Members mbengs1 Posted July 16, 2017 Members Share Posted July 16, 2017 I tried using wd40 on the input and output jacks and the pot of my wah wah. is it ok to do this? I didn't put any wd40 in the power supply input though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axisplayer Posted July 16, 2017 Members Share Posted July 16, 2017 NO! You want to use Caig Deoxit for those jobs. Here is a link so you can read about it, but you can find slightly better price than this. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DeoxIT?product_id=DeoxIT&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%2520-%2520Core&adgroup=Accessories%2520-%2520Audio%2520Tools&placement=google&adpos=1o1&creative=54989263441&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CI2Ez_jYjNUCFdqFswodezwFxA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nice keetee Posted July 16, 2017 Members Share Posted July 16, 2017 perhaps ONLY on mechanical wah teeth gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mbengs1 Posted July 17, 2017 Author Members Share Posted July 17, 2017 I got great results from using wd-40 on my wah wah. it sounds thicker and stronger now. it used to sound like a vintage wah sorta like hendrix or cream. now it sounds like vai or satriani. so this is great. i don't know how long it will last though if it will go back to being a vintage sounding wah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 17, 2017 Members Share Posted July 17, 2017 Great results but short lived. That pot will go bad in no time. You should ask a pro before doing dumb things like that. It will save you allot of work later when that pot becomes crackly and fails. WD40 is a moisture/corrosion inhibitor. It was invented by the military to prevent weapons from rusting. It is not an electrical contact cleaner and in fact will leave a residue that is non conductive. Used on pots it will decrease they're life and cause the carbon pads to wear through at an accelerated rate. You may see temporary results of improvement but they will be short lived once the chemical develops a film and the carbon begins to break down. You should ONLY use a lubricating contact cleaner on pots which contains mineral oil and/or silicone lubricants. On switches and jacks you should only use a non lubricating contact cleaner, reason being is the lubrication arcs out and creates carbon pits in the metal which again decreases the life of the components. The lubrication also creeps onto circuit boards and attracts dirt which eventually shorts the components out or lowers the electrical resistance. On plastic connectors, especially the ones made of PVC (commonly found in patch bays) only the contacts can be cleaned. Any contact cleaner containing alcohol that gets on the PVC will cause it to break down and crack into pieces. Nylon jacks can be cleaned with non lubricating cleaner only. Lubricating cleaner causes the plastic welds that hold the contacts in place to loosen and fall apart. Plastic connectors are not normally cleaned, only replaced. WD does make a contact cleaner now to compete with other contact cleaners. Last time I checked it was non lubricating. Regular WD should never be used on or around gold plated metals. It will strip the gold plating right off. Pots should only be cleaned with cleaners designed to lubricate. Its the lubrication that restores the contact of the rotor to the carbon pad. Once the pad is worn through only replacement will fix the problem. Pots should never be cleaned unless they are exhibiting contact noise issues. The cleaning process reduces they're lifespan and all you wind up doing is accelerating they're failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Stick with contact cleaner - never use WD40 (unless it's this stuff) on electronic components like pots. It's okay to use it on mechanical components such as gears... but it shouldn't be used as a contact cleaner substitute. It is going to probably work for a short while, but in the long run it's going to attract dirt that will re-gunk the pot, making it worse than it was when you started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted July 17, 2017 Members Share Posted July 17, 2017 Strange you can get WD-40 in Asia but not the contact cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 Strange you can get WD-40 in Asia but not the contact cleaner. I've never seen their contact cleaner in a store here in the USA either. I'd probably try a can if I saw it, but Caig DeOxIt works great, and I've never felt the need to use anything else, so I've never gone out of my way to try to find a can of the WD-40 contact cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 17, 2017 Members Share Posted July 17, 2017 This WD contact cleaner is a non residue cleaner made for electrical contacts only. Its designed to clean contacts and circuits, removing resin, oils and dirt. It is NOT a pot cleaner. You cant just clean pots. They will become scratchy as hell if you do. The cleaner has to have lubricants specifically designed for carbon based pots. You could use this stuff on wire wound rheostats but not regular carbon pots. Deoxit D5 will work on older all metal pots like the CTS and possibly the Alpha. If the pots are inexpensive imports they likely have nylon shafts and rotor and this stuff can make them feel loose as hell. Deoxit Fader F5 or F100 Spray is probably the best because it contains lubricants which allow easy sliding plastic-to-plastic and plastic-to-metal surfaces. Other lubricating cleaners may make pots and faders hang up, glitch or and hard to move after cleaning because they use either mineral oil or silicone to lubricate and nylon hangs up on it. You can also buy the Deoxit Fader Grease when restoring a mixer. You can either squeeze it in with a hypo or take the faders apart and wipe it on to get that smooth plush feel back. Many audio pots, especially Hi Fi stuff need to bs completely degreased then repacked with this stuff. The old Tapco mixers had this stuff in there. If you use regular contact cleaner on them they would simply freeze up like glue. This is the only stuff that properly restores them and you have to disassemble the pots to get it in there. By the way here's an article on manual inspection and cleaning http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Clean-The-Controls-On-Your-Amplifier/ These are the kind of pots that need the grease on the shafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilson Effects Posted July 30, 2017 Members Share Posted July 30, 2017 MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner is probably one of the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted July 31, 2017 Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 That's what I've used for decades. Most electronic companies I've worked for buy it wholesale. CRC makes some cleaners too. The chemical content is essentially the same on many of them. You can simply google the safety data sheets to see what chemicals they use. Pot cleaners use either mineral oil and/or silicones to lubricate the carbon contacts and prevent arching. Contact cleaners have no lubricants. They usually contain denatured alcohol and other cleaners distillates which strip the surfaces bone dry which is the worst thing you can do to a potentiometer. The harsh chemicals weaken the carbon surface, Pots become scratchy without the lubricant and the contact wears through the surface in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilson Effects Posted July 31, 2017 Members Share Posted July 31, 2017 Very well explained WRGKMC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MesaMonster Posted August 2, 2017 Members Share Posted August 2, 2017 Would'nt it be cheaper and easier just to replace the pot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 2, 2017 Members Share Posted August 2, 2017 So question; what do they use in Europe and Asia ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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