# DIY make your own Deoxit



## copperhead

Deoxit is pretty costly here in Canada So I'm thinking about making my own brew/concoction . 
Deoxit MSDS http://hosatech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/MSDS-E-D5S-A_v31.pdf
40-70 % Naphtha - Always got a gallon of it on hand 
10-30% Difluoroethane which is the propellant or aerosol so i would not use it unless you are making it into an Aerosol spray . 
The Mystery ingredient at 3-7 % is a trade secret but i would say its the lubricant which is more likely a silicone spray . you can get silicone lube at Canadian tire .


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## Guest

How much do you go through? I bought a small can and it has lasted for years. Maybe it's not silicone.


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## copperhead

Player99 said:


> How much do you go through? I bought a small can and it has lasted for years. Maybe it's not silicone.


I don't use a ton of it but a can cost about $30+ so i will try to replicate it as I have the ingredients on hand


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## RBlakeney

I mean if you don't want to splurge would this work?

MotoMaster Electrical Contact Cleaner, 150-g | Canadian Tire


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## LexxM3

RBlakeney said:


> I mean if you don't want to splurge would this work?
> 
> MotoMaster Electrical Contact Cleaner, 150-g | Canadian Tire


Not at all the same. Deoxit is magic in a can. A regular contact cleaner is just a useful tool.


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## Guest

Here are some good leads about the ingredients:

contact spray ingredient(s)

and here:

"As I understand it, Deoxit has a bit of oleic acid in it which breaks down the oxidation on contacts. The acid becomes neutralized as it works on oxidation, leaving behind a lubricant that keeps the contacts from oxidizing."

Deoxit?


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## RBlakeney

LexxM3 said:


> Not at all the same. Deoxit is magic in a can. A regular contact cleaner is just a useful tool.


I really don't know because I just have deoxit and that is all I have used.


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## Lord-Humongous

RBlakeney said:


> I mean if you don't want to splurge would this work?
> 
> MotoMaster Electrical Contact Cleaner, 150-g | Canadian Tire


Pardon the extremely basic nature of my question here, but is this Ok to spray in a crackly jack or pot? If so, I’m going to grab a can at lunch today. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RBlakeney

It says on it for automotive use and not for circuit boards or home electronics. 
But I have also used it on a few pots before I got deoxit and nothing bad happened.


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## tomee2

From what I’ve read there are several versions of cleaners, some contact cleaners will make the plastic bits melt or swell, others don't. Some have lube to keep the sliders lubricated. WD40 leaves a residue that ruins some pots but doesn’t effect others. Some are good for switches that arc and get carbon on them, and remove the carbon, which would be bad for a carbon trace on a pot. 
I bought the MG Electrosolve from Active Electromics years ago to keep my home stereo gear static free. It works. Active has Deoxit too, but it is $30 a can vs $18 for the MG.


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## tomee2

RBlakeney said:


> It says on it for automotive use and not for circuit boards or home electronics.
> But I have also used it on a few pots before I got deoxit and nothing bad happened.


I’ve used this too and had no troubles but I was never sure if it is always going to work or not ever ruin a pot so I got the mg stuff. And a friend who repairs vintage stereos (and has rebuilt several of my Home stereo amps) said get the MG or deoxit and leave the motomaster for the car.


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## Guest

Long & M has Deoxit for $22.75 a can.

Hosa - DeoxIT - Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator


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## LexxM3

In case anyone is looking, this is one version: Hosa D5S6 Deoxit Cable Contact Cleaner Spray Hosa D5S6 Deoxit Cable Contact Cleaner Spray: Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio ($22.75 CAD for me plus tax and free ship with Prime). (UPDATE: posted simultaneously with @Player99. Go buy it at L&M instead if same price, at least they are Canadian).

There is another version more appropriate for pots and faders: HOSA F5S-H6 CAIG DeoxIT FaderLube HOSA F5S-H6 CAIG DeoxIT FaderLube: Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio (much more expensive on Amazon and no free shipping).


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## BSTheTech

D5 is the stuff you want. YMMV with the other stuff. Spend the money, a can lasts for decades. I paid $12 at the local electronics shop about 5 years ago.


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## LexxM3

BSTheTech said:


> View attachment 222206
> 
> 
> D5 is the stuff you want. YMMV with the other stuff. Spend the money, a can lasts for decades. I paid $12 at the local electronics shop about 5 years ago.


Does it not depend on the application? While it does generate a bit of residue that should be cleaned up, I’ve had magical results with F5 on pots even without taking them apart. D5 sounds like more applicable to metal-on-metal contacts, not pots or faders.


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## BSTheTech

Spray it, if a bunch comes out wipe it. The rest evaporates and leaves a lube behind. Until today D5 was the only one I was aware of from that company. I was referring to the DIY and multitude of other contact cleaners available. I used some other stuff years ago (Tuner Cleaner) that worked OK but I found it made plastic brittle.


