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Hi again spent some time today looking at some of your Rough Riders today and there are some awesome restos so I looked at mine and decided I was not happy with the cast alloy parts gearbox uprights rear arms etc the overall looked uneven and old although I want to restore this MK1 to as new condition I also want to keep it original as possible and restore and keep every part down to the last screw if I can .I could always spend $100's on new parts or use new original parts I already have but that's not what this resto is about not for me anyway.
I want this car to look like its been touched by MR Tamiya Himself I want it look like it just came from the factory.
So time to do some research it seems there is a lot of methods to try and many different oppinions
So I got some spare parts and tried some and here are the results.

Method 1: hot soapy water toothbrush and scrub
Result not to bad but still some stains and looked clean but not new 5 out of 10

Method 2: Put in dishwasher add tablet turn on
Result was clean but when very dark and dull 2 out of 10

Method 3: wire wool hot soapy water and scrub
Result took along time hard on fingers finish uneven hard to get in to tight spots 3 out of 10

Method 4: dremel with wire brush
Result took ages hard to get even finish can damage part easily hard to get to tight spots and even with safety glasses got sick of pulling bits of wire out of my eyes 3 out of 10

Method 5: hydrochloric acid drop put in for 5 minutes
Result fumes almost made me pass out very dangerous part came out worse it went black which could not be removed and part smelt bad even after washing 0 out of 10

Method 6: metal polish
Result hard on fingers to shinny and uneven takes along time 3.5 out of 10

method 7: spray painting with metallic paint
Result looked better than I thought very even but I felt like I was cheating like when on yours wife's birthday you buy her Italian take out and tell her you cooked it yourself 6 out 10

Method 8: blasting with grit bead, sand, soda etc
First a phone call or 2 cheapest $100 per hour minimum 2 hours
Not an option ok off to the local Auto parts store ok DIY sand blaster gun $42 plus aluminium oxide blasting media $10.50 already have a small compressor at home lets give it a go
Result WOW like new factory fresh finish no pitting no damage perfect 11 out of 10

And here is the results on some spare old parts the were so corroded and dirty I did not think they could be saved

I will definatley be pulling apart my progress to date and blasting the MK1 parts and starting again .
I know a lot of you season pros out there can make the other methods work but for a newbie to this and other newbies I hope this info was handy info.
Keep on building everyone.
And watch this space
Cheers Rob

Interesting to read your experiments, and your results look good - but I don't agree it's a factory finish - that is darker, shinier, smoother, and much less vulnerable to fingermarks & other dirt than a blasted finish IMO.
The factory finish is also very difficult to replicate (almost impossible I'd say), but aggressive cleaning followed by fine sanding & polishing, then a few years oxidising naturally comes close.

I'm quite happy to admit your media blasting is a much better first step option than my wire brushing though

Hi Rob,
I've seen both sand blasted and bead (glass) blasted parts, and I have had a lot of SRB parts bead blasted some years ago.
Bead blasting gives a smoother finish than sand blasting, and is in my opinion very close to originals, although still not quite. Anyway, I have not seen or heard about a method that comes closer.

I am thrilled to see your dedication and attention to details regarding the SRB chassis, and I will keep an eye on this thread going forward.

-Lars

Well Jonny I thought I was going so well will do some more comparisons and research to see if I can get a better result anyway thanks for the feedback
Rob

Cheers Lars I am really enjoying the build after many years of buying it is nice to spend some time building and restoring also the kids are loving helping me as for many years they were not aloud to go near my Tamiya stuff but its time
Rob

Somebody has tested the method with vibrating bowl?
My father cleaned his cartridges (for weapons) in a big vibrating bowl with coconut granulates.
Maybe it will be ok too with small stainless balls??????

I have seen people use tumblers with fine grit similar to that method
Results looked very good