Might be decades of cooking grease, who knows. Start with paint thinner
(mineral spirits) and a soft, lint-free cloth. Denatured alcohol or even
lacquer thinner if that doesn't work. Q-tips to clean up nooks and crannies.
Don't get any moisture into places where it doesn't belong. Denatured
alcohol will leave no residue. Keep solvents away from dial markings & any
other painted stuff.

Whatever happens, don't run the chassis through the dishwasher, as some
crackpots do :-)

Phil Nelson

"sparky" wrote in message
ups.com...
I rescued a hammarlund HQ-180 from the scrap pile. The front panel is
a little rusty but overall
not too bad a condition. The chassis seems to have some kind of very
thick greasy scum on it.
It does not appear to be tobacco smoke but a clear substance. I'll
have to experiment and see
what will remove it.