Rusty Camshaft...

[localtalent]

Well, I had to abandon my '84 ATC110 for a few weeks while some parts came in. I thought I had taken the proper precautions to store the parts that were out of the motor (the head is open, I put a plastic shopping bag over it to keep stuff out, wrapped the camshaft in a shop towel and put it in a Ziploc bag) but lo and behold, I pulled out the camshaft today to find rust spots on it, including on a the lobes :(:(:(

Is there anything I can do? Or do I have to buy a new one, which my parts vendor lists as $85...this 'free' trike has become more expensive due to my screwups :(

[samster143]

If the damage is minor you can remove it with very fine sandpaper. Try 1000 or 800 to start.

[TTribaLL]

NO, Don't use sandpaper, Use steel wool. Please don't go giving out give crappy advice like that(when you give advice it should be good advice). Oh and putting a parts in a bag makes it worse(holds moisture in, notice how it gets condensed on the inside)So use paper towl.

[Howdy]

NO, Don't use sandpaper, Use steel wool. Please don't go giving out give crappy advice like that(when you give advice it should be good advice). Oh and putting a parts in a bag makes it worse(holds moisture in, notice how it gets condensed on the inside)So use paper towl.

If used very fine emery cloth you will be fine. You can also use steel wool or possibly even a clean dry shop rag. At TF this year we had to repair Virgil's rear brake caliper. The piston had a light rust and other crud on it. I removed the piston and actually used a piece of plywood to clean it up. While rotating the piston I rubbed it on the plywood. This worked very well, and it didn't scratch the piston at all.

I have used all of these methods above to clean up rusty internal parts. If your using sand paper do not use anything under 1000 grit. ;)
Howdy