"none" bravely wrote to "All" (23 Nov 04 23:19:00)
--- on the heady topic of " Can switch cleaner damage pots?"

no From: none

no On Mon, 22 Nov 2004 00:15:15 -0800, "Blake"
no wrote:

I just picked up a used guitar amplifier. One of the pots was a little bit
noisy, so I opened it up and sprayed all of the pots with DeoxIt D5 contact
cleaner. When I tried out the amp afterwards, all of the pots were quite
noisy. Much worse than before I cleaned them.

What happened? Did I damage the pots by "cleaning" them with the wrong
cleaner? (The label says it's for use on pots, but it really emphasized its
ability to remove oxidation from switches.) What's the preferred
cleaner/lubricant for potentiometers?


no Did you allow the cleaner to evaporate out or blow it out with
no compressed air?
no I use a CRC contact cleaner that evaporates in seconds.
no Sometimes the graphite used in pots flakes up and when cleaned with
no spray cleaner actually washes off completely leaving metal to metal
no contact inside the pot.

The carbon track is not metal to metal but metal to fiberboard or
whatever plastic is used. I think the problem is either that the
contact cleaner washes away all the lubricant and the contact becomes
dry or that dislodged dust particles coat the track and cause the
noise. The solution to the first is to use a couple of drops of
silcone lubricant and for the latter to do a more thorough pressure
wash so no gunk remains. Also some contact cleaners soften plastics so
it may be a better idea with these to allow them to dry completely
before using the pot or damage could result to the carbon track.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... From small chips to big breasts, silicone is great!