# Contact cleaner



## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

this week i had problems with some vehicles that i did electrical work on earlier in the summer and used generic electrical contact cleaner then mashed the contacts together and crimped/tightened them. Had problems starting a few days later. Finally took it all apart today when it wouldn't start or charge. There was a shiny black layer like ceramic between the battery terminal and the post. Some sort of oxide from the contact cleaner? I could scrape it off the battery posts but it was stuck on solid. 

I have some DeOxit that I use for electronics and instruments but I use generic aerosol Canadian Tire contact cleaner on 12V and 120/240 connections. 

Anyway, guitars and amps. 

Do some contact surfaces respond better to cleaner than others and is it super important to stick with DeOxit for instrument connections and what caused the oxidization or corrosion problem that I had with the other stuff and do i need to be concerned about that on instruments?

j


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

that ctc cleaner is only for brush less electrical motors and stuff you don't care about .

stick to deoxit for amps and sound equipment

use the self sealing butt connectors on vehicles , or solder and use liquid tape.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

I have DeoxIT and seems to work great, but I noticed they have different ones. D-series, Gold series, D5, D100, etc... even within the same brand I wonder which is best to use?

I think I have DeoxIT D5... and I think the Gold G5 is supposed to be the better one to use?


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

yup


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

oldjoat said:


> that ctc cleaner is only for brush less electrical motors and stuff you don't care about .
> 
> stick to deoxit for amps and sound equipment
> 
> use the self sealing butt connectors on vehicles , or solder and use liquid tape.


I use the cheap CTC contact cleaner on my amps. Zero issues after a few years of workhorse duty.


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## oldjoat (Apr 4, 2019)

just read the label ... may harm some plastics .

as in signal switch for yamaha bike (rip switch) ... cleaned the contacts , but.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

oldjoat said:


> just read the label ... may harm some plastics .
> 
> as in signal switch for yamaha bike (rip switch) ... cleaned the contacts , but.


Indeed, as all good solvents will. I just take care to keep it on the contacts only.


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

So for somebody who needs to do a quick clean on a couple pots, what cleaner will work without melting plastics, or cost $35+ a can? What specific CTC cleaner am I looking for? Or is there an inexpensive deoxit supplier around London area that anybody is aware of?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

There are essentially two things that contact cleaners have to do as their homework. One is to remove any oxidation that has built up on the wiper contacts. The other is to remove any buildup of sludge on the resistive-strip itself. The sludge can consist of dirt from outside the pot that has found its way in there. But it can also consist of small particles of the resistive-strip material in the pot that the wiper has scraped off. Keep in mind that the principle reason a pot "works" is because there is a metal contact forced up against the resistive-strip. And that means that when you rotate the knob, you are creating friction. Over time, all that rubbing loosens particles on the surface of the resistive-strip. Higher-quality pots will use materials less susceptible to such friction/erosion, and/or wipers that are designed to provide the best contact with the least friction.

Depending on the age of the pot, and how much it has been worked on previously, a third challenge to quiet functioning - not resolved by any form of cleaning - are loosening rivets that hold the solder lugs to the pot. 

When I want to restore/rejuvenate a pot, I will remove it from the device, _gently_ pry up the tabs that hold the back on to the pot, and remove the back. I use a Q-tip to wipe the resistive strip, which will help to remove any endogenous or exogenous 
sludge. In most instances, you will only be able to see a small window of the resistive strip, nearest the wiper. So you'll need to keep moving the wiper along to see portions you haven't wiped. But as you wipe, you'll see the Q-tip get blacker and blacker.

While the back is off and access improved, I use my needlenose pliers to _gently_ pinch the rivets and tighten them. But be careful, because you don't want to pinch so hard that you crack the phenolic they're attached to.

Cleaning the sludge off directly, as described, does nothing for the tarnish/oxidation on the wiper. So giving a shpritz of cleaner to carry out that mission while the back is off is a good idea. You can easily wipe off any excess before replaing the back.

One additional I step I also do is use a contact enhancer I'm fond of, called Stabilant 22. It is an electroconductive polymer, manufactured in Thornhill Ontario, that remains permanently viscous, and behaves like a liquid solder joint and lubricant. It forms a layer and essentially fills in all the pits in the resistive strip that have developed over time, turning what used to be a bumpy service road into freshly-paved blacktop. It is EXPENSIVE, but a couple of sesame-seed-sized droplets are enough to bring a noisy pot back to life.

Once all these steps are carried ut, I put the back on, pinch the tabs closed, and re-install the pot.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

mhammer said:


> When I want to restore/rejuvenate a pot, I will remove it from the device, _gently_ pry up the tabs that hold the back on to the pot, and remove the back. I use a Q-tip to wipe the resistive strip, which will help to remove any endogenous or exogenous
> sludge. In most instances, you will only be able to see a small window of the resistive strip, nearest the wiper. So you'll need to keep moving the wiper along to see portions you haven't wiped. But as you wipe, you'll see the Q-tip get blacker and blacker.
> 
> While the back is off and access improved, I use my needlenose pliers to _gently_ pinch the rivets and tighten them. But be careful, because you don't want to pinch so hard that you crack the phenolic they're attached to.
> ...


Wow ! That sounds like a lot of work and time consuming. Wouldn't changing the pot at this point be a better alternative ?


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Frenchy99 said:


> Wow ! That sounds like a lot of work and time consuming. Wouldn't changing the pot at this point be a better alternative ?


