Cleaning a old tonearm

Thank all of you for your help. I used q-tips diped in carb and choke cleaner made by thr Gumout corp. Also I found that pipe cleaners worked very good in tight areas. Looks like brand new almost. Bearings feel smooth with no play. Again thank you all. The other film on it besides the dust I think was nicotine as the guy I got it from is a heavy smoker. It came right off too.

Pryso:are you saying that after cleaning a metal tonearm using an astringent that it might not cause pitting or even "possible show signs of rust? Any lubricant no matter the viscocity will attract dust.

The tone arms I am familiar with are painted, anodized, chrome, or stainless, or some combination of these finishes. I have seen older arms with some form of crud or tarnish but I have never seen one with possible signs of rust. Perhaps I just don't get around enough.

To me, lubricants are for protection of bearing surfaces. For the application of protecting tonearm finishes, other solutions will serve better. YMMV.

I just used a pipecleaner to clean my vpi arm. slow, gentle wipes and the dirt came off incrediible easy. Just a gentle 'blow'....

WD 40----------------------