[ebick]

I am trying to restore an old (but good) PA. It's got 36 Pots on it. Canned Air? Electronics Contact Cleaner? WD40?

[ccw3432]

I've had good luck with Deoxit. I restored a Clavinet where none of the electronic switches were working and it brought them back to full function, and I have used it to extend the life of wah pedal pots.

[TI4-1009]

+1 on the Deoxit.

StewMac has a little gizmo that you hook up to the spray tip and the neck of the pot and it injects the stuff inside where you want it to go.

http://www.stewmac.com/shopby/product/0291

"Works with 3/8 x 32-thread, made in USA potentiometers: CTS, Allen-Bradley, Bourns, CentraLab, Clarostat, and others. It's not compatible with imported or metric-thread control pots (like Alpha)."

[FretfulDave]

Have to remember that cleaning pots works for a while, usually 2 or 3 times in my experience. After that the deposits from cleaners will prevent a smooth functioning of the pot. I have heard this also over the years from plenty of electronic hobbyists. Perhaps the cleaners have gotten better since I was a hobbyist and that would be great for extending the life of the pots. Once the cleanings start to fail there is little choice other than to replace the pots.

But for the time being, and probably a couple years, you should be able to keep that PA functioning in a reasonable manner.

Good luck! Hope it works for as long as you need it to.

Dave

[mgbills]

Brad Sarno chimed in on another post on this topic.

He implied that one version of DeOxit was superior, and another was potentially damaging. Anyone have any further detail? I sent Brad a pm at the time, but did not get a response. He is a busy guy.

I would love to sort that out.
M

[TRG]

Brad Sarno chimed in on another post on this topic.

He implied that one version of DeOxit was superior, and another was potentially damaging. Anyone have any further detail? I sent Brad a pm at the time, but did not get a response. He is a busy guy.

I would love to sort that out.
M

Hey mgbills, you want the Fader series DeOxit (the green can). Avoid the red can. Here's the post you may be referring to:

forum/viewtopic.php?f=419&t=13858&p=124 ... er#p124623

[mgbills]

That's it!
Thanks. Now I can go check my bench to see where I stand on the DeOxit issue. Luckily...I haven't used more than 2 shots either way.

Thanks very much!
M

[TI4-1009]

On the other hand, this is from the Fulltone Clyde Delux Wah manual:

"Warning: DO NOT SPRAY ANYTHING INTO THE POTENTIOMETER TO CLEAN IT unless it's Craig DeOxit
D5 and you know what you're doing....meaning, a small, quick spray once a year or so! Do not use WD-40
or any other oil/spray. Contact us if you have questions.

Michael Fuller/Fulltone"

D5 is the red can. It's also what StewMac has.