In place of WD 40 what is a better cleaning for old pot's.
Mitch

:In place of WD 40 what is a better cleaning for old pot's.
:Mitch
:
I like 100% isopropyl alcohol cleaning pots and switches. Cheap and effective.

::In place of WD 40 what is a better cleaning for old pot's.
::Mitch
::
:I like 100% isopropyl alcohol cleaning pots and switches. Cheap and effective.
:
I just bought a pint of this for cleaning rotary switch contacts. Thank you so much for the info, will try this with a needle dropper on the pot.
Best to you
Mitch

I've been using a shot of compressed air if the there is dust in the unit. Then just a drop or two of DeOxit and work the control. You don't need much and the needle applicator bottle is a better deal than the aerosol can.
Beware, some solvents can melt certain plastics. Even some cleaners that state 'Safe for plastics', sometimes aren't. WD-40 can also damage rubber parts.
In some hard-luck cases the pot can be disassembled for cleaning/repair. It's kinda like watch repair.
Many pots used standard sizes for parts. Shafts, wipers, contact shoes and piggyback switches that can interchange.

:RADIO SHACK sells a bunch of electronic cleaners, I like the tuner cleaner for switches and corroded battery terminals it bubbles and eats corrosion I dont think I would use it for pots though.
: I've been using a shot of compressed air if the there is dust in the unit. Then just a drop or two of DeOxit and work the control. You don't need much and the needle applicator bottle is a better deal than the aerosol can.
: Beware, some solvents can melt certain plastics. Even some cleaners that state 'Safe for plastics', sometimes aren't. WD-40 can also damage rubber parts.
: In some hard-luck cases the pot can be disassembled for cleaning/repair. It's kinda like watch repair.
: Many pots used standard sizes for parts. Shafts, wipers, contact shoes and piggyback switches that can interchange.
:

::RADIO SHACK sells a bunch of electronic cleaners, I like the tuner cleaner for switches and corroded battery terminals it bubbles and eats corrosion I dont think I would use it for pots though.
:: I've been using a shot of compressed air if the there is dust in the unit. Then just a drop or two of DeOxit and work the control. You don't need much and the needle applicator bottle is a better deal than the aerosol can.
:: Beware, some solvents can melt certain plastics. Even some cleaners that state 'Safe for plastics', sometimes aren't. WD-40 can also damage rubber parts.
:: In some hard-luck cases the pot can be disassembled for cleaning/repair. It's kinda like watch repair.
:: Many pots used standard sizes for parts. Shafts, wipers, contact shoes and piggyback switches that can interchange.
::
:
:
I use a product made by Rawn called Universal Contact Cleaner. I've pretty much tried them all, from WD-40 to Acetone. The thing I like about this is that after it cleans it evaporates completely, leaving no oily residue to collect dust later.
Just another suggestion.
Terry

I use 100% alcohol.. Degreases, and cleans all metal and plastic parts very well and dries fast.. You can buy it at any harware store.. Yes it can be a fire hazard but dries so fast not really a worry..I use a old eye contact cleaner bottle to squirt it where needed...Works GREAT for cleaning electrical contacts, various volume controls, cleaning metal parts....ect. ect. ...

If I can get the pot out easily I open it and slosh it around in hot soapy dish washing water. Then rinse.
Thanks to Thom Dermody for his idea on this.

Does a great job.
Works great with tuners too.

I don't think washing pots in soapy dish water is suck a good idea...If pot has electrical insulating paper you may soak it with water and it will take days to dry..thats why alcohol is better..it will dry much quicker and clean as good

:If I can get the pot out easily I open it and slosh it around in hot soapy dish washing water. Then rinse.
:Thanks to Thom Dermody for his idea on this.
:
:Does a great job.
:Works great with tuners too.
:
:

The more modern pots have their carbon deposited on phenolic material. I do not remember saying to soak the pot, but in extreme cases I have taken a few apart and scrubbed them gently with a brush in some soapy water. Then, after a rinse, I coated the resistance material with dielectric grease. This can, such as in the case of my Silvertone phonograph, make for a long lasting quiet reliable pot, but in cases where wiper spring tension is very light, the pot can again become noisy due to the dielectric grease breaking the connection.

