 i just picked up a small light that has a 12" reflector. it is covered in salt and corosion. does anyone know what to use to get it back to being shiny(or some what close to shiny). and if anyone knows how to tell what a ballast will push would be great as well. i tried to look it up, but i couldn't find it. it is a custom sea life sl-37 ballast. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I suppose it is made of alluminum? In this case a solution of vinegar+water. But sometimes the passivation is too strong and the only way to get rid of it is buffing the metal. Unfortunately reflectors are too thin and it is not possible for the final user. You can make it clean, probably not shiny :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culp686 Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 i will try the vinigar+water. any idea on sollution ratio? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Try 50%. You can even soak in the solution for a while Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culp686 Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 ok. i will pull the fixtures off and try it. if it doesn't work, i can always make a new one. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 How did it go? did it come clean? were there any spots of erosion on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culp686 Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 not sure yet. couldn't find any vineger. i will pick some up tomorrow and let you know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
culp686 Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 well, the 50/50 mix worked. a little too good though. i didn't notice the bends in the reflector were covered in "rust" before i started. when i finished, i found that it was the only thing holding the top and sides together. i now have a 3 piece reflector, but on the bright side, it looks just like a mirror now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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