Hi,

I just bought myself a well-working beogram 5500 at a real bargain-price.

Technically it's amazing, but the dustcover is pretty scratched up (hence the low price...).

Especially the brushed aluminium-part of the dustcover has some scratches I'dd like to get ridd of...

Does anyone have a good way of fixing this? I heard about brasso (which i haven't seen in Belgium),

and people keep saying toothpaste works, but mostly they talk about fixing plastic, not brushed alluminium...

Any Idea is much appreciated!

 
d
 

I'm afraid there isn't a lot you can do with scratches on the aluminium panels. These panels are simply stuck on with double sided tape so if you know someone who can cut you a replacement one from matching sheet then that's about all you can do with it. I wouldn't even bother trying anything abrasive (such as brasso) it will make a real mess and look far worse than when you started.

Chris.

Hi,

I have a complete beosystem 5000 which has the same problem as your beogram. Let me tell you one thing.....abresives don't work.

After trying to find a match for the brushed alu panels (which is nearly impossible, let alone costly...) I had to find a solution that was readily available, quick and cheap to do. A friend of mine gave me a lead to find some self-adhesive foil (with the brushed alu effect). It's appearantly something they use in car detailing projects. It only cost me $10 to do my whole system (5 units!).

I know it sounds cheesy and unorthodox, but after a couple of tries, I got it down and the result looks really good. Also cause it's a pu film it's more scratch resistant than the real thing. Many people can't tell the difference if it's done well.....

Ask your local car detailing shop, they might even have it or al least tell you where to find it. Off course there is allways ebay. (try searching under 'alu vinyl' ...) Good luck with your restauration project.

 Kindest regards,

Montrealman

Thanks for the ideas!

I was already affraid this was what would come out of this post.

I figured there must exist some self-adhesive foil, but adding non-b&o solutions to the system will be my last resort, i think.

I'll see what I can find, if it looks great, then I'll go for it, in the mean time,

I'll keep my eyes open for a secondhand broken deck or replacement dustcover... who know what i'll find!

Thanx again!

 ps: how is it you've got 5 units, when there's only 4?
 

Sorry for the confusion, I had 2 tape decks.
I stripped one to repair the best one of the 2.

I emptied most of the electronics, but left the drawer functional. I took out the tape mechanism ,did some custom work and it now serves as a neat docking station for my ipod.

Sounds nice,

the B&O virus just caught me!

 

montrealman:

Sorry for the confusion, I had 2 tape decks.
I stripped one to repair the best one of the 2.

I emptied most of the electronics, but left the drawer functional. I took out the tape mechanism ,did some custom work and it now serves as a neat docking station for my ipod.

It still is a works in progress, I'm afraid. First I would like to apologize for not being tech geek savvy. I'm strictly self-taught here. Most of the work I've done is by trial and error and alot of help from a couple of mates (which I bribe with beers)  over the last 3 months.

For now the beomaster recognizes it as it's plugged in the tape2 7-pin(data?)link. it neatly swiches the unit on, but I need to open the drawer in order to physically start(and program) the ipod seperatly. To really finish this project I still want to find a way to use a beo4 remote on my ipod. However it works more than satisfactory enough for now.

I will post some pics in a couple of weeks when I'm totally finished with it. I'm having a new cover plate made for the top of drawer (where the tape mech was) where the ipod now rests. I changed my ipod to a newer 40gig one (my girlfriend wanted hers back......)  and it is somewhat differently shaped and I changed the layout and ipod cradle somewhat. The new cover will also be able to hold a small removable remote to make the ipod work when the drawer is closed. A (maybe wireless) link to my mac is also on my list of things to accomplish.

After all this work I realize that, basically, I never use an ipod, really. Anyways... and as I said it will be a works in progress for a while ......

Thanks for the interest.

We are all interested in this. Please keep us updated.

Andy T.

I can’t help much with the brushed aluminium parts, but the dust cover can be restored.

What you need to do is purchase a wet sanding kit from Micro-Mesh and you will find that the results are amazing.

