TIPS FOR RESTORING WICO LEAF JOYSTICKS

[GroovyTuesdaY]

 I will be  receiving 4 wico leafe joysticks in a day or so and i thought i would check and see what people do normally when they get older used wico leaf joysticks. Do you clean the contacts?  Disassemble them and clean all the parts....etc, etc....  Do you normally need to replace anything typically and so on and so forth.

thanks all,
GrooooovY~

[paigeoliver]

I generally don't do much to them at all, either they work good (and have a good feel), or they don't.

If they DON'T, then the unit goes into the parts box, where I will later piece a good one together out of multiple bad ones.

If the leaf switches are broken, or have been excessively bent (aren't generally straight), then you can order new ones. So far I have never had to do that, as I have several extra bases.

If the rubber grommet is horked then the stick is basically only good as a parts stick.

[menace]

Any wico's I've restored fell into two categories--the shaft was seized to the rubber grommet insert or the shaft wasn't.  if it is seized you can use so liquid wrench or other anti-seize compound and keep at it ofr a day or two (it will come unstuck), or, as I'm more prone to do--coat it with wd-40 and smack it with a hammer until it becomes unstuck  if you go the hammer route make sure you leave the retaining clip in the grooveso it doesn't become deformed.

Now that your shaft is free of the grommet, you attach it to a drill press by its free end, and using some emory cloth go up and down the shaft until it shines--watch for the ball though you don't want to sand the ball!

To shine the ball--get a cloth polisher attachment for your drill or drill press and go to town, with a little perserverance you will get all the scratches out--if there are cigarette burns--cut the ball off and make your own.

[Rocky]

what people do normally when they get older used wico leaf joysticks. Do you clean the contacts?  Disassemble them and clean all the parts....etc, etc....  Do you normally need to replace anything typically and so on and so forth.

Any used stuff I get, I disassemble and clean, lubricate, etc. all the parts. It helps me know how it works mechanically and it gets 20 years of gunk out of the stuff.


YMMV,

Rocky

[GroovyTuesdaY]

What do you use to clean and to also lubricate ?
Any particular brand?  Wheres the best place to buy said items?

thanks,
groooovy~:D

[GroovyTuesdaY]

what people do normally when they get older used wico leaf joysticks. Do you clean the contacts?  Disassemble them and clean all the parts....etc, etc....  Do you normally need to replace anything typically and so on and so forth.

Any used stuff I get, I disassemble and clean, lubricate, etc. all the parts. It helps me know how it works mechanically and it gets 20 years of gunk out of the stuff.


YMMV,

Rocky

Ok,  i got a leaf stick apart and im not sure what i should use to clean the center ring of the rubber grommet.   Its really rusty , as were the joystick  shafts. I took the joystick shaft onto my lathe and used some super fine sand paper to shine the shaft up really nice! I was surprised at how nice it cleaned up . After words i tooks some special spray lubricant  that i use at work  and sprayed it down real well. Supposedly after this stuff dries its supposed to leave a light filmd of some kind on there, but i cdouldn't feel it lol.   Its similar to wd-40, but smells a little sweeter. lol.
So, my real concern is with the metal ring in the middle of the grommet. Any thoughts on what to use to clean that? Its VERY rusty on the inner diameter and after shining up the joystick shafts i really didn't want to put them back in there without cleaning the ring if its possible.   I didn't want to just spray the lube in there as i know oils are bad for rubber, so does anyone have any suggestions?

Groovy~:D

[paigeoliver]

Try a small drill bit inside the metal ring, act like you are sanding it with the bit. That is if you can't find a proper drill attachment that is thin enough.

[HagHore]

You could try putting some rust cleaner on a fat pipe cleaner.  Or use a round file or wire brush.  Or you could cut up some steel wool or a brillo pad and use that with some rust cleaner.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

You could try putting some rust cleaner on a fat pipe cleaner.  Or use a round file or wire brush.  Or you could cut up some steel wool or a brillo pad and use that with some rust cleaner.

Only thing with the rust cleaner is, that if it contacts the rubber grommet, it will start reacting with the rubber and start eating at it.  Oils and rubber don't mix.
Why do you think they tell you not to use oil based lubes with condoms. lol.

groovy~

[HagHore]

There are rust remover products that are not harmful to rubber.

[Boris the Spider]

Any wico's I've restored fell into two categories--the shaft was seized to the rubber grommet insert or the shaft wasn't.  if it is seized you can use so liquid wrench or other anti-seize compound and keep at it ofr a day or two (it will come unstuck), or, as I'm more prone to do--coat it with wd-40 and smack it with a hammer until it becomes unstuck   if you go the hammer route make sure you leave the retaining clip in the grooveso it doesn't become deformed.

I recieved some old Wicos recently and all these restoring tips were great! I do have a number of sticks with gromets siezed to the stick. I've used liquid wrench for a few days now and still can't seem to jar them loose. I can't get a good angle to hit it with the hammer because the mounting plate is still  around the stick an you can't hit the gromet from the top to knock it downwards. If I go from an angle, its going to end up bending the gromet. Anyone have any other tips for removing a siezed gromet? Some way I can get some leverage on that puppy!?

I was amazed at how clean the sticks ended up after using these restoring tips. The stick in the drill to sand it clean worked awesome to bring back the shiny metal....and some polishing coumpound with a cloth cleaner drill bit took off almost all the crud on the ball, follow that up with a buffing compound and they look great...just the deep nicks are left. A little warm soap and water on the plastic parts and they look almost new again!

About the lubrication, should I use oil, wd-40, or grease?

[torez]

You can try lithium grease.

[NightGod]

I would be inclined to use a dry lubricant, to help prevent gumming up the stick, but don't have first hand experience.

[Boris the Spider]

I was about to go with the lithium grease because I had just bought some a few days ago...but then I read some more posts and found that food grade silcone spray works well also and you don't have to worry about it harming the rubber grommet so you can use it liberally....and it may actually help to protect the grommet as well. The petroleum in lithium grease will harm the rubber.

[NoOne=NBA=]

I've been using silicone on all my sticks, and can say they are only better for the experience.
I have yet to see any downside to this method.