Crc electronics cleaner vs contact cleaner?

Crnelsen1

Active Member
Is there a difference between crc contact cleaner and electronics cleaner? Messaged company was told they are interchangeable but the ingredients are different. Any input?
 

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Well, if that's what they said, write them back and ask for the MDS data sheets or product data sheets. They need to be a bit more clear.

If I had to make a choice, I'd go with the Contact Cleaner for metal-to-metal switching or similar contact. Electronic cleaner sounds more general purpose, although they're vague on the differentiation. Call 'em out!

Cheers,

David
 
I didn't even know they made the contact cleaner. I've only ever used the electronic cleaner, mostly because its what I can get off the shelf at the hardware or auto parts store.
 
I've had some experience with the red QD CRC in my business. It's used in the field as a 'cleaner' to clean wire harness connectors and linkage and some moving parts that get all gunked up with coin dust. One particular tech uses the spray on sealed bearings (I don't approve but, what do I know and, no one would listen anyway). It does a good job on certain applications as it dries fast and leaves no residue. I wouldn't use it for pots and switches on audio gear because I believe it would suck the lube from them. But it is cheap, at around $6.00 a can, so I'm told.

S.J.
 
This was there response indeed the cans contain different ingredients
 

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This was there response indeed the cans contain different ingredients

A poorly written response from CRC. I'd fire the employee that sent such a response. If you google "CRC Contact Cleaner MSDS" and "CRC Electronic Cleaner MSDS" you'll see that they are chemically different. A lot of reformulations and product changes occur because of California's environmental regulations. Just about everything that contains VOCs required reformulation to meet CARBs dictates.
BTW, most often the new formulation is not as good as the original.
 
"Contact cleaner" may not be plastic safe. I use that brand priducts for both cleaning connectors and also washing a needle in my turntable. I use one from blue can that says "plastic safe".
 
I've use the CRC plastic safe stuff for really nasty pots to get the worst of the gunk. It's residue free and safe on anything I've tried. I can dowse the heck out of the pot and I don't have any excess all over the board or running down the side to clean off later. Once I get the pot moving freely I then use something like DeOxit, then lube to restore it back to the smooth feel and stay in good shape. I try to protect where I spray as good as I can with rags, etc but you can't always get in there without tearing the whole thing apart. It just makes it a little easier without doing a lot of disassembly. It takes a lot sometimes but has paid off on some really stubborn pots that DeOxit just wasn't getting it done.
 
I have used the QD Electronic parts cleaner for years with excellent results. It is plastic safe, dries quickly, leaves no residue, inexpensive and readily available.

I have cleaned pots, switches and circuit boards with no problems.

It will remove any existing lubricant so a follow up shot of FaderLube or Radio Shack contact cleaner & lubricant is recommended. Just a drop or two of lube is all that's needed as it does leave a residue and in high doses can be conductive.

I use the two step process because the CRC has no lubricant but it's a better cleaner than the RS product when used alone.
 
I use the red stuff all the time and it works great. The blue stuff costs $3 more for the same size can an Home Depot. I assumed the was some sort of difference.
 
There is no difference. Hexanes/Isohexanes... all the same. Hexane is a 6-carbon hydrocarbon and the formula is C6H14... whether it's the straight hexane or the isohexane. I have purchased the red can QD stuff as well as Caig's deoxit... not a molecule of difference between the two.
 
It doesn't matter what you use. The imporant thing is that you flush the dirt out of your potentiometers and switches. WHAT you use to flush them doesn't really matter. I even find that regular water and dish detergent works best of all. Just take the boards out and scrub them in the shower. Never again a noisy pot or switch.
 
I'll have to try some of the CRC lube. I have some of the Deoxit lube currently. They sure are proud of what they make.
 
I wax under the impression that the CRC products are cleaners whereas deoxit has ingredients which break down corrosion.
With the CRC you'll be left with clean corrosion.
True?
 
I've had both cans in my hands... Caig's Deoxit and CRC QD Contact Cleaner... and both say for the ingredients: hexanes. That's it.
 
