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I noticed at weekend that I'd lost my left indicator.  When I took the assembly apart to change the blown bulb, it turned out that the whole assembly was covered with a light film of aluminium corrosion.   The new bulb isnt making great contact and will soon stop working again unless I clean the assembly somehow.

It's a pretty intricate pressed-metal affair, and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations/potions/lotions that will clean away the worst of the corrosion.  My first instinct was to soak it in vinegar... it used to work on 2p coins in science class!

Thanks for the advice everyone.  As the plate is galvanised I was reluctant to use a wire brush, or any harsh abrasives, as this would likely leave the plate open to further corrosion.

I decided to try on old-wives-tale remedy.....  1 cup vinegar, 1 cup salt, 1 pint warm/hot water.   I stripped down the assembly and immersed the whole lot in the solution for about 2 hours, scrubbed all over with a nail brush, and then rinsed very very well with water.  The whole assembly came up like new, with little sign of the corrosion, and there was a pile of cr*p left behind the the solution!   I did the same with the spade connectors on the van, with the same result.  Wherever there was residual corrosion I used fine wet and dry to remove it.

After drying everything really really well, I re-fitted the assembly (with a full set of new bulbs for good measure) and having given it a good coat of ACF-50 corrosion inhibitor and some contact grease.  I have to say that it looks brand new and works a treat!

I'm off to treat the car-van connectors, as that's one bit I hadn't thought of doing.