Clean off excess Deoxit?

I've been cleaning my system with Deoxit D5/Gold and the instructions I revived don't make much clear to me. After I apply the solution and wait some time, is it ok to clean it off with isopropyl alcohol until it's back to bare metal or do I leave some of the Deoxit on the contact?

 

Best to blow off with compressed air and leave a little on the contacts. Probably not a good idea to follow deoxit with isopropyl.

 

This. Always used canned air and get as much of it off or out as possible. If you ever take apart a switch or volume pot that's a couple of decades old and been cleaned a lot. You find a gunky residue.

 

So essentially you guys are saying that Deoxit is more of a cleaner then a protective layer?

 

Yes.

 

Can Deoxit be used to clean bare end silver speaker cables?

Would Deoxit Gold be best to clean dirty connects but where there is some corrosion the Deoxit D5 should be used?

 

I have used deoxit quite a bit in the past to clean switches, it is best to use it sparingly and clean as much of it off as you can. If you can remove the switch or pot from the equipement first, then blow it out with compressed air, this would be the best scenario to prevent getting deoxit all over the rest of the equipment and components.

In my experience, Deoxit only works for so long before the component really needs to be replaced.

 

It depends on the Deoxit product and concentration.

The Gold series for "use on plated connectors, contacts and metal surfaces for maximum performance and protection," as per Caig. The D5 and Deoxit Gold contain both a conditioner/lube and a solvent -- naphtha and/or alcohol -- the 100% solution contains no solvent (for use in the vicinity of stuff that might be damaged by the solvent), although whatever the Dexoit branded active ingredient is is claimed to be both a cleaner and a lubricant (and I have found even the formulations without an added solvent will clean).

If you read the instruction for the D5 -- 5% "Deoxit"; 75% naphtha (lighter fluid); 10% aerosol carrier -- is says spray, work the part, respray, but not to remove. Personally, particularly in the case of heavily oxidized or grungy parts, I say spray, wipe down with a pipe cleaner or rag to remove the dissolved gunk, then respray. And don't like to leave a lot of Deoxit behind so blow drying sounds pretty too. The solvent and carrier ought to evaporate pretty quickly anyway.

 

From the Caig website, maybe relevant:

"What's the best product for silver contact pressure switches that are not accessible after treatment?
....

If the surfaces are plated and clean to the naked eye, use DeoxIT® GOLD.
If the surfaces are are plated, but NOT clean, precede with DeoxIT® contact cleaner, and finish with DeoxIT® GOLD.
If the surfaces are not plated, use DeoxIT® contact cleaner.

For contact surfaces that are difficult to access, a precision spray or needle dispenser might be the best option. To prevent over-application, we recommend using a 5% spray. Apply one short burst, then wait a few minutes, then apply one more quick burst. The products are extremely concentrated, therefore, only small amounts are necessary.

If a 100% solution is desired, for extra lubrication, or if an aerosol is not desired, apply only a small amount to the switch. Operate the switch to distribute the fluid and displace the contamination."

If you have really tarnished silver though, and it's not just a thin plate of silver, and Deoxit isn't enough, you can clean it with silver polish and an alcohol rinse to get off any film or grit (wouldn't do that with plated contacts at the rise of rubbing through the plating). Then if you want to hit it with something like Deoxit as a lube/enhancer, you can.

 

I recently experienced stiffness and contact issues on two of my receiver's switches from dry lube in them (kind of a deoxit) and were gummed up and was advised to spray them to death with Contact cleaner followed by a tiny squirt a dry silicon/teflon-based spray. Man did it work !

 

My volume and balance knobs crackle when I rotate them. I have to turn the knobs back and forth a bunch of times and then the sound dissipates completely until the next time I turn my gear on. I removed the top and sprayed deoxit deep into the back of the knobs to grease up my pots. Worked for a little while but is now up to the same shenanigans. Do you have any tricks for how to clean pots without taking the receiver apart?

