Cleaning Copper Wire

[MrG]

Hey Folks,

I work on vintage chainsaws, and an old saw leaked synthetic oil on my copper wire supply… trust me I know it’s ridiculous.

So, do you have any suggestions on how to clean the wire so as to render it in a good state to continue to be used for safely wiring bonsai? There are some general copper cleaning solutions but I’m not sure if they will make good quality bonsai wire any different as a result.

Thanks much in advance.

MG

 

[19Mateo83]

Dawn soap in a bucket. Rinse and repeat.

 

[Paradox]

Just be careful not to bang the coils of copper around.
Just getting tapped, jostled, knocked around can cause it to work harden

 

[leatherback]

Use it as-is?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Old oils can contain all kinds of nasties. Soap and water can be good enough to clean it.
But burning it off is also an option.

I'm now curious what a vintage chain saw looks like, are those hand cranked?

 

[rockm]

Dawn soap in a bucket. Rinse and repeat.

Best solution. Wipe the wire down to get the worst off. Soak for a few minutes in Dawn (which is a great de greasing detergent) and give the coils a pretty good scrub with a dishwashing brush or something. Rinse.

 

[August44]

Personally if your wire is in coils I would find a container that the coil will go in and lay flat and not be to much bigger than the coils. Lay a coil or two in there and cover it up with mineral spirits or gasoline and let it set for 20 minutes or so, then easily take it out and wash it off with warm or hot water if you can.The more you mess with the wire, the faster it will harden so be careful with movements.

 

[MrG]

Thanks everyone for all of this - really appreciate the quick help.

I did dawn in water in a flat tray, twice in a row. Best was applying soap onto wire and then adding water to help agitate.

@Wires_Guy_wires this is the culprit! An old McCulloch

All best,
MG

 

[Gabler]

The first chainsaw, invented to assist in childbirth:

 

[19Mateo83]

Thanks everyone for all of this - really appreciate the quick help.

I did dawn in water in a flat tray, twice in a row. Best was applying soap onto wire and then adding water to help agitate.

@Wires_Guy_wires this is the culprit! An old McCulloch

All best,
MG

I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s…. I used to cut wood with one of those my grandfather owned. Brings back nice memories

 

[Carol 83]

The first chainsaw, invented to assist in childbirth:

View attachment 591372

I'm glad I had my kids in modern times, yikes.

 

[Gabler]

The microwave oven has an even more bizarre story.