Good morning every body.

How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
Is WD-40 OK.
Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
Thank you all for your helpful hints.

Al

:Good morning every body.
:
:How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
:Is WD-40 OK.
:Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
:Thank you all for your helpful hints.
:
:Al

Al:
In my opinion, WD-40 is great for many things, but I prefer to use it as a penetrant and protection rather than a lubricant. I have been having good luck with mineral spirits, found in the paint department. I am not beyond using soap and water, with a soft brush, then a good washing with mineral spirits, then a careful lubing with 3-in-1 type oil for the moving parts. I have made oxidized knobs look great by waxing them with Turtle Wax, as it is designed to remove oxidized paint from cars. Try on a small spot before doing the whole knob.
Lewis

:

I, too, like mineral spirits. Removes kitchen grease and cigarette tar.

Hot soapy water removes the rest.

Lots of good suggestions.

Good gawd...don't use WD-40!!! It'll leave a coating of oily chemical on the plates. I've used soft brushes and compressed air. If you have to use a chemical, used something like Pennsolv or similar, which is basically a dry cleaning spray, and it drys quickly an can wash away hard to reach crap. There are many versions/names of this available from MCM, Mouser, etc...just be aware some of these could attack platic.
As far as volume contol cleaning, buy a can of De-Oxit and you'll be good to go.

WD-40 is just fine. It will protect the metal from corrosion, and will help loosen grease and tar. However, it will also attract dust. It will not otherwise harm the condenser in any way.

Is still think the oil residue (since it doesn't evaporate) from WD-40 would affect the capacitance in the tuning vanes....

:Is still think the oil residue (since it doesn't evaporate) from WD-40 would affect the capacitance in the tuning vanes....
:

....Possible. It would be better to wipe the frame with oil or coat it with varnish or lacquer.

I do recall spraying the band switch in my Crosley 1117 with WD-40, getting it on some of the coils, and all of the stations were shifted a bit for a few weeks. Everything slowly fell back into place. It shouldn't be conductive, but it might have other properties that could affect things like capacitance. For one thing it's likely going to increase the dielectric strength, which might change capacitance. I don't see it affecting operation any more than kitchen grease or cigarette tar, but it might keep dust attached to the veins, which could possibly cause trouble.

:Good morning every body.
:
:How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
:Is WD-40 OK.
:Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
:Thank you all for your helpful hints.
:
:Al
:Soak them in carb. cleaner for a few hours, then let them ALMOST dry. Then air blow it with an air compressor. Then re-soak in toluol. Toluol dries real fast so work fast & air blow dry again. Repeat if nessessary until clean. Then close the plates & look at the bottom to check for plate alignment. Use reading glasses 2.5 or higher. Then use a low voltage power supply to check for sparks! I use the noise feature on an EICO 147A signal tracer & it works FANTASTIC!!!! Bent plates if needed but ONLY a HAIR!!

:Good morning every body.
:
:How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
:Is WD-40 OK.
:Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
:Thank you all for your helpful hints.
:
:Al
:Soak them in carb. cleaner for a few hours, then let them ALMOST dry. Then air blow it with an air compressor. Then re-soak in toluol. Toluol dries real fast so work fast & air blow dry again. Repeat if nessessary until clean. Then close the plates & look at the bottom to check for plate alignment. Use reading glasses 2.5 or higher. Then use a low voltage power supply to check for sparks! I use the noise feature on an EICO 147A signal tracer & it works FANTASTIC!!!! Bent plates if needed but ONLY a HAIR!!

::Good morning every body.
::
::How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
::Is WD-40 OK.
::Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
::Thank you all for your helpful hints.
::
::Al
::Soak them in carb. cleaner for a few hours, then let them ALMOST dry. Then air blow it with an air compressor. Then re-soak in toluol. Toluol dries real fast so work fast & air blow dry again. Repeat if nessessary until clean. Then close the plates & look at the bottom to check for plate alignment. Use reading glasses 2.5 or higher. Then use a low voltage power supply to check for sparks! I use the noise feature on an EICO 147A signal tracer & it works FANTASTIC!!!! Bent plates if needed but ONLY a HAIR!! Ramond
:
:

::Good morning every body.
::
::How do I get the dirt and grime out of variable condensers.
::Is WD-40 OK.
::Also how do I deoxidize the volume knobs.
::Thank you all for your helpful hints.
::
::Al
::Soak them in carb. cleaner for a few hours, then let them ALMOST dry. Then air blow it with an air compressor. Then re-soak in toluol. Toluol dries real fast so work fast & air blow dry again. Repeat if nessessary until clean. Then close the plates & look at the bottom to check for plate alignment. Use reading glasses 2.5 or higher. Then use a low voltage power supply to check for sparks! I use the noise feature on an EICO 147A signal tracer & it works FANTASTIC!!!! Bent plates if needed but ONLY a HAIR!! Ramond
:
:

Hi; hope Raymond can explain his method for low voltage to check for sparks. I have a variable condenser with bent plates and it driving me crazy, looking for a better method & this way sounds interesting.

This one has come up many times.....

Ultrasonic Cleaners Revisited

:This one has come up many times.....
:
:Ultrasonic Cleaners Revisited

In my avionics days, when people smoked, all the equipment that was cooled by venting cabin pressure overboard went into the ultrasound first thing upon entering the shop, then overnight in a 150 degree drying oven before any work at all was done on it.

Lewis
:

::This one has come up many times.....
::
::Ultrasonic Cleaners Revisited
:
:
:
:In my avionics days, when people smoked, all the equipment that was cooled by venting cabin pressure overboard went into the ultrasound first thing upon entering the shop, then overnight in a 150 degree drying oven before any work at all was done on it.
:
:Lewis
::
:
:
My 2 cents, I like to take the smoked up condensers and spray them down with a cleaning solution called "Awesome" pick it up from the dollar store. The cig smoke just flows off of the fins. Like to put a rag under it to catch the run off. Then hit it with a sray contact cleaner, that doesn't leave a residue I get the contact cleaner at "Home Depot" in the electrical section, it comes in a blue can. Then blow it out with air and use something like 3&1 on the moving parts. I like to keep the condenser fins dry as not to collect dust.
DE-OX-ID is the way to go with the controls, most of the time it will take care of it by putting a few drops in by the contacts, but sometimes you need to open them up and clean them with a Q-tip, and DE-OX-ID. Good Luck, George T