Rolling thunder v1 restoration methods

[marko]

Anyone ever soak one in coca cola to get the rust out beneath the plastic handle?  Given Cola comes in plastic bottles I doubt it would degrade the handle.

Open to ideas.

 

[degradated]

Good question. Is it no longer spinning freely? Can you see the rust, or could it possibly be caked up chalk? In that case, I would consider a whole different cleaning method.

I just looked at mine and it's pretty clean, but still could spin more freely ideally.

I did a bit of searching online and found this thread: 

https://www.ironmind-forum.com/forum/training/grip/599-rolling-thunder-repairs

The solution in 2011 was to send it back to Ironmind for a cleaning/repair. I don't think that's an option anymore since the old v.1 handles are out of warranty.

Apparently the main issue is that the tolerances are too tight and from what I can tell there is expansion with heat, causing too much friction for good rotation.

 

[marko]

It was not spinning free and I see some rust.  I blew out a bit of the chalk and added oil.  I'll check again tomorrow and see what it's doing as well as add a few photos.  I was surprised how poorly built this device was as the black plastic appears to not be evenly cut on one side, and the ends are welded and ground down in a fairly sloppy fashion.  Coming from rolling thunders from the last 5 years I was too curious to pass up the chance to compare.  

Edited September 29 by marko

[alecStewart1]

If you can take it apart, soaking a rusted piece of metal in vinegar + citric acid for some hours to a day and some elbow grease is what's generally what will get rust off. Just make sure you dilute the solution properly in distilled/reverse osmosis water.