 

There are differing of opinions on Deoxit. For some people it's a temporary fix, with scratchiness eventually returning. For others, Deoxit fixes the problem for years. I seem to have good luck with Deoxit. One example is my 1963 Fender Princeton guitar amp. While playing, the volume would jump back and forth between full volume and reduced volume. I tried swapping tubes but the problem remained. I feared the output transformer was going. I pulled the chassis and sprayed some Deoxit into the VOLUME pot, wiggled it back and forth a few times and voila, the volume issue was gone. That was a few years ago and the problem has not returned. On vintage amps it is preferred to keep the amp as original as possible (except for the electrolytic caps), therefore Deoxit eliminated the need to replace the VOLUME pot, which would have potentially reduced the amps value. The problem could return tomorrow, but Deoxit has given me a few more years use of the original VOLUME pot.

 

When cleaning volume pots it is best to build a dam of cloth or paper towel around the pot inside the unit
to keep the liquid from going everywhere. Unless the pot is sealed there will be some holes that you can
use to spray into the pot. While it is wet, exercise the pot and then spray again. I generally follow the two
step process outlined by chervokas earlier in the thread and use the cleaner followed by the lubricant.

Unless the pot is wearing out, the clean/lube process should last for several years.

 

DeOxIt Gold evaporates quickly and leaves no noticeable residue, so I don't care if it makes a mess.

 

The cork sniffers will have a coronary, but WD40 is about as good as it gets for a typical scratchy volume or balance pot.

 

Tarnished/oxidized silver, unlike copper, is still an excellent conductor, so unless it's for cosmetic reasons there is no need to clean it.

 

No. It leaves a layer of lubrication and protection. If you put it on and wash it off again, you're wasting some of it's value.

Deoxit Literature:
"Some film deposits are effectively removed with "wash-type" cleaners such as DustALL, CaiKleen, Tuner Cleaners, CAEON 27, CAEON 28 or alcohol. Oxides and sulfides, however, become an integral part of the contact surface and cannot be removed by ordinary contact cleaners. The most effective method of removing these films is chemical action.DeoxIT dissolves oxides and sulfides that form on metal contact surfaces, removing these sources of resistance. This restores the contact's integrity and leaves a thin (organic) layer that coats and protects the metals. Special additives prevent the dissolved oxides from re-attaching, keeping them in suspension and allowing them to be easily dispersed by the mechanical action of the contact. DeoxIT's unique properties allow it to work on stationary and moving contacts and connectors with similar or dissimilar metals. Even when a treated connector mates with an untreated one, DeoxIT will migrate and coat the other. When connectors are separated, DeoxIT will re-coat the exposed metal surfaces. DeoxIT's advanced formula contains deoxidizers, preservatives, conductivity enhancers, arcing and RFI inhibitors and anti-tarnishing compounds that significantly increase the performance and reliability of electrical components and equipment."

 

DeOxIt Gold is formulated to bond with plated metals and create a protective layer, so there's actually a little residue, but it's a good residue. It's suggested use is as a preventative measure to be applied to NEW equipment, but no reason you can't use it on vintage gear you love.

