On Fri, 14 Aug 2015 04:32:56 -0400, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

On 8/14/2015 12:38 AM, MNMikeW wrote:
On Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:50:27 -0400, Stormin Mormon wrote:

Caig DeOxit might help.

The MSDS is one of the most generic I have ever seen.
http://www.xerox.com/downloads/usa/en/i/i5008.pdf
No telling what it's made of.

It's a mild organic acid dissolved in naptha, or something close to that.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs

Before DioxIT, it was Cramolin. Both concoctions had an assortment of
formulations and a checkered history. Both have also been cloned at
various times. The acid involved is oleic acid, which is food safe
and is used in a variety of cosmetic potions and nostrums:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleic_acid
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=oleic+acid
However, there were some problems. If it wasn't wiped off, it would
slowly attack copper and brass contacts. This was deemed a bad thing
and the oleic acid was removed from the formulations leaving only
mineral oil and no weak acid. Cramolin MSDS:
http://store.caig.com/core/media/media.nl?id=808&c=ACCT113328&h=3f8d8512c835e9a69f6 4&whence=
The MSDS for Caig DeoxIT is listed as a trade secret concoction but is
generally presumed to be the same as Cramolin. If this is correct,
then using DeoxIT to "clean" battery contacts just coats the contacts
with a layer of mineral oil.

Caig has a large selection of cleaners and lubes, many of which
contain some manner of unspecified oxide remover available. That
would be quite suitable if we were removing an oxide. Assuming an
alkaline battery, the white residue is mostly potassium carbonate
(K2CO3) and some potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. Just about
any acidic cleaner will remove that. I use 409 household cleaner and
smear it around with an acid brush. You can tell it's working by the
foam and bubbles produced. When the white crud has been removed, just
wipe it clean. Both chemicals are soluble in water, so you don't
really need an acid, but I like to see the foam and bubbles. After
that, smearing the contacts and PCB with mineral oil (DeoxIT) does
nothing useful becaue the contacts don't need a lube job.

The history of Cramolin, DeoxIT, ProGold, etc.
http://www.siber-sonic.com/electronics/caig.html

The topic appears quite often in the antique radio forums:
http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/search.php
Plug "DeOxit" into the search box.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558