Gunked up ASSA 50x Cylinder

[DaveAG]

I bought the ASSA cylinder that taylorgdl sold in Buy-Sell-Trade last week, and have a few questions/points that I hope people can help me with.

(Please note, I am very happy with my purchase and this isn't meant to be a dig at taylorgdl, I knew the thing would need some work when I bought it)

Its very very gunked up. I had to wiggle the key around for quite a while before I could even turn the plug to start disassembling it for cleaning.

So far I have soaked all the parts in a "turpentine substitute" which I believe is just kerosene in an attempt to get some of the crud out.

Even now, moving the key in and out with the keypins in is very stiff. I have tried cleaning the pins and their chambers individually but the feel is still very rough.

I have no idea how to magically turn 90 degees inside the shell and clean the top half of the pins. The springs and top pins I have given a quick clean, but the chambers/stacks are obviously still sticky. I think some very heavy oil has been used on this poor thing in the past and attracted a whole load of grit as well.

Other points of interest: The only security features I could find were compensated top-pins to prevent decoding. All pins were "normal", no spools or mushrooms. Given the thing was tricky to open with a key I haven't tried to pick it yet but it has no security pins and a wide-open keyway so shouldn't be too hard (famous last words). For those of you who only know ASSA for their Twin range with counter-bored pinstacks, evil mushrooms, and a sidebar this lock makes quite a comparison, and infact I would go as far as to say might make a good beginners lock as the caps for the pin stacks could easily be drilled out and replaced with hex screws for building up the number of pins as their skill improves.

Also, the key pins when looked at end on have a kind of "chisel" in them which causes them to fit into the key perfectly, and not allow them to rotate at all. Its almost like a medeco pin without slot for the sidebar (or indeed sidebar) I can't see any security benefit this gains.

Once I've finished cleaning it I'll try and post up some pictures for you guys.

Does anyone have any tips or tricks for cleaning out this lock? It appears to be a mix of viscous old grease/oil and grit thats gunking it up.

[UWSDWF]

varsol or spirit something or other you brits call it

[zeke79]

For quick clean ups I like to use brake cleaner or electrical contact cleaner. There is some stuff and I cannot remember off the top of my head that I use for soaks I'd have to look but it is something like methyl ethyl ketone i believe (I'll have to look). Cleans stuff right up after an overnight soak.

[JackNco]

varsol or spirit something or other you brits call it

White spirits or meth spirits

[Jaakko]

Acetone and toothbrush Only side effect is a nice friday feeling and dry hands. I have used to get the dirt out of Abloy locks and a couple of pin tumblers and it works wonders. I first let the parts/locks soak in the acetone for 10 to 60 minutes and then rnse them a few times in the acetone to flush the soaked off dirt away and then give toothbrush to it After washing, just five seconds and it is dry again, because acetone vaporizes very quickly.

...and because of that, no smoking or nothing warmer than your hand around those fumes! Ventilation, people, ventilation...

[butterboy]

finger nail polish remover

[Jaakko]

finger nail polish remover

That's acetone. I'd suggest using pure acetone, not that nail polish remover. The nail polish remover contains grease and some other stuff, so it will not dry your finger nails.

[Shrub]

Zillit bang or whatever its called,

Anyhting will clean it including soapy water but yopu must strip it totally down to do this,

Am i right in thinking youve removed the plug but not the top pins and springs? it is the top pins and springs that wil be the most gummed up,

After cleaning and thourougly drying you then need to lubricate the lock properly with a ptfe or silicone based spray lubricant, do not use oil or grease,

[Jaakko]

Zillit bang or whatever its called

Cillit Bang it is

[Shrub]

Wow that wasnt even close to the right spelling lol,

Funny remix

[DaveAG]

Zillit bang or whatever its called,

Anyhting will clean it including soapy water but yopu must strip it totally down to do this,

Am i right in thinking youve removed the plug but not the top pins and springs? it is the top pins and springs that wil be the most gummed up,

After cleaning and thourougly drying you then need to lubricate the lock properly with a ptfe or silicone based spray lubricant, do not use oil or grease,

I've removed everything, including the top pins and springs, but what I've found difficult is cleaning inside the chambers where the top pins and springs go.

With the bottom chambers, you can just scrub them clean, but with the top ones you don't have a straight line to them if you know what I mean, you would have to insert whatever cleaning tool you have horizontally in the hole left by the plug, then bend it 90 degrees upwards to clean the chambers.

[Gordon Airporte]

With the bottom chambers, you can just scrub them clean, but with the top ones you don't have a straight line to them if you know what I mean, you would have to insert whatever cleaning tool you have horizontally in the hole left by the plug, then bend it 90 degrees upwards to clean the chambers.

So pipe cleaners?

[zeke79]

I also use pipe cleaners for this.