DeoxIT D5 for electronic cleaning

[mettelus]

For anyone not familiar with DeoxIT, it is the shizzle for cleaning electrical connections. @Ampfixer recommended that to me over 10 years ago now when I brought my amp back online. Since then I have used it more in automotive restorations than the house (and I still have the same 5oz can), until recently....

I have a 5 speaker surround system from 2004 that the power switch started acting up on, so I left the system on for over a year straight because I had to open the case and jumper the switch when I lost power. A couple weeks ago the entire system starting acting wonky (heat from being on 24/7), so remembered the DeoxIT and figured I would spray some on the switch each time I had to open it (is a tiny push button under a plastic key) but force myself to cycle power on the system when not in use. I just saturated the switch figuring it would eventually work its way down into the tiny gap and to the contacts. "Eventually" ended up being about 5 minutes, so 20 years of oxidation is gone and the system functions like new again.

DeoxIT has over doubled in price (I think was $7 when I got it), but that stuff works wonders on anything... the slot in the back of a pot will let you hit the wiper blade directly so you can eliminate the static from a guitar knob and keep it that way for a long time, sliding contacts (faders, etc.)... any nook or cranny to an electrical contact... even household outlets (makes plugs go in with ease after use).

[Sheens]

one advised when I used simular stuff on old Onkyo Audio receiver,  to clean after using spray.

reaon: dirt/dust etc would stick to spray plus electricity transfers better on clean metal.

(I'm no expert...just  DIY guitar and car work)

Edited March 31, 2023 by Sheens

[Byron Dickens]

Oh yeah! I used that stuff to bring an Ibanez flanger back to life that wasn't turning on and rescue a crybaby that was scratching louder than it was wah-ing.

[Starship Krupa]

DeOxit in its various forms was the lifeblood of my amp repair business.

Caveat, though, DeOxit's FaderLube is the better stuff for cleaning pots because it adds a bit of lubricant for the pot shaft. A pot won't ever be as smooth as it was when it was new after it's been cleaned, but it sure can become as quiet again.

[Notes_Norton]

I live and play in Florida, often outdoors, near the ocean.

DeOxit is a staple.

DeOxit Red to clean, DeOxit Gold to maintain and prevent, and the spray contact cleaner for pots and switches.

Notes ♫

[jesse g]

Keep in mind that there are several types of Deoxit.  Make sure you use the correct Deoxit for what you are working on,

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by jesse g

[Grem]

I have some Deoxit in a little bottle with a tiny long applicator that can be used to put it on a pot shaft. Had my push/pull volume pot on my old G&L Legacy. I really didn't think it was gonna work because I couldn't get much down the shaft. But it did the job!! Just gotta follow-up and add some more.

Gonna get some of the aerosol. 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Grem

[jackson white]

does it work on vocals?

[msmcleod]

Be really careful not to use the switch/contact stuff on faders or pots - it'll strip the carbon.

Either use the fader stuff, or use something like WD-40.

[craigb]

I couldn't find one of my prior posts to confirm the actual grit rating (which I'm 95% sure was 400), but one of the tricks I used for years to help with audio jack connections is to take some of that wetordry sandpaper (see image below), cut it into 2" strips, roll a strip into a tight spiral, and gently work it in and out of the audio jack.  This removes any oxidation build-up without hurting the jack.  Removes crackles and provides a much better connection!

[mettelus]

I just wrestled with putting plugs into a trans-mounted V8. After the royal PITA of popping connectors off they didn't want to reseat properly (especially on the back where leverage isn't the best), so I said screw this and grabbed the DeOxit from the house. Suddenly they went back on with minimal force and I could feel the metal-to-metal contact inside the boot. Sprayed every other connector I pulled apart while I was at it. Gotten so much mileage from that 12-year old can and still have half of it left.

[jesse g]

Which DeoxIT did you use? 

Remember, there are many different ones available for different jobs.   LOL  see the video again   ?  

[Starship Krupa]

On 4/7/2023 at 9:28 AM, craigb said:

roll a strip into a tight spiral, and gently work it in and out of the audio jack.  This removes any oxidation build-up without hurting the jack.  Removes crackles and provides a much better connection!

That's a really good thing to do from time to time. You could probably go all the way down to 1000 grit and still get the same benefit.

My preferred way was/is to use a metal gun barrel cleaning brush. I can't remember off the top of my head which gauge was just right for 1/4" jacks (I've only purchased two for this use in the past 20 years), but obviously you'd want it just a tiny bit larger than the hole. They come made for each standard gauge of firearm barrel. I spotted them while in a (rare these days) gun shop in the SF Bay Area to buy some Tru-Oil for guitar finishing (another miracle product).

