Deoxit. What type to use??

[W8EJO]

back in the 70's, there were loads of old Volvos or Saabs (can't remember which), that looked like miniature versions of 1952 Fords.

Volvo PV444

[W3SLK]

Jack said:

have an Ace in the hole here, a little electronics supply house over in McKeesport Pa. Barno Electronics..he sells all sorts of things and has a very good supply of chemicals on hand..and even sells online..and a goodly choice in Toobies..

I'm with you Jack. Around here Moyer's electronics carries all the MCM and Caig stuff. If they don't have it, they can get it for you usually at the price you could pay for it off the internet, (with shipping). I'm all in favor of using local parts jobbers.  http://www.moyerelectronics.com/

[WU2D]

My first cans of the red stuff were aerosol and my next can was the pump (which I despised at first). After using each type, I can report that there are times when you need each type so now I buy one can of each!

The stuff is expensive, but it is a real help in a vintage station full of tired oxidized components.

How much would 92 octane gas be if you put in in a fancy spray can?

Mike WU2D

 

[ka3zlr]

The thing is what works and if your happy that's good, I don't do as much restoring as I did at one time, therefore the Deoxit Program is really not cost effective for me, like I said I won't say it doesn't work...just the program is a waste of good product for it to sit to long..and if you follow some of their line that's Great..Use it up..Try these things out..WD's FBOM..and there are differing flavors on the brake cleaners..But I do confess. when i'm Cleaning..Cap Plates etc...things that need the hand oils um Greases etc,  boiled out that brake cleaner is the bees knees...it's Stinks alot though..Big problem in a small shop...and then I'll go back after drying and Lube..

Now another good question is what's everybody using in todays market for a lube I'd like to read up on a Good Electronic Component Grease...

[KA1ZGC]

WD-40 is the Duct Tape of the aerosol spray world, but doesn't stick around long and you end up re-treating whatever was acting up. It works in a pinch, and is also great for de-gunking things and getting them moving again. Always follow up with a real lube on things like gears and other metal-to-metal contact surfaces. IIRC, WD stands for Water Displacement, which is no doubt why it works well on wet ignition wires, distributor caps, and so on. It wasn't really meant as a lubricant anymore than duct tape was meant to hold car fenders together

I agree it is not the best lubricant for mechanical parts, nor is it the best penetrating oil for frozen or  stuck screws.  But for me, it is the best contact cleaner I have ever used.  The noisy controls stay quiet, and intermittent switches stay functional, while with commercial contact cleaner, allegedly designed for the purpose, the improvement is short lived at best.

It's not a lubricant at all, and was never meant to be. In fact, it's a solvent for many lubricants, particularly silicon-based ones.

Back when I was still in the repair biz, there was a VCR that came through our shop that was siezed up solid. The tape extraction arms (that pull the tape out of the cassette and wrap it around the head) were jammed in place, surrounded by metal shavings and reeking of WD-40.

So the call was made to (whomever makes WD-40) and didn't have to get transferred too many times before we got someone who could tell us exactly what WD-40 would do to DuPont Lube Gel (the lube the manufacturers use): turn it into DuPont Drip Juice. He also re-iterated numerous times that WD-40 is not a lubricant, it's an ultra-light oil for displacing water.

This was followed by a phone call to the "repair" shop that previously had the unit, the guy confirmed that he used WD-40 for just about everything, "why not?".

This info was handed to the customer, who then handed it to her lawyer, who then sued the guy, who then had to close his business when his other customers found out that his use of WD-40 not only made their VCRs (hissette decks, CD players, turntables, you name it) stink up the house, but was also the reason they all stopped working altogether within a few days or weeks of getting them back from him.

I almost felt bad for the guy until I found out how much stuff he'd wrecked, and how he'd misled his customers about his knowledge and experience.

Also: never use WD-40 on or anywhere near any plastic or rubber parts (like plastic potentiometers or rubber drive belts). It will slowly eat plastic, and dehydrate rubber. In both cases, you eventually wind up with a pitted, brittle, useless mess.

The best use for WD-40 in electronics is as a flamethrower to kill wasps in the shop.

--Thom
Kilowatt Amplifier One Zero Grid Current

[ab3al]

WD-40 is not a lubricant, it's an ultra-light oil for displacing water.

thats where they got the name  it was a water displacement experiment

water displacement oil batch 40...

look it up

[w5kcm]

Ok, maybe I should not use the WD-40. I have heard horror stories of folks using some kind of electronic spray cleaner and all the plastic started disintegrating. 
Thanks for all the info...seems like the best bet is to get some Deoxit D5. Should be effective and safe except to breathe.  Keep it going. I will check in from time to time and read. Thanks & 73, Randy... BTW, been making a few contacts,CW on the old Heath AT-1.
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/wb5kcm/sets/72157603797664318/
Listen close for me on 3561.1 KCs.

