Magic Spray

[im_alan_partridge]

Im sure ive read on here about a spray that you spray into switches to help them work properly, kind of a first thing to try before stripping everything apart
Does this sound familiar to anybody? Sorry i know this is really vague.

 

[neko]

In Poland we have spray called, kontakt, kontakt S and kontakt U really good ones. But i dont know if theyre available in other countries

 

[docs]

Maplins sell a spray called contact cleaner, take a look on their website. That is what i use and its the dogs danglies.

 

[im_alan_partridge]

Cheers guys, Contact cleaner, Thanks Docs. I do have some concern about spraying anything into something im then going to plug into the mains.

 

[docs]

The aim is to get that spray into the pot or slider for the controls. In order to do this effectively, you need to get inside the box and sometimes take some things apart and remove some things to get at them. Once you have a direct access to them you can spray into them much easier. If you are concerned about a bit of splash from the contact cleaner, place a tissue around the back of the direction you spray. Though the solution dries up quickly and shouldn't leave any lasting residue, the alchohol base sees to that.

 

[Superduper]

The aim is to get that spray into the pot or slider for the controls. In order to do this effectively, you need to get inside the box and sometimes take some things apart and remove some things to get at them. Once you have a direct access to them you can spray into them much easier. If you are concerned about a bit of splash from the contact cleaner, place a tissue around the back of the direction you spray. Though the solution dries up quickly and shouldn't leave any lasting residue, the alchohol base sees to that.

Not true. Many contact cleaners will leave a lasting residue. Even good old deoxit leaves a film residue. The only ones that supposedly does not leave a residue and evaporates completely technically does evaporate but the wash will leave residue from the dirt, grime, grease, that gets washed away. In other words, everything that gets cleaned off dissolves into solution that if not removed, will remain on whatever and wherever the solution ends up on when the solvent evaporates. That's why the way to do a proper cleaning in my book, is to disassemble far enough until you have access to the controls or switches you want to clean, and also to clean up after the cleaning. I've probably said this a dozen times already but there is the easy way, then there is the right way.

 

[docs]

True and I agree completely, which is why it is a good idea to place a cloth or tissue around the area to avoid it. However, I'm yet to see a box that fell apart due to having contact clener residue around the area of the switches/pots but it is not ideal I agree.

 

[Superduper]

True and I agree completely, which is why it is a good idea to place a cloth or tissue around the area to avoid it. However, I'm yet to see a box that fell apart due to having contact clener residue around the area of the switches/pots but it is not ideal I agree.

What I have seen frequently is:
(1) smoke type film covering the insides of the tuner/cassette/meter glass from the fumes as they evaporate
(2) Belts get destroyed or non-functional due to lubrication from the cleaner itself, or the grease/oils that gets washed from non-residue cleaners
(3) dust and grime accumulation that sticks to the remaining oily residue
(4) huge problems when the boombox insides look like it was soaked in WD-40 (probably was)
(5) grease on slide areas of cassette deck gets washed away.
(6) TUNER issues due to residue washed into the varicaps and transformer coils, and other capacitive sensitive components.

Trying to spray cleaner from the front (by removing knobs) into rotary controls is almost silly since the shaft fits very tight against the sleeve and the gap is frequently packed with grease. To get enough (if any) cleaner into that area will require spraying so much that it's going to get over everything for sure. Also, it will wash the grease from the shaft too. Frequently the tuner board is located right behind / beneath that area too. I know this practice will continue to be done because it's so much easier than disassembling the boombox. But it's not something I do, not even occassionally. Perhaps the person doing the work is careful. But newbies read all the time how easy it is to just spray, spray, spray, baby and gets into trouble. Therefore, I don't condone the practice of spraying from the outside. The only exception is on sliders where I feel comfortable that I am actually spraying into the control itself, and even then, just the slightest hint of cleaner should do the job.

 

[monchito]

the best way is dismantle the board soak it in good ole bucket of soap and water then let dry out in the son for a good week the put together

 

[Superduper]

You know, Ramon -- I have heard some people in the AK forum talk about washing their home stereo receivers in the dishwasher.