It has the added benefit that if you stick it in until you feel it just touch the tip connector, then give it a twirl, it will clean that as well. Pull it out and see how much crud comes out, which can be surprising?. Follow it up with a shot of DeoOxit red/D5 and it will be fine for decades to come. I've used it to fix Fender Twin Reverbs that had been in constant service for 50 years that came in for "bad jacks."

It's not a bad thing for anyone who owns audio gear that connects with 1/4" jacks to have in their toolbox, because those jacks do get dirty, even/esp. when not in use.

The one thing it doesn't clean is the connection between the tip connector and the ground shunt (in jacks that ground shunt when you pull the cable out, basically all guitar amps). For that its your 1000 grit or a purpose made contact burnisher (even for diamond ones, under $5). The symptom of that is that you'll hear buzz in the amp that sounds like having a cord plugged in with no guitar plugged into the cord. It grounds the tip when you pull the cord out.

Pretty much every Fender over 15 years old got the above treatments "whether it needed it or not." I fixed amps that literally had no sound going through them using no tools other than DeOxit and these cleaning tools.

[mettelus]

I only ever had the one can of D5 that John had recommended, and just use it on metal connectors. It seems to wear off its lubrication capacity after a few years, but takes such a small quantity to be useful. Stuff worked so well I couldn't feel the "pop" of the connector on the plug and the boot came back off so easily I resorted to the metal-on-metal contact internal to the boot (the ignition contact on these is at the tip of the plug). Plugs have been changed 3 times in this vehicle, but connectors have never been cleaned. 20% increase in fuel efficiency, so the entire can would have paid for itself on one tank of gas. I had to lay across the motor to reach the back bank and hold myself off the fuel rails at the same time while wrestling the boots, so the boots "just coming off" now is a GREAT THING.

I would be very leery on sandpaper around electronics. For all the crap that "comes out," a portion of that crap "went in." The gap tolerances in many PCB applications are pretty small, and depending on what conformal coating method they used (if any), can make them vulnerable to conductive particulates building up. Stuff like car battery posts and connectors (where you can see where all the dust goes and it doesn't matter anyway) are fair game for sandpaper, but pushing that into a pre-amp or instrument I would definitely not do.

[Starship Krupa]

1 hour ago, mettelus said:

20% increase in fuel efficiency

Whoa! Just from hitting the spark plug boots with D5? I must try that.

1 hour ago, mettelus said:

I would be very leery on sandpaper around electronics. For all the crap that "comes out," a portion of that crap "went in." The gap tolerances in many PCB applications are pretty small, and depending on what conformal coating method they used (if any), can make them vulnerable to conductive particulates building up.

Best practice on for sure would be to pop the lid off whatever you're working on and hit it with a blast of compressed air to get rid of whatever crud has landed on the innards (both from your cleaning operation and just from falling out of the sky.

Most electronics can take a little dust, and the stuff (dirt and oxide) we're disturbing is non-conductive (or we wouldn't be removing it). The barrel brush or a loose spiral of 1000 grit shouldn't take any conductive metal from the inside of the jack, and the DeOxit will do the rest. If you have an intermittent jack, it's worth a try. I had a guitar amp repair shop for 15 years and never hurt anything with my barrel brush. Slide in, rotate, remove.

[mettelus]

3 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

Whoa! Just from hitting the spark plug boots with D5? I must try that.

Bear in mind the plugs were also new. They suffer dielectric breakdown over time and were reaching end-of-life as it was. The LS4 motor locks out the 4 inner cylinders when cruising, so mileage also depends on traffic (sitting at reds lights chews up the most gas because it idles in V8 mode expecting you to punch it) and that the motor monitors itself when to shift into 4-banger mode. New plugs up the torque in the 4 outer cylinders, so the inners were locked out more after swapping the plugs.

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

An alternative contact cleaner would be Tri-Flow, which is a synthetic lubricant often used in bicycles. Even though it is teflon and oil based, dust doesn't stick to it.

[RBH]

On 4/7/2023 at 11:28 AM, craigb said:

I couldn't find one of my prior posts to confirm the actual grit rating (which I'm 95% sure was 400), but one of the tricks I used for years to help with audio jack connections is to take some of that wetordry sandpaper (see image below), cut it into 2" strips, roll a strip into a tight spiral, and gently work it in and out of the audio jack.  This removes any oxidation build-up without hurting the jack.  Removes crackles and provides a much better connection!

A good alternative to paper is Cratex rods. Cratex is a fine abrasive embedded in rubber and can be bought in 1/4" diameter rods. https://www.cratex.com/Products/Rubberized-Abrasives/Blocks-and-Sticks/Round-Sticks