[k4kyv]

never use WD-40 on or anywhere near any plastic or rubber parts (like plastic potentiometers or rubber drive belts). It will slowly eat plastic, and dehydrate rubber. In both cases, you eventually wind up with a pitted, brittle, useless mess.

Maybe that's why it has always worked for me.  The only electronic stuff I have ever used it to clean was built in the 50's or earlier, when they used mostly metal, and the most common plastic was bakelite.  It quietened the mode switch on my 75A-4 as well as the AF gain pot.  If it were ever going to disintegrate either one of those, they would never have made it for the 10 years that have passed since I last used it to clean them.

Another item I have successfully used it on is toggle switches, the kind that use the metal handle, metal frame and stacked bakelite wafers with soldering lugs on the back.

I have found bakelite immune to almost any solvent, including paint stripper, but  never try to clean anything made of any kind of phenolic with cleansers like 409 or Fantastik.  Those agents will dissolve the glossy skin and leave the filler exposed, rendering it impossible to restore the sheen.  I ruined a set of antique National vernier bakelite dials when I cleaned them with the stuff.

[W3SLK]

Don said:

I have found bakelite immune to almost any solvent, including paint stripper, but  never try to clean anything made of any kind of phenolic with cleansers like 409 or Fantastik.  Those agents will dissolve the glossy skin and leave the filler exposed, rendering it impossible to restore the sheen.  I ruined a set of antique National vernier bakelite dials when I cleaned them with the stuff.

Those tend to be ammonia based. You want to avoid using anything with ammonia in it on stuff that is acrylic. Also with regards to WD-40, it does have some lubricating properties, so be careful how much you use since lubricants have a tendancy to act as dust magnets.

[W1UJR]

If it works on Atlas rockets, should work fine on other "boatanchors". 


From Wikipedia.com

WD-40
WD-40 is the trademark of a widely used penetrating oil (cleaner, lubricant and anti-corrosive solution) spray. It was developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen (then working for the Rocket Chemical Company) to eliminate water and prevent corrosion.[1] The product is currently sold for many household uses. WD-40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th formula. Larsen was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion by displacing water, and arrived at the formula on his 40th attempt.[1]WD-40 was first used by Convair to protect the outer skin of the Atlas missile from rust and corrosion.[1] The product first became commercially available on store shelves in San Diego in 1958.[1

Formulation
Main ingredients, from the material safety data sheet, are:
50%: Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, somewhat similar to, but not the same as, kerosene)
25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability)
15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
10-%: Inert ingredients
The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety relevant ingredients:
60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
1-5%: Carbon dioxide

Why Not To Smash A Can Of WD-40
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/darwin-at-work
(turn audio off - not family safe)

[KA1ZGC]

Ok, maybe I should not use the WD-40. I have heard horror stories of folks using some kind of electronic spray cleaner and all the plastic started disintegrating. 

You can use it, just use it very carefully. It's good for cleaning relay contacts.

Like Don was saying, if the rig (and all its components) are of sufficient age, you won't run into too much trouble.

Timtron must go through a case a week of the stuff, he uses it for everything from wirewound pots to incinerating wasps to carpentry projects. Wouldn't suprise me if he gargled it in the morning.

Name one radio problem where he didn't advise the person to "spritz-douche everything with WD, fatten up the coupling caps, and wrap negative feedback around everything". If the rig's old enough, WD won't do any real damage.

Just be mindful of its drying and solvent properties, keep it away from rubber, modern plastics, and printed circuits, and you'll be fine.

--Thom
Killer Agony One Zipper Got Caught

[W1RKW]

I ruined a multi wafer switch with contact cleaner that left a residue and developed a carbon track which eventually burned a portion of a wafer to a cinder. I can't remember if it was DeOxIt or some other stuff.  But I concluded that it is important to remove extraneous residue from areas where large amounts of voltage are present.

never use WD-40 on or anywhere near any plastic or rubber parts (like plastic potentiometers or rubber drive belts). It will slowly eat plastic, and dehydrate rubber. In both cases, you eventually wind up with a pitted, brittle, useless mess.

Maybe that's why it has always worked for me.  The only electronic stuff I have ever used it to clean was built in the 50's or earlier, when they used mostly metal, and the most common plastic was bakelite.  It quietened the mode switch on my 75A-4 as well as the AF gain pot.  If it were ever going to disintegrate either one of those, they would never have made it for the 10 years that have passed since I last used it to clean them.

Another item I have successfully used it on is toggle switches, the kind that use the metal handle, metal frame and stacked bakelite wafers with soldering lugs on the back.

I have found bakelite immune to almost any solvent, including paint stripper, but  never try to clean anything made of any kind of phenolic with cleansers like 409 or Fantastik.  Those agents will dissolve the glossy skin and leave the filler exposed, rendering it impossible to restore the sheen.  I ruined a set of antique National vernier bakelite dials when I cleaned them with the stuff.