Please recommend products for pot cleaning & lubrication, EU

[pvision]

I'm doing more repair of outboard gear and wonder what the collective recommends for cleaning & lubricating pots?

I have IPA (isopropyl alcohol) for general cleaning, and Electrolube EML as a contact cleaner / lubricant but would welcome suggestions for pot lubricant and any other useful products

Bear in mind I am in the UK - and currently still in the EU - so US-specific brands and brand names may not translate

Nick Froome

 

[Walrus]

I use  this http://cpc.farnell.com/deoxit/f5s-h6/deoxit-fader-lube-5-oz-can/dp/SA03300
in pots and switches. Works great.
With faders I tend to clean them with distilled/de-ionzed water first, then use a cotton bud dipped in Deoxit to wipe the track afterwards.

 

[gyraf]

I use Kontakt60...

http://www.kontaktchemie.com/KOC/

Jakob E.

 

[Pip]

Plastic or wire wound? I use Isopropyl for wire wound often and anything from Caig DeOxit , plastic approved contact cleaner to denatured water for plastic.

 

[pvision]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Kontakt 60 is also available from Farnell

http://uk.farnell.com/kontakt-chemie/kontakt-60-400ml/cleaner-kontakt-60-400ml/dp/2142395

Caig Deoxit is available in the UK from Amazon, eBay and StoneAudio in Dorset

Nick Froome

 

[analogguru]

I use Kontakt60...

http://www.kontaktchemie.com/KOC/

Jakob E.

So you too are one of those ruthless potentiometer (track) killers, I understand.  Kontakt 60 is for cleaning contacts (relais, switches) only and is the death warrant for every potentiometer because it is so aggressive that it destroys the carbon tracks.  Do you want to see pictures of such tortured pots ?

From my experience and excessive testing with different products (on crackling Alps-Faders of the 80's), MoS2-Oil (from Sonax) resulted as the most effective, longest lasting and non-destructive choice.

 

[ln76d]

Best product for pot cleaning & lubrication is new potentiometer ;D

 

[gyraf]

Guru,

I think you're overtheorizing this. Bear in mind that I've actually (successfully) serviced a recording studio for 20+ years.

But yes, I'm aware that big doses of K60 is bad (and sometimes very-bad indeed!) - but in very-small doses it works better than any other cleaner I've found yet. And yes, I routinely try new-and-upcoming cleaners.

Jakob E.

 

[Whoops]

I'm doing more repair of outboard gear and wonder what the collective recommends for cleaning & lubricating pots?

Electrolube EML as a contact cleaner / lubricant but would welcome suggestions for pot lubricant and any other useful products

EML is good as a contact cleaner bur for pots you need a better lubricant.

The best thing is Caig F100 Fader Lube

https://www.banzaimusic.com/Caig-F100L-L2C-Fader-Lube-Tube.html

For potentiometers and faders , after I clean the track with Isopropyl alcohol  I put some small drops of Fader Lube. Note that I open the Pot or the fader to clean and lubricate it.
It works great

You don't always need to replace the Pots, specially bigger and expensive pots

 

[Marko]

Teslanol T6 Oszillin !!!

 

[Bill Wilson]

I worked at MCI factory, console checkout & was svc. mgr. for Nashville dealer in 70's. The safest cleaner for conductive plastic linear faders is distilled water applied w cue tip.

 

[saint gillis]

I've repaired thousands of pieces of gear, and I've seen the damages of Kontact 60, it clearly produces copper oxide !

 

[gyraf]

Are you sure about that? This most often seems to come from heavy oxidation that has been earlier-tried-to-fix-it by K60 - I have absolutely no indication of anything I K60'ed myself oxidizing (and I used buckets in the late 80'es, on gear that I still see around)

/Jakob E.

 

[saint gillis]

Hmm, I remember for instance having contact issues on C451 microphones between the capsule and the body.
I used Kontakt 60.
Few months later, I had to clean them again, and I found verdigris that was not there before.

