Cleaning knobs one by one can become frustrating and a fine knurled grip pattern can make things difficult. Denture cleaner of the immerse and soak for a while type, is designed to efficiently clean both plastic and metal without damage.

With this in mind I recently gave a complete set of rather intricate knobs the treatment simultaneously with an excellent result and no other work being called for. If you have your own teeth, it is worth purchasing the stuff for this very purpose. Simply read the instructions and soak for a shine, no sweat!

I surprised no one chimed in on this. I am soaking knobs right now in dish detergent and warm water right now. This is my usual method.
Your idea sounds good though.

I picked up some denture cleaner at an estate sale, but haven't tried it yet.

My usual routine is to soak knobs for 45 minutes or so in a mason jar with hot water and baking soda; works fine most of the time. An old toothbrush gets the knurled knobs clean.

Small ultrasonic cleaner and a dab of detergent in warm water works fine for me.

Dawn dishwashing liquid in warm water soak for 10 mins.
Toothbrush and toothpick (if needed).

Chuck

I also use the 'soak in H20/Dawn' approach. Sometimes I leave it soak for overnite or longer if really grungy. And have found the the dis-cardable vibrating toothbrushes help worry the multi-decade grime out of the inside corners.

I usually use a different one than the one I brush my teeth with... I think... er, wait a minute, I gotta go check the colors just now...

I have switched to Westleys tire cleaner for the most part . It will however dull bakelite . Most of the time no soaking is needed with the stuff .

Go-Jo on plastic and Bakelite with a toothbrush for in and out of crevices, rinse with water and let dry. Followed by a spray of novus polish # 1, let dry and with a shoeshine brush you can buff them up like glass.
Vin

What do you folks use on wood knobs?
I was told by an ARF member to use nothing. He said that any cleaning or polishing liquid if it found even a slight crack could further the knobs demise.
Vin

If you're going to use a toothbrush, cut the bristles off to a length of 1/8" to 1/4" with scissors first. It will stiffen the bristles and you'll be surprised how how much better it works with this quick and easy haircut. I use Windex and a dish washing soap with the modified brush. Some folks swear by flux brushes with the bristles trimmed - but the old toothbrushes are free - and I'm cheap!!!!

Thanks, you rocked my brain.

I just took your obviously excellent advice and it sure worked but, I could not cut the nylon bristles with scissors and had to resort to a sharp knife and cutting board. LOL

Sorry for bumping such an old thread...

I'm cleaning up some Bakelite knobs for my radio, and when I took them out of the water they were soaking in, some white blotches appeared. I scraped off the remainder. I'm going to guess that was lacquer? What stuff should I use to replace it?

I've used an electric toothbrush with tooth paste.
Cheers,
Roger

I've used ArmorAll a lot with good success. Some elbow grease maybe in order with the shortened toothbrush bristles, but no damage! Also used Dremel tool polishing on Bakelite knobs with great success. Works on chrome too! Denis

Johnnya101...do you have hard water? Could be mineral deposits...
RW

Scrubbing Bubbles and a toothbrush works well also.

I'm lucky to have access to an ultrasonic cleaner at work and lots of good chemicals made for cleaning. In my arsenal of chemicals I have:

- Alconox (strong detergent)
- Micro 90 (good for cleaning metal tarnish)
- Alcohol
- Simple Green
- Castrol SuperClean (same as Easy-Off oven cleaner, but without the foaming action)

A toothbrush often helps things along.

So, there's a lot of good advice in the above posts. Start with the gentlest method available and work your way up until they're clean.