The Idiot's Guide to Using DeOxit (revisited)

Has anyone tried Naphtha with 5% Oleic acid (a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid) as a switch and pot cleaner/lubricant?
If you can't get Oleic acid, Olive oil should work. Oleic Acid makes up 55 to 83% of olive oil, but don't double the olive oil... too oily!
Disclaimer: I've not tried this. I only use 99% Iso-propyl alcohol (no lubricant, it washes lubricant off pot and switch mechanisms), Deoxit D5 and WD40 (leaves an oily residue.) .
Cheers,
Roger
PS. This is NOT a Deoxit knock-off... Caig rightly gets very upset if people say it is! Deoit must have "Premium Soluble Pixie Dust" in it to sell at $25 a small can!

 

I'm glad to let others with lots of letters in front of their name, in higher pay grades, figure out formulas with the ability to clean and not harm.



Barney

 

I've experimented with it, but haven't had the courage to use it in anything of value. My initial reaction was how non-aggressive the oleic acid is. They use it in cleaning formulas for clock parts (brass) too, and I've tried that for removing metal oxides. You don't want anything that's going to attack the surfaces over time, yet you want something that cleans off the oxides quickly. Though I like to experiment with such things, I also just dropped $50 on some more cans of DeOxit and Faderlube, so you know where my loyalties lie.

 

Naphtha is highly flammable BTW! Is it plastic safe?



Barney

 

Interesting points, Conrad, thanks. I have been concerned that Deoxit on pots could dissolve the carbon track, also I'm not sure it leaves the needed lubricant.
I have used WD40 successfully on vintage radio pots (lowish value!), but not yet on my decent Hi-Fi stuff. I would have no qualms about Oleic Acid.
Cheers,
Roger
PS. Barney, I don't know!

 

Naphtha is fairly safe on plastics, but always do a test on some inconspicuous area to be sure. I've used a lot of D5 on pots, but finally got some Faderlube. It's pretty similar, but leaves a bit of oil. D5 for switch contacts, Faderlube for pots. Use sparingly or you'll wash out the damping grease, which is darn near impossible to replace and get the factory feel back in the knob.

 

Interesting idea, I get wanting to hack the system, but I certainly would not put olive oil in anything but food. Most vegetable oils oxidize and turn into a sort of gummy varnish over time. I do occasionally use naptha (white gas/campstove fuel) to clean parts, but I'm really careful with it. While Deoxit D5 leaves mineral spirits behind they will, like kerosene, evaporate and go away. It just takes longer than naptha, which is partly why we are much more likely to keep our eyebrows intact while using it. The 5% pixie dust stays, but that's the whole idea.

Whatever the pixie dust in Deoxit is, it <seems> to work. When using the D5 spray I'm talking about above, remember we're only getting 5% pixie dust and 95% mineral spirits. I just looked, and you can get a can of D5 for $14 on Amazon, and it might be worth getting a small tube of D100 with 100% pixie dust for another $5 and then see if you still want to experiment with olive oil and gasoline.

 

Thanks for the thread! Doing my Pioneer sx-828 now. I have the face place off, and am pretty sure I don't need to go further, but looking for confirmation. DeOxit goes here? View attachment 849681

 

To add more info for this, I've never had or seen greenish gunk on my well maintained gear, ever. Upon seeing it for the first time when cleaning the RCA and speaker jacks, the only thing I'd done differently the previous time I'd cleaned was also apply the deoxit gold. That's what had me curious whether I'd left too much of the gold on the jacks, or if some other issue had arisen. I'm now leery of using the gold product at all since there was a lot of this green junk.

 

No. Those holes are for keeping the pots from rotating when you turn the knob. They lock in the pot to the chassis.

 

Hi. Did my first deoxit and cleaning following this guide. Thanks. It has been real useful.

Everything went right and I notice very clear improvement. Sound is clearer and all the little cracks and Pops on some of the knobs are gone. The knobs feel more lubricated when handling.

Just a question. I used canned hair and deoxit as in the guide, but o noticed that some boards had some noticeable grime when I passed a q-tip or my finger through them. This is the type of grime the compressed air can't remove.

Should I just let it be? Does it have any impact on sound.? Read on another thread a more detailed cleaning method that's involves taking the whole thing apart and washing the boards in warm water. I don't have the skills to do this.. I wouldn't be able to get it back in one piece..

Thanks

 

Looks like no one knows for sure? I can say that such grime on the capacitors and resistors will impede cooling. What I would suggest is rubbing off the dust grime on such components while having a vacuum nozzle several inches away to help remove dust if needed. It may take a while as you clean each cap, etc., and you'll be changing out Q-tips. Also, inspect the heat sinks. Attached to them somewhere are the output devices, which get quite warm as well. They may be attached to the heat sinks underneath, in which case won't get near as much dust coating. Removing grime from the circuit board itself may be more trouble than it's worth and washing would be too involved for myself as well.

 

No need to go nuts cleaning, really, unless you are doing some sort of beauty contest restoration. Most components don't have to dissipate any real heat. Power transistors and the heat sinks would be an exception. I use a paintbrush to dislodge loose dust without damaging anything, and the vacuum cleaner to suck it away. Taking boards out to wash in warm water sounds like someone with OCD, a bridge too far IMHO. I take mine to the dry cleaners ;-)

 

Great article going to have to try and deox my pioneer

 

Hi guys! CAIG Labs here, the manufacturer of DeoxIT.
Thank you for all your support by using DeoxIT products, we really appreciate it.
We would like to do a contest/giveaway as our way to say thank you (fyi we also do it quite often on our Facebook page).
We will do one giveaway and if we have a lot of interest to it, we can do more giveaways for you guys in monthly basis
Which prize that you guys like to win for our first giveaway? Let us know what you think! Thank you!


DeoxIT D5 spray (D5S-6) or DeoxIT 100% Liquid (D100L-25C)

Which DeoxIT to use? - [URL='https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi8wFc8FipRo1rjc7nBzraA']YouTube[/URL] by CAIG Labs

 

Speaking for myself, I use more of the spray than the liquid. I bought the suite of DeoxIT products and use it everywhere.

 

I second trikster about the spray!

 

Thank you, we just creating a poll, please cast your vote on this thread:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/deoxit-giveaway-soon.770251/

 

Thank you, we just creating a poll, please cast your vote on this thread:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/deoxit-giveaway-soon.770251/