Re: How do you clean a copper coax cable that has been oxidized?

Dear Mr. Kitay

My apologies for taking so long o respond to your query. Corrosion 
problems are difficult to answer without actually seeing the article 
involved. It is like diagnosing and treating an illness without seeing the 
patient.  I assume the copper is the outer shielding of the cable, probably 
braided wire.

First, clean the copper with a commercial copper cleaner/polisher that is 
labelled as Non-Abrasive. these are easily available in any market, hardware, or 
kitchen.  It is preferable to use one that does not contain ammonia [smell it].

Scrub gently with [say] an old toothbrush or a soft cloth to loosen and remove 
particulate matter.

Wash off the residual cleaner with a minimum ofsome convenient solvent such as 
50/50 Acetone/Toluene mixture, or Isopropyl alcohol [90 or 
more %]. Use dampened rag, small sponge, etc. Wipe dry.

The copper cleaner may contain a corrosion inhibitor itself [read the label], in 
which case the task should be finished.

A good corrosion inhibitor is benzotriazole or tolyltriazole, These are 
marketed commercially as "Cobratek" by Sherwin-Williams paint Co., and are 
also in any catalog of reagent chemicals. Contact your chemistry 
department, they may have some. After cleaning, prepare a 5% solution of 
either of these  [benzo- is preferred]in Isopropyl alcohol. Wipe thecopper 
sheathing of the cable with this. Leave it dry.  You are finished.
These chemicals leave a thin film on the metal surface which inhibits 
corrosion. It also is very slightly volatile, so it gives some protection 
to other metals in the vicinity.

If these chemicals are not available, some alternates are; 
mercaptobenzothiazole or morpholine carbonate.

            Regards, Charlie Crutchfield