Inspired to Restore...Help!

[Jim]

After finding this great site today, I became overwhelmingly
inspired to dig out my old Sunn Solarus. With years of
neglect gone by, I plugged it in, got out the Strat, and
she sounded as if she was Brand New! A little scratchy
in the controls, but hey. Thanks to one of the hundreds
of messages I've read, I found a date of 3/9/70 written
in pencil on the amp chassis. I'd be scratchy too!

Now my question....I may never get back into playing,
(sadly) but I'm now extremely proud to own this amp, thanks
to this site and all the activity I've seen. Especially
the input from Mr. Sundholm.
Ok. This time I mean it, the question.
Any suggestions on restoring this baby? I see lots of
corrosion on the metal part of the chassis. My goal is
to restore this amp to as close to original as possible
and offer before/after photos to this great site.
I don't want to use any chemicals that will harm the
components. But I do want to do this right. Since I now
work from home, I have time for lots of attention to
detail. (I spent 3 hours yesterday re-working a toaster
oven. But I'm sure Black & Decker don't have a forum
where it could be appreciated like I've seen here.)

So if anyone has been down this road before, I'd appreciate
any help offered. And if y'all don't mind (Sorry, I'm in
Georgia) I'm sure I'll have other questions along the way.

Thanks

[Ryan Phelps]

: After finding this great site today, I became overwhelmingly
: inspired to dig out my old Sunn Solarus. With years of
: neglect gone by, I plugged it in, got out the Strat, and
: she sounded as if she was Brand New! A little scratchy
: in the controls, but hey. Thanks to one of the hundreds
: of messages I've read, I found a date of 3/9/70 written
: in pencil on the amp chassis. I'd be scratchy too!

: Now my question....I may never get back into playing,
: (sadly) but I'm now extremely proud to own this amp, thanks
: to this site and all the activity I've seen. Especially
: the input from Mr. Sundholm.
: Ok. This time I mean it, the question.
: Any suggestions on restoring this baby? I see lots of
: corrosion on the metal part of the chassis. My goal is
: to restore this amp to as close to original as possible
: and offer before/after photos to this great site.
: I don't want to use any chemicals that will harm the
: components. But I do want to do this right. Since I now
: work from home, I have time for lots of attention to
: detail. (I spent 3 hours yesterday re-working a toaster
: oven. But I'm sure Black & Decker don't have a forum
: where it could be appreciated like I've seen here.)

: So if anyone has been down this road before, I'd appreciate
: any help offered. And if y'all don't mind (Sorry, I'm in
: Georgia) I'm sure I'll have other questions along the way.

: Thanks

Jim;
Chassis corrosion is tough to really clean up short of stripping the chassis and having it chemically dipped or bead-blasted and then re-plated. Instead, I'd try something less invasive like 409 cleaner or Simple Green with a Scotch brite pad (don't use steel wool)on the chassis. Use a towel to clean up the liquid immediately so it doesn't enter the transformers or filter caps. Use 409 and a soft cloth or tooth brush on the face plate so you don't remove the silk-screened lettering. Also, use only water and a cloth on the knobs.....409 will take the shite lettering off. 409 and a scrub brush will do wonders on the vinyl cabinet covering. Glue down any vinyl tears and you'll be surprised how good your Sunn will look. Simichrome polish is great on the chrome corners. You might also try it on the corrosion spots on the chassis, but keep it off the aluminum face plate. Have all the filter caps replaced. Have the tubes checked; probably replace the output tubes and adjust the bias. Also check the AC line cord and plug. That's about it. Good luck!
Ryan

[Don T.]

Hello,
 Remember that any cleaners you use go on the rag not on the amp. Just a cloth damp with your claner. Never spray claner directly on the amp.
           DonT.

[Jim]

Great advice! She's looking better already!
You mentioned replacing filter caps. While I've gotten
pretty good with a soldering iron over the years,
basic electronics evaded me in school. (Too busy
playing music!) I'd feel pretty comfortable replacing
caps myself but I'm not sure what "all filter caps"
includes. Is it literally ALL the caps, or just the
two 1000uf big boys?
I saw another post which suggested to someone to
replace caps to eliminate hum, which I have a little of.

Your help is greatly appreciated,

Jim

[Jim]

Thanks for the reply. You probably saved me some $$$ !

Jim

[mike]

: Great advice! She's looking better already!
: You mentioned replacing filter caps. While I've gotten
: pretty good with a soldering iron over the years,
: basic electronics evaded me in school. (Too busy
: playing music!) I'd feel pretty comfortable replacing
: caps myself but I'm not sure what "all filter caps"
: includes. Is it literally ALL the caps, or just the
: two 1000uf big boys?
: I saw another post which suggested to someone to
: replace caps to eliminate hum, which I have a little of.

: Your help is greatly appreciated,

: Jim
Before you get too far into the job, and if you haven't gotten it already, I strongly suggest that you pick up a copy of Ritchie Fliegler's book, "The Complete Guide to Guitar and Amp Maintenance" (Hal Leonard Publishing) which you should be able to find in any large music store, or in the music section of any large book store like Borders or Barnes & Noble.  I can't express how invaluable this book is for DIY fix-it situations, and it has an extensive section on replacing caps, which is a potentially dangerous situation if not done correctly. It's also an entertaining read, and understandable to any non-tech heads!  Also worth getting is R.F.'s "Amps!" book, which features a brief section on Sunn amps. It's amusing and interesting reading, even on brands and models that you might not have used or cared about--you can always learn something!    

[Joe]

:I'd feel pretty comfortable replacing
: caps myself but I'm not sure what "all filter caps"
: includes. Is it literally ALL the caps, or just the
: two 1000uf big boys?
: I saw another post which suggested to someone to
: replace caps to eliminate hum, which I have a little of.

The two 1000mfd caps are for the solid-state circuits... the tremolo and the reverb return.  The main tube supply caps will be the 20-30mfd ones, listed on the schematic here as having a 525volt rating.  Based on the age of the amp, replacing all of these would be a great start.

[Ryan Phelps]

: Great advice! She's looking better already!
: You mentioned replacing filter caps. While I've gotten
: pretty good with a soldering iron over the years,
: basic electronics evaded me in school. (Too busy
: playing music!) I'd feel pretty comfortable replacing
: caps myself but I'm not sure what "all filter caps"
: includes. Is it literally ALL the caps, or just the
: two 1000uf big boys?
: I saw another post which suggested to someone to
: replace caps to eliminate hum, which I have a little of.

: Your help is greatly appreciated,

: Jim

Jim;
Replacing filter caps is usualy not a do-it-yourself thing. High (read:lethal) voltages are involved, so it's best to leave it to your local amp tech. He will also have a Variac to slowly bring the new caps up to working voltage. The 1000 uf caps are for the solid-state reverb and tremolo circuit and it would be a good idea to change them. But the filter cap in the power supply you want to change is the tall silver metal can that sits on top of the chassis. It's a multi- section unit (contains 4 caps inside). Mallory makes a 525 volt replacement which is the best one available (LCR makes a good multi-section cap but it requires some chassis modification to make it fit). The Mallory is available from Antique Electronic Supply in Tempe Arizona. As I recall, your amp also has two separate 20uf/ 600 volt caps inside the chassis. You'll want to repalce them as well.
If you really want to get into restoration of the electronics, I highly recommend both of Gerald Weber's books and David Funk's book as well. Aspen Pittman's (Groove Tubes) book is also useful. You can buy these from JK Lutherie.....see any copy of Vintage Guitar magazine for their address. A rare and out-of-print book that I learned lots from is by Jack Darr and published by TAB books.
Good Luck!
Ryan