I can imagine that alcohol may clean pots well, too. It can be applied with a cotton swab.

In some cases the best fix has been WD-40, and in many of these cases I have had practically permanent good results. However, in other sensitive cases, I have had trouble result from carbon deposited in the WD-40 forming a leak to the pot's housing, which, in those cases, caused trouble (such as the very high impedance vertical hold circuit in my DeWald BT-100 television).

I decided on dielectric grease from finding some new pots with silicon type grease on the resistance material. It can work well, and occasionally it won't work well. With adequate spring tension (though not too much) it should work well. It remains on the resistance material, and doesn't get all over the pot, which is why I usually prefer it to WD-40, but there are cases where WD-40 just works so much better.

All of the methods described here in this thread will work well, and all will have their exceptions.

T.

The more modern pots have their carbon deposited on phenolic material. I do not remember saying to soak the pot, but in extreme cases I have taken a few apart and scrubbed them gently with a brush in some soapy water. Then, after a rinse, I coated the resistance material with dielectric grease. This can, such as in the case of my Silvertone phonograph, make for a long lasting quiet reliable pot, but in cases where wiper spring tension is very light, the pot can again become noisy due to the dielectric grease breaking the connection.

I can imagine that alcohol may clean pots well, too. It can be applied with a cotton swab.

In some cases the best fix has been WD-40, and in many of these cases I have had practically permanent good results. However, in other sensitive cases, I have had trouble result from carbon deposited in the WD-40 forming a leak to the pot's housing, which, in those cases, caused trouble (such as the very high impedance vertical hold circuit in my DeWald BT-100 television).

I decided on dielectric grease from finding some new pots with silicon type grease on the resistance material. It can work well, and occasionally it won't work well. With adequate spring tension (though not too much) it should work well. It remains on the resistance material, and doesn't get all over the pot, which is why I usually prefer it to WD-40, but there are cases where WD-40 just works so much better.

All of the methods described here in this thread will work well, and all will have their exceptions.

T.

:The more modern pots have their carbon deposited on phenolic material. I do not remember saying to soak the pot, but in extreme cases I have taken a few apart and scrubbed them gently with a brush in some soapy water. Then, after a rinse, I coated the resistance material with dielectric grease. This can, such as in the case of my Silvertone phonograph, make for a long lasting quiet reliable pot, but in cases where wiper spring tension is very light, the pot can again become noisy due to the dielectric grease breaking the connection.
:
:I can imagine that alcohol may clean pots well, too. It can be applied with a cotton swab.
:
:In some cases the best fix has been WD-40, and in many of these cases I have had practically permanent good results. However, in other sensitive cases, I have had trouble result from carbon deposited in the WD-40 forming a leak to the pot's housing, which, in those cases, caused trouble (such as the very high impedance vertical hold circuit in my DeWald BT-100 television).
:
:I decided on dielectric grease from finding some new pots with silicon type grease on the resistance material. It can work well, and occasionally it won't work well. With adequate spring tension (though not too much) it should work well. It remains on the resistance material, and doesn't get all over the pot, which is why I usually prefer it to WD-40, but there are cases where WD-40 just works so much better.
:
:All of the methods described here in this thread will work well, and all will have their exceptions.
:
:T.
:
T.
On one pot and Phono/Radio switch i first used WD 40 to lube and worked the pop and switch many times in free lance mode, no power. Then i used 100% alcohol to clean them, working them in free lance mode, no power. The result was absolutely perfect. It took patience and time for the alcohol to dry (24 hours)of let me see? May be a fluke but it worked on this radio.
Thanks for the input and keek posting, you are important to the Forum.
Mitch

WD-40 shouldn't be used on switches unless they're stuck. It will carbon up the contacts every time they arc. Alcohol is a good cleaner, but can be a solvent of things you don't want to solute at times. It should usually be safe with most controls, though. It is very good at removing muck and dirt.

I have used WD-40 on stuck light switches with good success, but there the problem is not starting a fire, for the first few times you turn the light on and off there will be a small blue flash within the switch.

T.