Contact Cleaner / Lube

[Post Toastie]

what do you folx use ?

is there a preferred contact cleaner ? a general consensus on what's the stuff ?

do you use a seperate lube afterwards or one that cleans AND lubes ?

[garww]

I have not bot any good stuff in a long while - using wd40. If you have a Radio Shack, that's a good place to visit. My store has 3 or 4 products to choose from. You should consider the usage, but I wouldn't fret over it too much. Old TV tuners benefit from lube, for example.

[Post Toastie]

Originally Posted by garww

I have not bot any good stuff in a long while - using wd40. If you have a Radio Shack, that's a good place to visit. My store has 3 or 4 products to choose from. You should consider the usage, but I wouldn't fret over it too much. Old TV tuners benefit from lube, for example.

in my research (Radio Shack, Best Buy, Google searches) it seems that De-Oxit was mentioned often and indeed seems to be the most widely available, but some forums mentioned Lube in addition to to contact cleaner which got me thinking -- yea, it makes sense to lube after de-gunking because the control will now be very dry....but some mentioned contact cleaner that contained lube (no brands given).

i tried WD-40 years ago, but it did nothing for my scratchy amplifier (so scratchy there is barely on position where i can get sound from it). so i figured wd-40 is not an actually contact cleaner.

the items that i need contact cleaner for are some amplifiers and some graphic eq's....but i could imagine that one day the faders on my Korg d32XD and other items could use contact cleaner / lube.

is there a contact cleaner that is safe for the faders on a recording desk ?

and where should it be sprayed ? should i just remove the knobs (of the various items) and aim the spray at the base of the post, or should i open up the items and spray the backs of the pots and faders ?

thanks.

[garww]

Scratchy like from dry winter central air ?? Or, from just sitting in one place for a long time, or, a dirty environ ?

I have a multi-position rotary for my swamp cooler that just froze-up. I'm gonna have to disassemble from the back. So sometimes you have to be prepared to get in there, but usually spray into the openings will work. The sliders possibly from the front, the pots usually from the back.

So, try to determine if it's just oxidation. The amp pot is probably worn ?? Bigger pots like this are not so hard to get into if you can find something to pry the clips up a bit.

[garww]

My switch opened easily with needle-nose pliers. The contacts are reeds and in good condition. It was the shaft that was frozen. I had to boil it in vinegar water and do the hot/cold submersion bath.

[garageband]

De-Oxit is very good and quite expensive. DO NOT buy it mail order, as it requires special HAZMAT handling (ORM-D).

[Post Toastie]

Originally Posted by garageband

De-Oxit is very good and quite expensive. DO NOT buy it mail order, as it requires special HAZMAT handling (ORM-D).

i did not know that. the online prices seem in line with other cleaners, more or less. my Radio Shack had the tv lube that Garww mentioned, but no De-Oxit (although RS online does offer it).

Best Buy had never heard of contact cleaner.



i'm not in a major hurry. i'll kept looking and listening.

thank you both for your replies.

[Post Toastie]

Originally Posted by garww

My switch opened easily with needle-nose pliers. The contacts are reeds and in good condition. It was the shaft that was frozen. I had to boil it in vinegar water and do the hot/cold submersion bath.

i'm not sure exactly what item the pot you're dealing with is from - power amp ?

seems like it would be easier to replace the pot.

[garww]

Originally Posted by Post Toastie

i'm not sure exactly what item the pot you're dealing with is from - power amp ?

seems like it would be easier to replace the pot.

It is the power switcher for the swamp cooler. It has suffered lots of water this year, but it was just the front plate and froze the shaft. The reeds control two fan speeds and switch-in the water pump.

I'm now on the Arizona/Mexico border and don't have the contact problems I had up north.