Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

One of my electronics wiz buddies said something about any cleaner product that does what De Oxit can, is likely corrosive to parts.He sounded kinda cynical about the product. I was turned on to the stuff a couple years back while living in Hawaii, by a guitarist I was jamming with who used it regularly to ward off the salty ocean air and it's effects on equipment.Take this thread wherever you want, but I'd be interested in anyones"expert" opinions/experience.As much as I have used it thus far on any gear I have, I can say with no hesitation, it beats the hell out of any Radio Shack TV/pot cleaner.FWIW, the most interesting thing it did for me, was that I decided to disassemble my 2 RI Super Reverb amps, which had a couple scratchy/noisy pots;I took the tubes out and blasted the sockets and pins as well, and when I put everything back together and fired it up, I thought, What the hell happened here? These amps sound Way better than they did when they were new out of the box!

I have not used that product but have had good luck with Cramolin in the past. Cramolin will not melt your plastic parts as some cleaners will.

I've used deoxit for years with no problems. It is specially formulated for use with electronic parts. Everyone I know who fixes amps uses it so I think you're friend is overly suspicious about products he hasn't tried himself.

Yep, I'll vouch for Deoxit as well. I won't spray anything else anywhere near potentiometers. Nothing comes close to it for efficiency and clean operation.

hey what's wrong w/Radio Shack?

Its the cheapest place for Deoxit here!

Deoxit is a connector cleaner and not intended for pots. It won't hurt the pots but the really good stuff to use is CaiLube MCL.
Caig Labs makes both of these products as well as others. Recently, Caig has renamed their products because of global recognition of the 'DeoxIt' name.
Go here http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT113328/.f
and click on CaiLube MCL.
Don't flood the pot with this stuff as it is just not needed.....remember, a little dab'l do ya and your pots will be quiet for years.
I used a little on my 60' 360 original pots and they quieted right down.
Works wonders on amp pots as well....
Bring money.....

Oh....Cramolin was also made by Caig Labs and has been out of production for many years now.

Just one word of caution....
These type of sprays are really good for pots and switches..Just be carefull not to use these sprays in high voltage applications such as tube sockets, since the residue left behind is to some degree conductive...For output tube sockets you want to make sure to get a spray that leaves NO RESIDUE....
The same applies to RF circuitry...the residue left behind in the circuit can reak havic in terms if changing the resonance...

Chris

I have some scratchy pots on a 1980's bass combo. How do I spray the pots - pop off the dials, then into the front?

from the back, look for an opening along the wiper.

if the pot is sealed-SOL...

Thanks Jared. I guess that means I will need to remove the amp from the speaker enclosure (it's a solid-state combo).