That's exactly what I was going to say but I can anticipate folks saying that they want to keep the thing as original as possible or that new products just aren't made as well, etc. I'd just replace it unless it was a rare and valuable guitar, amp, pedal, etc.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

It's not more than a few minutes more labour than completely replacing the pot. And sometimes you don't have ready access to a replacement, or feel like waiting until one comes in the mail. It used to be possible to simply pop over to the store and pick one up, but that's getting less and less common in many places.

Beyond that, some pots have peculiar tapers, and if its a taper or feel you like then you'll want to keep it in working order.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

Verne said:


> So for somebody who needs to do a quick clean on a couple pots, what cleaner will work without melting plastics, or cost $35+ a can? What specific CTC cleaner am I looking for? Or is there an inexpensive deoxit supplier around London area that anybody is aware of?


Guy teaching the tech course for guitars at Conestoga said when he went to the Fender factory and took a tour, everyone just used WD40 to clean out pots. Not sure if it was because it worked, or because it was cheap and once out the door they don't care... maybe an option.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

mhammer said:


> It's not more than a few minutes more labour than completely replacing the pot. And sometimes you don't have ready access to a replacement, or feel like waiting until one comes in the mail. It used to be possible to simply pop over to the store and pick one up, but that's getting less and less common in many places.
> 
> Beyond that, some pots have peculiar tapers, and if its a taper or feel you like then you'll want to keep it in working order.


The pots in my Fury guitar have custom tapers that could only be ordered by Glenn as he knew the secret prefix in the part number. Best pots ever for gradual change of vol/tone. Thanks for your valuable info. 

Otherwise just swap as has been said.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Don


THRobinson said:


> Guy teaching the tech course for guitars at Conestoga said when he went to the Fender factory and took a tour, everyone just used WD40 to clean out pots. Not sure if it was because it worked, or because it was cheap and once out the door they don't care... maybe an option.


WD40 is a four-letter word to some of these guys. I was raked over the friggin coals in another thread for relating that the builder of my expensive custom boutique amps said: "It's just as good as anything out there. Just use a little bit." Get ready for the quasi-technical blowback. That being said, I am still trying to use up a can of Peavey FunkOut that I bought in the 1990's. So I wouldn't worry about getting the costly stuff either.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The usefulness or acceptability of WD40 would depend on what the source of the misfunctioning of the pot is. If it is simply a case of tarnish on the shaft that makes it stiff to turn, then shpritz away. But I doubt WD40 will either improve conductivity or remove any oxidation on the wiper.


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

mhammer said:


> either improve conductivity or remove any oxidation on the wiper


maybe not oxidization but WD40 does a pretty good job softening residue buildup on other parts

that said i got taken aside once and chewed up and down and instructed not ever to touch the inside of an amp or instrument with anything other than DeOxit so that's what i did after that and haven't ever regretted it. I got my old JC-55 from a smoker in a dusty house. It was a stinking dust bunny mess inside and sounded scratchy and dull. If I had sprayed it all full of that contact cleaner I mentioned in the first post i'd have ended up throwing it out. But now it sounds great and the only problem is when it's been running loud for a long time it smells like stale pot smoke  

j


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## Sketchy Jeff (Jan 12, 2019)

Verne said:


> a quick clean on a couple pots, what cleaner will work without melting plastics, or cost $35+ a can


A little can of DeOxit isn't that much money and if you're just doing a quick clean on a couple of pots it will last years and years. I've only ever bought one can of it. Used quite a lot getting an old Roland amp from a smoker's house to stop sounding scratchy and then thought I'd switch to something else when the can got empty but it's still got stuff in it several years later and at this rate I'll buy another little can when this one's gone. After my little episode with automotive parts and generic contact cleaner I won't be using that stuff for anything that matters again. 

I got my DeOxit off the shelf at a a specialty electrical supply place in Winnipeg on St. James St called ... I dunno what it was called. They had many many versions of contact cleaner in little white aerosol cans for every possibly application plus some DeOxit. Long and McQuade also sells it I recall it was about double the price of the electrical supply. 

j


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

WD is not a good idea. Why ? it does not evaporate.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Not evaporating can be a good thing or it can be a bad thing. If the contents are electroconductive, that can be a good thing. If the contents do NOT improve conductivity, then sticking around in a wet state, coating a contact isn't a good thing.


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## THRobinson (Jun 29, 2014)

KapnKrunch said:


> Don
> WD40 is a four-letter word to some of these guys. I was raked over the friggin coals in another thread for relating that the builder of my expensive custom boutique amps said: "It's just as good as anything out there. Just use a little bit." Get ready for the quasi-technical blowback. That being said, I am still trying to use up a can of Peavey FunkOut that I bought in the 1990's. So I wouldn't worry about getting the costly stuff either.


Only time I use WD40 is on old rusted stuff where I know I need to spray a tonne of it... like really bad bike chain or something. Even then, once free'd up, I'll hit it with something better to finish it with. It's good for cleanup and helping break free rusted stuff, but it's thin and someone says doesn't evaporate, where I find the opposite. Spray it on a door hinge and it's bone dry in a month.

I was surprised when the prof said they used that at the factory and because of it he uses it as well. If anything, I'd say it was in use because they get a bulk discount and QC dropped a bit.


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## JeremyP (Jan 10, 2012)

I used the Nexxtech contact/head cleaner for the longest time from the Source. I got scolded for using it from a couple older tech guys lol so I switched to the deOxit gold and I cant tell the difference other then the price tag. But its one of those things where I figured for the $10 extra better safe then sorry.


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