3 months old Suzo/Ultimarc-Trackball - corrosion/rust normal?

[Carsten Carlos]

I got this trackball from a friend who ordered it three months ago at Ultimarc.
There were rusty-looking smears on the trackball (which I could easily clean) that I've never seen on my good old 3" Happ Trackballs.

I found out where it comes from - look at the attached picture, there is rust on the bearring holding the trackball in its place!  

Have you ever noticed this on other trackballs? My old Happs are just like new on this wheels, and are much older.

[Edgedamage]

I won a auction for a well used trackball that had rust on the same roller and the ball was full of rust lines. Did the last owner have really sweaty hands that might be a reason for the rust. I fixed a bearing that looked like that one I sprayed WD40 into a little plastic pop cap and let the bearing soak for a hour then took very fine steel wool to remove the rust it worked great.

[Carsten Carlos]

Okay, but after three months? Isn't this a much to short period for such happenings?  

[Edgedamage]

Did you try to remove the rust with your finger? Are you sure its rust not caked on finger ickys.

[Carsten Carlos]

Yep, Andy asked me the same thing - I even tried really hard with my fingernails - no chance!

I also used alcohol - the brown rust gets away, but the same corrosion without the brownish tint is still there.

[Harakiri]

Ok, it may seem not the brightest idea but i have a guitar and the guitar has some screws that i want intact for as much time as possible so, i painted them black "to match the guitar colours"!

You can paint those and you'll be never having problems again! I don't know if paint will mess the bearring sensitivity...  

[AndyWarne]

This is only an idler bearing. The actual shafts which do the real work are coated with plastic. I can't see this causing any problem in operation.
Andy

[Carsten Carlos]

Andy - I just wanted to know if all suzo-trackballs have this after three(!) months. If so, they are totally crap in my opinion.

When I don't play for some time, there is rust on the corrosion again and I've brown smears over the trackball again - isn't this problem enough? I'm just a bit upset, as I can't belive that this is normal for a brandnew trackball.

[Carsten Carlos]

Ok, a different example.

You buy a brandnew car that gets rust after three months.   What does the dealer say when you ask for warranty?

I can't see this causing any problem in operation.

 

Hope some others can tell me who is wrong. Maybe its just me - but after all, shouldn't this be a customer-friendly world?


P.S.: Just to make clear - I made this public for a) wanting to know if anyone had similar experiences b) making things clear per email turned in circles c) I'm not a trackball-expert

[paigeoliver]

The problem could very well be that your friend did SOMETHING to start the thing rusting, and you never quite got rid of the rust all the way, so it just keeps doing it (rust spreads).

I really doubt that is normal. I have owned 4 different arcade trackballs (from 1983, 1988, 1995, and a new one), and none of them had nor developed any rust whatsoever.

[Wade]

Well as an alternative for those who sweat a lot, the larger 3" trackballs usually have 3 different shafts.  I bought new stainless shafts for my Wico ball so if they are the right grade of stainless, they will never rust.

Wade