I have heard that it works! But I would be very careful on tuners because the hot water will most definitely remove the wax in the tuner.

But the goal was to wash off years of dirt/grime and not deoxidize the controls. For that, some contact cleaner is definitely in order. However, a good old fashion soaking might be just the ticket on those afterwards.

 

[monchito]

You know, Ramon -- I have heard some people in the AK forum talk about washing their home stereo receivers in the dishwasher.

I have heard that it works! But I would be very careful on tuners because the hot water will most definitely remove the wax in the tuner.

But the goal was to wash off years of dirt/grime and not deoxidize the controls. For that, some contact cleaner is definitely in order. However, a good old fashion soaking might be just the ticket on those afterwards.

i have heard those stories also norm thats why i said that and you are right about the tuner ,, basicly that would be the only thing but sometimes a whole dismantle is in order if its in bad shape ,, just trying to fix it when its in bad shape is just a waste,, sometimes you have to dive in with all you got

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

The aim is to get that spray into the pot or slider for the controls. In order to do this effectively, you need to get inside the box and sometimes take some things apart and remove some things to get at them. Once you have a direct access to them you can spray into them much easier. If you are concerned about a bit of splash from the contact cleaner, place a tissue around the back of the direction you spray. Though the solution dries up quickly and shouldn't leave any lasting residue, the alchohol base sees to that.

Not true. Many contact cleaners will leave a lasting residue. Even good old deoxit leaves a film residue. The only ones that supposedly does not leave a residue and evaporates completely technically does evaporate but the wash will leave residue from the dirt, grime, grease, that gets washed away. In other words, everything that gets cleaned off dissolves into solution that if not removed, will remain on whatever and wherever the solution ends up on when the solvent evaporates. That's why the way to do a proper cleaning in my book, is to disassemble far enough until you have access to the controls or switches you want to clean, and also to clean up after the cleaning. I've probably said this a dozen times already but there is the easy way, then there is the right way.

Two Questions related to this subject

1 do you blow out the area being cleaned after the cleaning solution has been applied to the switch, pot or slider with compressed air?

2 do you have to apply a lubricant to a switch, pot or slider after cleaning?

 

[Superduper]

Two Questions related to this subject

1 do you blow out the area being cleaned after the cleaning solution has been applied to the switch, pot or slider with compressed air?

2 do you have to apply a lubricant to a switch, pot or slider after cleaning?

(1) Depends on the situation. If the chassis was removed from the case, then for sure. If the chassis is still in the case, then no because blowing it will surely cause some of it to go onto the backside of the tuner glass, cassette door and other areas where it's not desirable for it will surely leave a film and require complete disassembly to remove. Just use care, lots of rolled up paper towells to soak up excess and do not spray indiscriminately. Finally, use some good old common sense and anticipate before acting. Always shroud the tuner area before spraying, especially near the varicaps, and anywhere where there is wax. Believe it or not, the wax is there for good reason. Those areas are extremely sensitive to capacitance changes and the wax is used to "set" the components in position to prevent any movement. Yes, movement of the components can possibly change the capacitance response of those areas and the resonance of those tuned circuits. Likewise, introducing a film to that area could also change the capacitance.

(2) Deoxit already has some lubricant in it and additional lubrication is not necessary for the feelers/contacts to slide across the resistor board. However, if in doubt, you can add some Caig faderlube. However, I find that the controls feels quite grabby and not at all smooth after faderlube application. The proper way to relube the controls is to disassemble them, clean them by hand, then reapply silicone grease to shafts of rotary controls and along the edges of the slide on sliders. DO NOT apply grease on the resistor board or the control will no longer work. Don't bother testing out this theory because I already did. Although disassembly of controls may sound rather extreme -- this is the only way to restore that like-new feeling to the controls. The problem is that many folks flood the controls with contact cleaner and end up stripping all the grease from the sliding/rotating surfaces. The trick is to use only a teeny bit to clean the resistor and feelers and no so much to cause the grease to run off the rest of the control.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Two Questions related to this subject

1 do you blow out the area being cleaned after the cleaning solution has been applied to the switch, pot or slider with compressed air?

2 do you have to apply a lubricant to a switch, pot or slider after cleaning?