"ProGold is specifically formulated to improve conductivity and provide long- lasting protection on gold, precious metals and their base metals. It conditions connectors, contacts, and other metal surfaces, thus enhancing the conductivity characteristics to efficiently transmit electrical signals.
ProGold outperforms all other contact cleaners, enhancers and lubricants. Due to its unique properties, it deoxidizes and cleans surface contamination, and penetrates plated surfaces and molecularly bonds to the base metals - NO OTHER PRODUCT DOES THIS. ProGold increases the performance and reliability of all electrical equipment. It improves conductivity for greater definition and dynamics, reduces noise and interference, and lowers distortion. Unlike other products, it also stabilizes connection s between similar and dissimilar metals. Provides long-lasting protection (1-10 years) on gold, silver, rhodium, copper, nickel and other precious metals.
Physical and chemical changes in the surface condition of electrical or electronic connectors are primary causes of degraded performance of components and equipment. When contact surfaces are exposed to dust, smoke, gases, soot, and other solids suspended in the atmosphere, non-metallic films form, inhibiting conductivity. Added resistance and friction between metal surfaces can also cause abrasion, noise, freeze-up, and in some cases, increased power consumption.
A common problem with plated surfaces, especially gold, is the "whiskering" (dendrite corrosion) of base metals to th e surface dueto gold's soft and porous nature. Once exposed, base metals oxidize causing a "blistering" of the surfac es, adding unwanted
resistance that impedes electrical performance. The contact surfaces are actually separated by this blister, thereby reducing the effective contact area. Since gold plated surfaces are thinly coated, they are susceptible to scratching and abrasion , further exposing the base metals.
Conduction through a ProGold coated surface takes place in three ways, First, ProGold can be displaced by electrical arc, shock wave or simple mechanical pressure and will redistribute itself along the surface when the disturbance is removed. Se cond, a thin insulating film of ProGold can be dispersed by an electrical field. Finally, conduction takes place through very thin films of ProGold by means of a quantum- mechanical phenomenon called "tunneling." To avoid detouring into a discussion in physics, simply stated electrons travel from one side of a thin film of ProGold to the other without passing through (this is the same effec t that gave the tunnel diode its name). ProGold fills the gaps in the contact surfaces, increasing the surface area and current flow (conductivity). ProGold penetrates the plated surface and molecularly bonds to the base metals to seal and protect it. Unlike other p roducts, ProGold provides long-lasting protection (1-10+ years) and will not gum-up, evaporate, varnish, char or breakdown. ProGold coats the entire contact surface, providing superior protection from abrasion (insertion resistance), dendrit e corrosion, arcing, RFI, wear, and atmospheric contamination. ProGold will significantly increase the performance and reliability of all electrical components and equipment.

 

WD40 is comprised of Stoddard solvent (white naptha) and paraffin. Paraffin is an electrical insulator and will degrade an electrical signal, not enhance it.

 

Right, but that's exactly what works. A solvent to clean away the crud, and a light lubricant remains to prevent corrosion. The wipers are going to "plow" through and maintain good electrical contact. The old timers used Kerosene, which is closer to what WD-40 is afaik. Carbon Tetrachloride was another, long since banned. When I was in the .mil there was a whole stable of CPC (corrosion preventive compounds) in spray cans for different applications.

"Trike" was a big one (another substance on the chopping block) aka as 1,1,1 Trichloroethane, later emasculated to Trichlorethylene (slated for expungement as well) and then another preservative in the electronics grade level had some kind of barium compound as I recall. I found sensitive black box gear in dusty environments would get wonky even though they had sealed Cannon plugs with gold plated connectors. Wish I would have "borrowed" a can of the electronics grade CPC, that was some good stuff!

I'm afraid water will be the only approved solvent at some point. Have a safe flight!

 

Deoxit D5 worked like a charm for me.

First on my Yamaha A-7000 amplifier's volume control knob then on my P-550 turntable's speed control knob which hadn't worked properly in ages.

Both were repaired without taking anything apart.

 

I have a vintage Panasonic RXC50 mini stereo with detachable speakers. The speakers connect via mini stereo plugs and one of them does not seem to have a proper connection (reduced sound output from speaker).

Can I use Deoxit D5 and spray it into the jack?

 

No. I would not recommend spraying into the jacks. Although not an electronic expert the sound issue seems to be unrelated to the jacks. Perhaps a cap going south.

 

I finally had the motivation to spray off my speaker terminals this past weekend. I don't believe they were ever cleaned since they were made back in 1992. I was amazed at how 'gold' the terminals looked instantly after spraying. I thought they were gold plated but they almost looked like copper. The other bonus was how smoothly the bananas slid in after I finished. Still firm, but I didn't have to force them like usual. Something else that I didn't anticipate.... It could be placebo, but imaging and clarity seems improved. My center image is really locked down. So well, that I felt like I put on a mono record.

 

I'm with Ghostworld on this. I use D5, Gold (G5) and Faderlube (F series) on my vintage gear. The D5 is an effective cleaner but I would experience return of scratchy pots over time. The Gold product provides longer term conductive lubrication and has served me well. The Faderlube is formulated for carbon-based faders, which is what my Marantz used in its balance slider.