So I’m on a mission to get my pair of mk2’s looking great. I’ve been looking up videos on taking them apart, but I just don’t know how to clean cabinet and tonearm base/height adjusment thing properly. There’s a whole lot of gunk/dust in the crevices and I’m not really sure how to approach it. I was thinking of just taking it apart and using windex or soap water on it to see what I could scrape off. Anyone have some experience in restoring technics? I don’t really want to buy new cabinets for them because they’re around $150 each.
Your best bet is to take them apart completely and clean each piece. Soap and water works great. Just remember to lube what needs to be lubed when you reassemble.
What about re-assembling the tonearm? I hear calibration is a bitch, and putting them back together can cause damage to the bearings if you’re not careful…
Reassembly is a pain but if you pay attention while taking it apart you can do it. Calibration is a bitch the first few times you do it, but gets easier. It is easy to damage the bearings if you aren’t careful. You just need to be careful. It’s one of those things where, if you aren’t sure, let someone who is do it.
I’ve been using this guys videos as a reference. He’s extremely detailed and keeps everything organized. He also has videos on taking apart the tonearm/base, changing/calibrating the pitch fader, replacing the target light, etc. Definitely a must see if you’re trying to restore one of your own…
I wouldn’t advise taking the actual tone arm assembly with the bearings and pivots apart. That can come out with two screws if needed to access everything else or replace or it might not need work. I think he just means the whole tone arm housing with the height adjust, lift lever, etc.
For that it depends- usually I’ll start cleaning stuff with isopropyl alcohol and paper towel and qtips. Windex would be fine too. Get as much out as you can, if needed you can disassemble the tonearm base housing more to get access to all the moving parts if things are really gunked up and stuck on the inside. Like djlotus said just relube it.
Cotton buds, Old tooth brush and dish washing liquid is what I use. If you can help it try not to disassemble the tone arm. It is a real bitch to setup again if you havn’t done it before.
I wouldn’t advise taking the actual tone arm assembly with the bearings and pivots apart. That can come out with two screws if needed to access everything else or replace or it might not need work. I think he just means the whole tone arm housing with the height adjust, lift lever, etc. [/quote]
I want have the parts that are colour coded painted - so the tone arm base (minus height adjuster) and the 2 pivot parts. The actual tone arm would stay silver.
Do-able? Or not worth the hassle. I’d love a painted tone arm, but not at the expense of a working tonearm!
Yeah I mean as long as you are mechanically inclined and this type of stuff comes naturally to you it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Just keep track of all parts and be patient- and make sure you get the anti-skate spring right when you put it back together so it engages the tone arm.
I am (was - a long time ago!) an engineer, so I’m not necessarily afraid of taking apart the assembly - but I know from experience that springs can ping off and never be found, bearings can roll out and disappear between the floor boards, etc…
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