Hi all,
First post here, though I've been aware of the site for a while. I'm looking for some advice on what I might use to (safely) clean the bars on an old Jenco I recently acquired as my secondary, at-home practice rig. It's in good shape overall, other than the fact that it's got who-knows-how-many years of grime built up on the bars, which then rubs off onto my mallets.
I've searched the site and gone down the rabbit hole on a few forum posts around this topic. But I'm finding that most of those discussions steer more towards polishing, restoring and/or re-anodizing bars, as opposed to plain old cleaning. At this point I'm not really concerned about a full restoration or polishing project - I'm just looking for a quick fix, so I can use my nice mallets on this rig without ruining them. Hoping for a simple solution, though that may be wishful thinking...
Thanks in advance to anyone who has some ideas!
Comments
the bars are aluminum so...
Randy_Sutin Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:02
Aluminum is a relatively soft metal. So, anything with abrasives in it is right out; don't use that. Also don't use steel wool, Brillo pads, etc.
I also would absolutely avoid any strong chemical solvents like lye or anything chlorinated. Aluminum will react with strong acids or bases and there is no real need for that. However, there is no need to be shy about water. It is a good solvent and, to the best of my knowledge, not going to do any lasting harm to the bars as long as you immediately dry them off. If the stuff on the bars is greasy, then a mild detergent like Dawn dishwashing detergent will likely also not do any harm if you rinse it off and dry the bars immediately.