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## mhammer

One ALWAYS has to begin by asking what the source of the electrical noise is. It _could_ be:

Accumulated dirt or dust. This could be loose and easily displaced with the same compressed air many use to clean computer keyboards. But it could also be dense and compacted, requiring some sort of chemical solution to loosen. That could be accomplished with the same sort of isopropyl alcohol people use for other purposes.
Spaces created by loss of tension over time, creating unstable continuities. Switches can become loose, or jack tips pushed back, and resistive strips in pots can become eroded gradually. These are not necessarily addressed by cleaning any contacts, no matter how fancy the substance used.
Oxidation of surfaces that behaves like insulation, and creates discontinuities. This is the sort of thing that substances like DeOxit and other contact cleaners are intended to fix. That is, a _chemical _treatment is required, instead of a _physical _treatment, to remove a chemical obstruction.
The underlying notion is that the treatment used should correspond to the source of the noise.

I'm partial to a Canadian-made I've mentioned previously on many occasions, called Stabilant 22. It is an electroconductive polymer described as a contact *enhancer*. That is, it improves the quality of the contact, behaving like a permanent liquid solder joint, rather than simply removing obstructions to continuity. Many pro-gear repair benches use it in tandem with DeOxit. That is, the accumulated crap gets removed by the DeOxit, and the now-cleaned contacts get coated with Stabilant to hike continuity up a notch. Stabilant does not dry out. That means that, even though it provides a conductive layer, you cannot build up layers. But the layer you CAN create can bridge small gaps quite nicely. It's pricey stuff, but can be purchased from a number of places (Active/Future Electronics carries it), and a little bit lasts a very long time.

As for concocting one's own DeOxit, I question whether the component substances are the sort of thing you want to have hanging around the house, and whether any sort of exact duplication can be preserved by mixing in anything other than fairly large quantities. How do you dispose of "bad" batches?


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## BSTheTech

mhammer said:


> How do you dispose of "bad" batches?


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## mhammer

Pollos Hermanos contact cleaner?


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## Granny Gremlin

LexxM3 said:


> Does it not depend on the application? While it does generate a bit of residue that should be cleaned up, I’ve had magical results with F5 on pots even without taking them apart. D5 sounds like more applicable to metal-on-metal contacts, not pots or faders.


From what I understand the only difference is that f5 has more lube, or an additional type of lube. This is only required for conductive plastic type pots ( such as high end mixer faders, hence the name).

Everybody and their brother has been using D5 on pots for a decade.


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## Bombaywombat

Lord-Humongous said:


> Pardon the extremely basic nature of my question here, but is this Ok to spray in a crackly jack or pot? If so, I’m going to grab a can at lunch today.  Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 when yuu spray it on pots it usually thins the grease that makes the pot turn smoothly, so you lose that fluid slomo action


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## Latole

Guest said:


> How much do you go through? I bought a small can and it has lasted for years. Maybe it's not silicone.


I fix amps for many guitar players and a Deoxit can last me some years too.


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## mhammer

Bombaywombat said:


> when yuu spray it on pots it usually thins the grease that makes the pot turn smoothly, so you lose that fluid slomo action


One of the reasons why Stablant 22 makes a nice one-two punch, in tandem with DeOxit. The DeOxit removes the oxidation and sludge, and the Stabilant enhances the conductivity and provides the viscosity of feel one wants.


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## copperhead

Wow this thread is back from the dead , I see youtuber's using the motomaster contact cleaner on pots & that is not a solution . potentiometers need lubricant . spraying contact cleaner in a pot will thin any grease in the pot & make it harder to turn & eventually it will seize or fail . contact cleaner with lube is what you need . if you are having trouble finding the deoxit ,you can use this stuff 
https://www.a1parts.com/chemicals/index.htm .it works quite well . scroll down to the clean & lube .


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## Paul Running

If you are willing to spend the time, disassemble the pot, inspect it for wear and tear (it may be near expiration).
Clean it, lubricate it and re-assemble...this applies to all mechanical/electrical components.


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## mrmatt1972

Guest said:


> Long & M has Deoxit for $22.75 a can.
> 
> Hosa - DeoxIT - Contact Cleaner & Rejuvenator


Holy smokes inflation has doubled the price since this post!


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## copperhead

Holy Smoke over $50 a can , go with the Nortek at 1/4 of the price it works quite well .


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## DavidP

I consider MG Chemicals Nu-Trol (401B - Nu-trol Control Cleaner) a viable alternative, and readily available (Amazon.ca, NextGen).


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## copperhead

Strange ,When I did my post I didn't see i on the MG stuff on the Next Gen website .. it's there now MG Chemicals - Nu-Trol Control Cleaner 140g (Aerosol)


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## BGood

copperhead said:


> Wow this thread is back from the dead , I see youtuber's using the motomaster contact cleaner on pots & that is not a solution . potentiometers need lubricant . spraying contact cleaner in a pot will thin any grease in the pot & make it harder to turn & eventually it will seize or fail . contact cleaner with lube is what you need . if you are having trouble finding the deoxit ,you can use this stuff
> https://www.a1parts.com/chemicals/index.htm .it works quite well . scroll down to the clean & lube .


$30.80 USD once shipped.


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## BGood

I have a can from ... Radio Shack.
Hmm ... looking for it, it seem that I "had" a can.


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## Guitar101

mhammer said:


> One of the reasons why Stablant 22 makes a nice one-two punch, in tandem with DeOxit. The DeOxit removes the oxidation and sludge, and the Stabilant enhances the conductivity and provides the viscosity of feel one wants.


Anyone into the dating scene should try this: _I use Deoxit D5 on my amplifier electronic connections and switches. Looking for someone that uses Stabilant 22. We could make beautiful music together._


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