I usually find this on devices brought to me my persons who used this on pots and jacks, and I never find this even on very old devices that have never been cleaned by users.

But it might me something else I don't know..

 

[cardboard]

More down to earth & rougher metal cleaning jobs I do with Ballistol, but for contacts: only Kontakt 60 for me.
For Pots I don't know, and carbon track Faders I don't have.

 

[cyrano]

A few years ago, I had one of the Tascam SX1 digital mixers in for service.

The fader board had been drenched in several kinds of cleaners. It was so bad that in some spots, the board itself was conductive.

Every board in the machine functioned. They just wouldn't work together. The SX1 got scrapped, as it had been unreliable during its entire life.

I mean, you can use most cleaners in a way that they'll produce some unwanted outcome.

I've been using Kontakt 60 for switches for three decades and never had any problems with it. But I don't drench the switches like I've seen others do. It needs to evaporate and that just won't work if you put too much on the contacts. Especially since most of it never gets to the contacts but just spreads around.

I open up pots if possible and clean them with alcohol. After a short rest, I apply some grease. Pots I can't open up and reassemble just get replaced if necessary. I haven't seen too many good pots worn so badly they needed replacement.

 

[PermO]

I use Ballistol universal oil for lubricating and cleaning.

https://www.ballistol-shop.nl/product/ballistol-spray/
It's mostly used for weapon maintanance, so me buying it in the Netherlands probably triggered some agency

 

[MicMaven]

I am a ham radio operator and old radio aficionado and, in our neck of the woods, Caig DeoxIT is most often used to lubricate and renew pots on transceivers and related equipment - but IN VERY SMALL DOSES using a Q-tip, never spraying directly into a closed component unless absolutely necessary because it is under high pressure and tends to flood the component. One famous ham is Bob Heil who is the only non-musician in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame for his work on sound systems and inventing one of the first modular mobile mixer boards for live events. I understand he agrees with this approach.

I prefer to FIRST turn the device off and simply exercise and work the pot throughout its range slowly with my fingers, which often self-burnishes the surfaces inside and eliminates that awful scratching noise an old pot makes. If that does not get the click, the next step is a MINIMAL bit of DeoxIT, time to do its magic, and slowly and easily exercising the pot until the lube/cleaner does the job.

Another member correctly mentions Caig makes multiple products for various specialized applications, so best to use the most appropriate product for the job. (Unfortunately, some hams seem to believe DeoxIT is the only tool for every job ...) Best to check the catalog before ordering any one product for the workbench. .

That is just MY take ... your mileage may vary. James

 

[CJ]

I use deoxit but have no time for the q tip thing. Especially if I am doing a powered mixer with 10 million pots and I am getting 50 bucks to service the POS. So I dose the chamber with a light touch, but then, not wanting to leave any potentially damaging liquid languishing on the PC board or in the chassis, I hold my breath and rinse with the quick evaporating and potentially fatal CRC cleaner which resembles tri chlor ethelene 25 so I know its good. But I am not afraid to die, I am afraid to live.

 

[Admiral-dk]

I never had any Pots surviving a dose of Kontakt 60 (or more correct - they work for some hours and then -> Way to noisy).
But a former young colleguage of mine, told me to follow the Kontakt 60, with a dose of Kontakt 61 as it is the Lubricant and Oxidation Protection .... and He was right - but I only use this Coctail when I have no other options.
Only other bit of the 'Coctail' is Kontankt WL in between those if you need to do major washout of dirt and grime - but I rarely need it.

All that said - all the really bad Pots are changed on the spot if we have them in stock - or they are easily optained @ a reasonable price.

I have considered DeOxIt before, and probably will get some with Our next order - so I can try it.

Per

------------------------- Edit ------------------

Jakob is probably right, that I use way too much Kontakt 60 - but as I usually can't apply it directly where it will be useful - I will have to apply more to be sure it gets to where it is needed + he used to repair mostly Pro Studio Gear (in the old days) and I usually repair Guitar and Bass Gear (so the Pots might be differen't quality) ....