CRC Electronics Cleaner

cellardweller

cellardweller

New member
Long time...how's it hangin' HR doods?

Is it safe to use CRC QD Electronics Cleaner (Hexane, Petroleum Distillate...) on/around the circuit board of my amp?
Last I changed the tubes, I used the "tuner cleaner" from Radio Shack, which contains some type of lubricant. It's left behind a kinda nasty residue,while seemingly inconsequential, is just nasty!

Besides, I'm sure that the connections could benefit from the Electronic Cleaner, though I don't know how careful/sparingly I should use the stuff.

Thanks.
 
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Some guy on another board... said:
A proxibrush with contact cleaner in the bristles works great to clean out the contact holes. Use eye protection and work with contact cleaner outside or in a very well ventilated area. Wear rubber gloves. I use Jiffy Bath contact cleaner. Good idea to put a wad of kleenex on back side of socket to catch any drippings if there is room to do so. Craig Deoxit is also excellent. There are less poisonous and flammable contact cleaners out there, but I am not familiar with the brand(s).
Click to expand...

Yet another guy posted on another board... said:
When trying to clean those sockets don’t spray the contact cleaner on them. Just spray into a Q-tip or paper towel and work it that way.o
Click to expand...
Sounds like good advice to me...:confused:
 
You use a cleaner with lubricants in potentiometers and switches. You use a cleaner that emphatically states it leaves no residue on tube sockets. That's all there is to it. End of story. PEE - EE - ARE - EYE - OH - DEE.
Here in Canada I buy MG Chemicals. It works. If the funk of the silicon lubricants bothers you, I lay a strip or three of cut paper towels under the pots and spray away at all the potentiometers. Then remove the paper towels, and have a clean chassis without the funky smell and residue.
 
useing qtips to clean sockets isn't very practicle... it wont get all the way down in there... spray the socket and wiggle the tube in while still wet...

oh and isn't hexane flammable???:eek:
 
Here's the thing: you know how you have shampoo and then you have cream rinse. Shampoo strips off the grease and cream rinse leaves a nice coating.

That CRC stuff is a great cleaner, like shampoo. But Deoxit is like cream rinse and leaves a really nice layer that is the ultimate conducting surface.

CRC leaves no coating and just 100% cleans it. I use CRC all the time, it's a great cleaner and it's cheap. Then I use Deoxit after, like cream rinse. And no, my hair is so short I don't need cream rinse.

CRC works great as a cleaner before you paint metal parts. There's a lot of uses for it. People have used it to extract trichomes but I would strongly advise against it - you'll make yourself sick! :(

You can get Deoxit off of eBay, here for instance http://cgi.ebay.com/Hosa-Deoxit-D5-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item27aede77b7
 
Metaghius said:
no info on that type of cleaner but I would like to share a dumb thing I did. I sprayed Deoxid into on my pc board to clean some carbon left over from a blown screen resister which is fine..the problem I had was I cleaned my pots with the same cleaner...the pots on the mesa's are carbon based...the mineral oil in the cleaner has ruined my pots...ups is delivering new pot today..to be install asap....
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Can it actually destroy pots?
 
Could there be any more contradiction in this thread? Some people say use a cleaner, others say use a lubricant, others say you need to use both. Come on! There's got to be a preferred way to clean scratchy potentiometers. There's at least two sprays I know of that are readily available and modestly priced. Both say they are specifically for electronics, and both say they are safe for plastic:

CRC QD (called a "cleaner" for electronic parts) still sold at Walmart for about $5

CRC 2-26 (called a "lubricant" for electronic parts) still sold by Home Depot for $3

Which one is safe for potentiometers?
 
I use De-oxit to clean and lube. When that doesn't work, new pot's are about $2.50 ea.
 
JCH said:
I use De-oxit to clean and lube. When that doesn't work, new pot's are about $2.50 ea.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This ^^^^^^^

I have a project this week end to salvage an old Carlsboro Sherwood amp. The main gain pot has got very noisey over the last few months and no longer cleans up with a quick squirt. Time to swap it out. Ordered the pot for £1.50+pp. Should take me less than an hour to get it back to new..
 
Nothing is safe for potentiometers!

For a quick save, anything from a week to a year, WD-40 is my poison (yeah, stinks a bit) but once a pot gets noisy it is wearing out and will ultimately need replacing. I have gear that is 20yrs+old with still silent pots. I have stuff 2 yrs old that crackles. Pots ain't what they used to be!

And no, don't clean valve holders. The voltages and currents are such that it is not needed unless the holders themselves are crap. Serious spillage of beer etc should be dealt with by a tech. Probably need a PAT test anyway.

Dave.
 
I use the QD for quick clean ups in questionable (newly acquired) gear, then follow up with Deoxit if necessary. For some reason, the local electronics jobber didn't carry Deoxit, and I had to use those tiny cans at Radio Shack.
 
I have never had a problem with Deoxit, and I have been using it
for over thirty years. If a pot quits after Deoxit, it was bad to begin with.

Any contact that can become intermittent can benefit from Deoxit.
I stay away from lubes, unless I can control how much and where
it goes, as lubes collect dust and cause other problems.

Another contact enhancer is Stabilant 22, and is available in concentrated
form. You mix it with isopropyl alcohol and use it sparingly. For me,it is new,
but seems to have a good following, and we use it as well as the Deoxit.
 
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