Mackie Control + WD40

[earthboundrec]

Is it ok to spray a little bit of WD40 in faders of the MCU? They're just a little sticky it seems during automation and I think some lube would really make the issue go away. This won't destroy anything will it? thanks.

[Harvey Gerst]

NO, DO NOT USE WD-40!!!

Caig makes De-oxit, and Cali-lube, and a number of great products for just this kind of thing. WD-40 will eventually combine with the accumulated crap in the slider and make it worse.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

NO, DO NOT USE WD-40!!!

Caig makes De-oxit, and Cali-lube, and a number of great products for just this kind of thing. WD-40 will eventually combine with the accumulated crap in the slider and make it worse.

I would expect WD-40 to -immediately- make it worse.

But seriously, yeah, any contact cleaner should be fine....

I'm a little wary of lubricants like Calilube, though. I'd assume that a conductive lubricant (a quick internet search suggests that it contains aluminum particles, though I might be wrong) would change the behavior of a fader in undesirable ways (not to mention that you couldn't accurately spread it on just the right surfaces). Just my gut, though. I've never tried the stuff....

[earthboundrec]

Thanks for the replies, good thing I asked about before soaking down the faders w/ WD. So if I were to use something like Calilube would just a few drops up and down the fader tract (I'm pulling my terminology out of the air here) be enough to smooth it out? Thanks.

[earthboundrec]

Originally Posted by dgatwood

I'm a little wary of lubricants like Calilube, though. I'd assume that a conductive lubricant (a quick internet search suggests that it contains aluminum particles, though I might be wrong) would change the behavior of a fader in undesirable ways (not to mention that you couldn't accurately spread it on just the right surfaces). Just my gut, though. I've never tried the stuff....

Ya, I'm a little wary of most stuff too, the motorized faders seem like pretty delicate instruments, so I'm really not sure if putting some stuff in there would have an adverse effect on their performance. I think sand might actually be the best option!

[boingoman]

Use CAIG MCL (Moving Contact Lubricant). That's what it is for.

Deoxit and WD-40 strip away fader lube. The fader will eat itself in a short time with no lube.

[boingoman]

Whoops-moving faders.

I'd contact the guys who made them, if you can.