(1) Depends on the situation. If the chassis was removed from the case, then for sure. If the chassis is still in the case, then no because blowing it will surely cause some of it to go onto the backside of the tuner glass, cassette door and other areas where it's not desirable for it will surely leave a film and require complete disassembly to remove. Just use care, lots of rolled up paper towells to soak up excess and do not spray indiscriminately. Finally, use some good old common sense and anticipate before acting. Always shroud the tuner area before spraying, especially near the varicaps, and anywhere where there is wax. Believe it or not, the wax is there for good reason. Those areas are extremely sensitive to capacitance changes and the wax is used to "set" the components in position to prevent any movement. Yes, movement of the components can possibly change the capacitance response of those areas and the resonance of those tuned circuits. Likewise, introducing a film to that area could also change the capacitance.

(2) Deoxit already has some lubricant in it and additional lubrication is not necessary for the feelers/contacts to slide across the resistor board. However, if in doubt, you can add some Caig faderlube. However, I find that the controls feels quite grabby and not at all smooth after faderlube application. The proper way to relube the controls is to disassemble them, clean them by hand, then reapply silicone grease to shafts of rotary controls and along the edges of the slide on sliders. DO NOT apply grease on the resistor board or the control will no longer work. Don't bother testing out this theory because I already did. Although disassembly of controls may sound rather extreme -- this is the only way to restore that like-new feeling to the controls. The problem is that many folks flood the controls with contact cleaner and end up stripping all the grease from the sliding/rotating surfaces. The trick is to use only a teeny bit to clean the resistor and feelers and no so much to cause the grease to run off the rest of the control.

OK, all that makes sense. Most of the time I take things apart, BUT in a case where I can not or do not take out the board that hold the volume, treble, bass control ect....can I spray a little cleaner in from the front with the knob off or does that do NOTHING? I have seen people ask this question, but never saw an answer.

I have never used any spray cleaners before. I have been fairly lucky with the radios I have not needing much, but the Victor RC-838 I got in Japan will need a good dusting inside and the switches are a bit finicky, not too bad, but I want them to work correctly.

I read your thread on the JVC RC-838 and the bad balance control. Thankfully I don't have those slider problems.

So anyway, I went down to the local ACE Hardware and got a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. I have not used it yet. Is this similar to the products you would recommend?

As always....thanks for the advise and expertise Superduper!

 

[Superduper]

I am not familiar with that electronic cleaner but most electronic cleaner I've seen is more for cleaning/washing PCB than specifically designed for deoxidation purposes. You want contact cleaner and I recommend Caig deoxit D5.

As for spraying a control through the front, I only recommend that for sliders and only sparingly at that. Rotary controls is almost a waste of time. Although if you spray enough solution to wet everything -- you might get enough (a drop or two?) in there to affect it a little, it's nowhere near as effective as doing it from the back of the pot where you'll normall see eithere a hole or slot to shoot the cleaner into. The front is nothing more than a tight fitting shaft. That shaft is normally greased. To get the cleaner to seep through the edge of the shaft into the control, it would be necessary to wash all the grease off it. Take a closer look at a potentiometer and you'll immediately understand what I'm talking about.

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

I am not familiar with that electronic cleaner but most electronic cleaner I've seen is more for cleaning/washing PCB than specifically designed for deoxidation purposes. You want contact cleaner and I recommend Caig deoxit D5.

As for spraying a control through the front, I only recommend that for sliders and only sparingly at that. Rotary controls is almost a waste of time. Although if you spray enough solution to wet everything -- you might get enough (a drop or two?) in there to affect it a little, it's nowhere near as effective as doing it from the back of the pot where you'll normall see eithere a hole or slot to shoot the cleaner into. The front is nothing more than a tight fitting shaft. That shaft is normally greased. To get the cleaner to seep through the edge of the shaft into the control, it would be necessary to wash all the grease off it. Take a closer look at a potentiometer and you'll immediately understand what I'm talking about.

Next time I'm down in the city I will try to pick up some of that deoxit. I just don't have a place to get it near me.

I understand what your saying about the pots, I just wanted to verify it before making a mess.

Thanks again!