My understanding is that Deoxit contains a product sold in Germany called Cramolin - which may be Oleic acid.
I don't think the CRC product contains this.
 
As I've considered my previous post (#20), I found the Material Safety & Data Sheet (MSDS) for both the CRC QD Electronic Cleaner and the Caig Deoxit Contact Cleaner.

I stand corrected. :whip: In my previous post, when I say the "two cans in my hands," those would have to have been BEERS... not electronic contact cleaner.:beerchug:

They contain different stuff... though the desired effect of their use is the same (without getting into anecdotal reports of more or less). Shit... as I read that comment, it would apply equally to the beers. (Guess where I'm headed now?... the fridge.. geez... )

Thanks for steering me into searching just a little deeper.
 
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Sorry for the necro but I got info to share about this, and it doesn't seem to be anywhere else on the interwebs. Here's an excerpt from an email I received from CRC about it:



CRC QD Electonic Cleaner 05101 These two products are the same just different packaging. 05101 is the smaller can. 05103 is the larger can


CRC QD Electronic Cleaner 05103 ^^^

CRC QD Contact Cleaner 02130 - This is the QD Contact Cleaner for the electrical line

CRC Industrial QD Contact Cleaner 03130 - This is the QD Contact Cleaner for the industrial line
These two products are very similar and they are stronger than the 05101/05103 but same characteristics: fast evaporating, plastic safe, *extremely flammable*

CRC Contact Cleaner 2000 Liquid Precision Cleaner 02140 This product is completely different from the 4 above. It is non-flammable, but not safe for plastics.

Just thought I'd share since obviously people like myself still needed the info. When pressed about Electronic vs Contact cleaner, I was told that 05103 was the product I should use for circuit boards. 02130 for electric contacts.

DeOxit works as well, but the ones with "lube' leave a film that attracts dust. It's way better for potentiometers and sliders however. Honestly, 90% IPA does the safest and cleanest job imo. On vintage stuff definitely.
 
Just look up the MSDS!

The safe and inert ingredients are generally omitted from the MSDS, but one can infer them.

You'll see the first type is a mix of highly flammable petroleum and HFC solvents (same as refrigerants). (NB: the HFCs destroy the ozone layer at a far slower rate than the HCFC refrigerants which they replaced, but these are strong greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.)

I stripped out the relevant bits so everyone may be enlightened.

QD Contact Cleaner 03130
2-methylpentane (similar to hexane) 30 - 40%
1,1-difluoroethane HFC-152a 20 - 30%
naphtha (petroleum), hydrotreated 20 - 30%
n-hexane 5 - 10%
2,2,4-trimethylpentane 3 - 5%
isopropyl alcohol 1 - 3%
n-pentane 1 - 3%
2,2-dimethylbutane < 1%
2,3-dimethylbutane < 1%
3-methylpentane < 1%

CRC Contact Cleaner 2000
COzol 401 80 - 90%
Carbon dioxide 5 - 10%
Decafluoropentane HFC 43-10mee 5 - 10%
Methanol < 0.2%

So what's that COzol? Some sort of proprietary blend:
Component Oral LD50 (rat) Dermal LD50 (rabbit) Inhalation LC50 (rat)
COzol® 401 (Ingredient #1) 1235 mg/kg > 5 g/kg 24,100 ppm
COzol® 401 (Ingredient #2) > 2000 mg/kg No data No data
COzol® 401 (Ingredient #3) 5000 mg/kg 12,800 mg/kg 16,000 ppm/8H
COzol® 401 (Ingredient #4) 6653 mg/kg No data 15,000 ppm

The high LD50 (the amount killing half of the animals) suggests this is a blend of detergents and surfactants.

So we can hazard a guess that the concealed ingredients are likely something along the lines of oleic acid (olive oil and most human fat is oleic acid, so don't sweat it) and palmitic acid, which will solubilize the metal salts (corrosion). Same as in De-Ox-It!. No magic here.

This concealment is such nonsense. Anyone with a decent lab could identify it in fifteen minutes, all computerized nowadays, no secrets.
 
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