White Vinegar.

7.62

Infinity nutcase.
I took this method for cleaning the potentiometer's from another member here. Why this is not a sticky for this forum kinda surprises me. There was no mention of this while I was dealing with mine.

Distilled White Vinegar, simply removing the potentiometer, taking it apart and soaking in the vinegar for a short time really does clean them up very well. Reassemble, use your favorite lube and they are back in service.

I used an old toothbrush to lightly scrub the individual parts.
 
Interesting and cheap.
I've used vinegar to clean my tea kettle, didn't know it could clean (audio) pots as well.
 
Tile and toilet cleaner made using phosphoric acid is also good for metal work. I pick it up at janitor services by the gallon and then dilute it 50/50 with water. I use it on my fishing reels and it make them look almost new. When the filter caps puked inside my Big ONK, it stained and corroded the bottom plate. The corrosion spot was un-helpable, but the rest of the metal plate ended up looking new.
 
Using acid on gear is probably not a good idea. Especially if you don't/can't neutralize it. It's corrosive.
 
The vinegar I think is a much safer way than go. I should have done pics. It pretty much cut through and eliminated all of the visible green corrosion around the rivets and pins and merely putting the other parts in a rag and rubbing them in between your fingers polished them up to a nice shine.
 
I can see vinegar working.
You really need to nuetralize or rinse afterwards though .
Many (think 35+) years ago cleaned sled contacts on a Dual TT with Tarn-x . Cleaned great , looked beautiful. Didn't rinse properly. Ended up worse than when started.
 
I should have mentioned that. I DID NOT RINSE any of the parts. I wiped them down as described and let them dry in the sun until they were dry and hot to the touch. I guess time will tell. My guess is they will be good for another 30 years.
 
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