I have hundred of those AB sealed pot in my desk, virtually they can't take dust, the conductive track can become noisy at sliding when not used often, especially at the spot you let them too long, that's why I always reset them to full CCW when I reset the console.
I open some long time ago but don't remember if it's possible to retention the wiper brush.
The solution that work fine for me when one was not used since long time is to move them fast, full travel, for few second, and the noise disappear.
I'm not 100% sure but for the moment I identify this issue as a local deformation/depression of the substrate where the wiper sit (too long) causing less contact efficiency.
Cheers
Zam