21 quid for deoxit

[63telemaster]

As mentioned above, Servisol is excellent stuff being both a cleaner and a light lubricant. It even managed to restore the dual vol pot on my Pioneer A400 to perfect working order which is famously difficult task to pull off. Just beware that it has a very low temperature which can cause some plastics and nylon to crack and break up.

 

[Doctorx33]

CRC has one that is a contact cleaner and a lubricant. I bought a can to use in an amp with scratchy pots and it worked great.

 

[Lothy]

I use this. It works very well
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Teslanol...=1&keywords=teslanol+t6&qid=1615071161&sr=8-1

I don't know, if it get's delivered in the UK, but for the price it's worth a try.
Cheers

 

[Richie Cunningham]

Also available there:

WD-40 Specialist Electrical Contact Cleaner
(This is NOT the WD-40 water-displacing lubricant.)

I wonder where the confusion originated.

 

[LutherBurger]

Indeed, do not use WD40 for this purpose!
It is a silicone-based lubricant, not a cleaner.

There's a silicone-based lubricant in the "Specialist" line, but the regular WD-40 formula doesn't have silicone in it.

 

[Fatcat211]

FYI deoxit stained the alpine white nitro on my custom shop les Paul. Paint cleaner and polish lightened it but it’s still there. The paint is very delicate on this guitar. The security stamp on my wrist from a venue we were playing stained it too! I suspect poly would fare better.

Ta for the replies. Can I safely assume that deoxit does not damage or melt paintwork.

 

[northernguitar]

There's a silicone-based lubricant in the "Specialist" line, but the regular WD-40 formula doesn't have silicone in it.

Still terrible for pots.

 

[DonM]

Indeed, do not use WD40 for this purpose!
It is a silicone-based lubricant, not a cleaner.
A little DeOxit goes a long way.
Great stuff, a can will last a long while is you use it properly.

WD 40 Specialist has silicone in it. WD 40 does not; it’s a petroleum based penetrating oil.

 

[drmordo]

Agreed on a Deoxit can lasting a long time. My can is 13 years old and 3/4 full. Unless one is cleaning soundboards, an average guitar player with a decent collection of gear should get a lifetime out of one can.

Agreed, they last a long time. I just finished off the can I bought probly 15 years ago, but when I shopped to replace it, I have to say I was pretty surprised how expensive Deoxit is these days.

 

[Peegoo]

If you're penny-conscious, standard-version Deoxit is simply petroleum naphtha (odorless mineral spirits to be exact) with pressure (isobutane) as a propellant. There's no woo-woo chemical magic happening; Deoxit works as a rinsing agent. The combination of solvent, pressure, and mechanical scrubbing (rotating the pot or switch) is what does the real cleaning.

The 'premium' versions of Deoxit contain about 5% mineral oil as a lubricant, which is really unnecessary and in some instances can make problems worse because the sticky film that remains tends to collect dust and grime.

Look here: https://www2.atmos.umd.edu/~russ/MSDS/deoxIT.pdf

It's easy to DIY your own Deoxit for less than a third of what you pay for The Official Stuff.

Put some odorless mineral spirits into a small needle bottle. Pack a paper towel around the pot or switch. Apply a drop to the inside of a wonky pot/switch, rotate it through full travel about 10 times, and blow it out (compressed air/canned air/computer duster, etc.). Hold a wadded-up paper towel over the end of the nozzle and the component to catch the liquid and crud it rinses out. Odorless mineral sprits is safe for plastics and all paint finishes. If you want the Super Premium Gold version, add one drop of Baby Oil to the bottle.

These are needle bottles, available on Amazon, etc. Make sure to get the type with the little attached silicone cap. They're quite inexpensive. If you have a workshop, get a bunch of these because they are perfect for precise application of cleaners, solvents, and lubricants. Even thick greases and glues.

 

[Peegoo]

WD40 is not really a penetrating oil; it's a water displacer that also happens to be a pretty good solvent cleaner.

 

[hopdybob]

this is the one for electronics.

sometime i soak pots in 97% alcohol after de-soldering them.
in don't know the correct US/UK name, but a technician, a official Yamaha organ repairman, used 'wasbenzine', i think called cleaning spirit/benzene?
with little syringe that is used for diabetic insulin injections

 

[Phrygian77]

WD40 is not really a penetrating oil; it's a water displacer that also happens to be a pretty good solvent cleaner.

It's not even great at the former. I'd rather use Liquid Wrench.

Edit: LOL, well, I totally misread that!

 

[richbike]

This
View attachment 828954

yeah ive used this on pots. good for powertool triggers also

 

[Collin D Plonker]

I used to use Brillo on pots, but then they cane out with non-stick coating. So Scotchbrite.

What's that? Petentiometers?

Never mind.

 

[TokyoPortrait]

Can I safely assume that deoxit does not damage or melt paintwork.

Hi.

No.

I looked into all of this a while back. I wanted something like DeOxIt because I could read the instructions / specs / etc. in English.

Anyway, what I discovered was that the Caig website was deeply complicated and difficult to navigate, with certain pages / info hard to find. Some pages I found by web search, but never figured out how to navigate to them on the site.

I also found contradictory advice on which products to use for various applications.

In the end I bought DeOxIt D5 to clean pots, and the fader lube one (F5?) to apply afterwards for lube & protection.

Probably overkill with the F5.

Anyway, I recall somewhere in their tech info sheets reading about using another product for vintage instruments, so it doesn’t damage nitro finishes. So, yeah, regular DeOxIt can damage nitro it seems.

Pretty sure they said the small bottle with the undiluted version of the D5 with no other additives was okay. But, caveat, my memory is hazy on this. Maybe they also had some other ‘vintage instrument’ product too? Rings a bell, but I can’t truly be confident in that either.

I’d recommend looking all this up if you are worried about nitro finishes. Don’t just take my word on it.

I also read on a forum somewhere, something purely anecdotal, about just being very careful with regular DeOxIt and nitro finishes, and you’ll be fine - basically saying if you apply it properly and sensibly in the way you should anyway (careful where you spray and wrapping the pot first to catch leaks or dribbling), you’ll be fine. That’s the route I took.

Hope this helps.

Pax/
Dean

 

[LutherBurger]

Still terrible for pots.

I wouldn't know. I use CRC 2-26.

 

[kbold]

An alternative to Deoxit D5 is Electrolube EML200.
About a third of the price of Deoxit (which in my neck of the woods is expensive).