I used this kit on my Beogram 4002 with excellent results, but my Beogram 4000 really needed attention and now looks essentially like new. NEW!

A word of caution, don’t hurry to process. Take your time and make SURE that you have removed all the scratches at the coarse level before moving on to a finer grade.

I thought I had all the scratches removed several times, but once I moved on to a finer grade, I noticed those scratches that I had missed. (It is difficult to see a scratch when the Plexiglas is sanded to a dull white condition.)

I was forced to go back and start over with a coarser grade (which hurts!) to get the end result that I wanted.

However, after several hours your Beogram 5500 dust cover will look like the day it was new.

Hi There

 I have just seen your post, I have been for a long while been looking into the best way to restore plastics, Piaf has mentioned Micro-mesh and we have been discussing this in other posts. I have been in negotiations with the company that produce Micro-mesh about the products and they offered me a post of becoming a private seller with them because of the work I was doing. Since I met with the company and the other methods of restoration I use I have thought of offering this as a service to Beoworld for this very problem, damaged plexi glass. I have restored quite a number of turtable lids now. Piaf used the Micro-mesh after we talked about this and he was happy with the results.

I have been offered a discount rate with the company here in Glasgow because of the work I do to restore plastics etc. I am currently repairing a very scratched BEOGRAM 3500 and I have a selection of photographs from start to finnish. I have at the moment removed id say around 90% plus of the scratches that were on the plexi-glass. It is very tricky and I would say that you could be disapointed with the results if you are not careful. the trick is to avoid creating more scratches when you are working back to create a fine polished surface once most scratches are removed, there are certain ways that I do this but it has taken me some time to develop my own way of working.

I also use a range of optical glazes once this work is done to protect the surface.

Do you have any pictures of the Beogram with the damage in view as I am more than willing to help and also supply you with Micro-mash if you wish to proceed. I have my own photos of restoration which you can have a close look at if you like.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask anything you want about restoring the Bg 5500

Kevin

As Kevin says, I am more than pleased with the results of the Micro-Mesh on the Plexiglas dustcovers of my Beogram 4000, 4200, and 8000. All are now in virtually “new” condition.

One thing I neglected to mention was the “final touch,” using a Griot’s orbital polisher to give a high polish look to the end product, which really mirrors the original.

The beauty of this polisher is that it runs at a veritable speed that will not damage your dustcover. The unit was intended for automobile paint, but works perfectly well on Plexiglas and is small enough to get into tight places.

Thanks Guys for al your thoughts,

I'll take a pic of the cover tonight so you can see exactly what I'm talkin about.

The thing is that the plexi-part of the cover is hardly scratched at all, so this is an easy fix.

But the brushed-aluminium is pretty damaged, and I don't see how I can fix that...

As I understand it, Micro-Mesh is perfect for fixing the plexi and giving it a smooth surface,

but the alu doesn't need a smooth surface, but a brushed one...

Found a spare duscover in Germay though, asked the seller for close-up pics, to see in what condition it is...

Might not be the cheapest way, but surtainaly the easiest!

I'll keep you guys posted!

thx again
 

Your original question brought up the subject of Brasso ®, a wonderful, if smelly product. I use it myself on all my brass artifacts….but only AFTER cleaning them with copper cleaner first. Saves a LOT of work.

However Brasso, with all its virtues is not going to help you with your scratched aluminum. Certainly not much, in any case.

You would be much better off with “Bar Keeper’s Friend ®,” a truly amazing product not available everywhere, let alone Belgium. After that I would recommend Bon Ami. ® You can not go wrong with either product.

I hope that you and the good folks at BeoWorld will forgive my ignorance, however, if there is any thickness to this aluminum, wet sanding with several grades of sand paper should relieve the scratches.

Then, in complete reverse to Plexiglas, go back to a more coarse material to give more of the original brushed look that you are hoping to achieve.

Then as a final touch a couple of light clear silicone sprays to give it the factory look.

Jeff