Best way to clean Pots.

I'm assuming spraying down the shaft with a cleaner/ lub and work it
is the best way to do this?
Some pots have openings in the body also and is this a better option?
Cheers!

 

Spraying "Down the shaft" will wash away the lubricant that allows the
pot to turn smoothly, and into the actual pot, along with any metal
shavings and metallic dust. Either use the opening, remove the cover
and replace it after cleaning, or replace the pot, unless it is a
temporary fix.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

Ask Scott Dorsey in rec.audio.pro. He seems to know this stuff well.

Graham

 

Better to shoot cleaner in the opening when possible. Sealed pots
shouldn't be sprayed.

 

Sealed pots are only sealed to prevent contamination from external sources.
They still go bad, and still benefit from cleaning, if one can gain access
to do so. This applies to deposited carbon potentiometers. Many modern
volume controls are actually rotary encoders, and cleaning them is a
crap-shoot. Those must be taken apart and tarnish cleaned from the internal
workings, and since the controls are cheap, better just to replace them when
possible.

Mark Z.

 

No,you just move the axle grease into the pot.

Yes,you want the cleaner/lube to get on the resistance element and
wiper,nowhere else.

 

I used to successfully drill a small hole in Bourns Mod Pots and used a
syringe needle on the spray tube to get the cleaner/lube into the pot thru
the small hole. It worked well. Not a TEK-sanctioned method,tho.

It did keep repair costs down for the customer.

 

Thanks all!

 

Sometimes the control is badly in need of lubing. Anything tends to help
temporarily.

I had a heck of a time cleaning switches in a Nicolet scope. I drilled,
pryed, well I think the prying worked, but I had to do it over several days.
Alcohol is good for cleaning, and seeps easily into small cracks.
Sometimes drilling is the easy thing to do. For the Nicolet I used
everything, from Contaclean, to Bull Frog cleaners, along with the
alcohol.

greg

 

The only way to help when you have wiper problems is get the
cleaner/lube inside the unit. Spraying down the shaft usually does not
accomplish this.

I recommend Caig labs products such as D5 or pro gold. If the pot has
holes in the back, spray into the holes and turn the pot for a minute or
so to clean off the resistance contact area.

Sealed pots (or switches) are another issue. On the plastic cased units,
i have developed a method of last resort. Take a fine tipped pencil
soldering tip and slowly burn a hole through the back while working the
control back and forth so the internal melted plastic won't jam the
control. Then spray the cleaner in the pot. Sometimes i reseal with
a dab of RTV or such,. Not a 100% fix, but it will bring some back to
life.

Bob

 

Compressed air from Staples. Won't wash anything away - just stirs it
up. Spray sparingly. Then power up device and turn knob back n' forth
until crackling - noise disappears and/or volume or effect gets
louder/clearer.

-CC

 

IMHO, its easier to replace the pot. with a new one, I know this involves
de-soldering/soldering but there are so many reasons why a pot. can fail and
that the maintenance will eventually fail that you might as well bite the
bullet and replace it. I might not advise this if you were commercially
servicing but if you are repairing your own kit I really think this is the
long-term solution that can be relied on.
Cheers
Tony

 

I work exclusively on guitar amps, guitars, PA gear and I would never
clean a pot and send it back to the customer without telling them I just
put a BandAid on it and to get it back for a replacement ASAP. Nor do I
ever charge just to clean a pot.

 

The Mod Pots are plastic bodies, so you don't have to worry about
metal shavings getting into the element and slideing contacts. I see
nothing wrong with your method, as long as a drop of glue or something
is used to seal the hole after you're done.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

You give away your services? It takes time to open up a unit to get to
the pot to clean it. Sometimes, parts are not available. And using
the Good caig stuff is not cheap either. A Band-Aid is better than
unusable.


Bob

 

It's not a very big hole,about a #56 drill size.
I never resealed them,it was hard enough getting the bit in position to
make the hole.IMO,there was less chance of getting contaminants in there
than for a regular unsealed pot.
(the ModPots were not really "sealed",anyways. enclosed,yes.)

I didn't try to drill or lube sealed metalcased pots.

 

a neat trick is to wrap a couple of turns of insulated wire around the
control's knob,then pull alternately on the wire ends to rapidly spin the
pot shaft from limit to limit;that can "clean up" a noisy pot fairly
quickly,and it's not hard on the fingers.

 

Takes me all of what, 5 minutes to spray a pot on a guitar amp. It's good
for customer relations and business when the customer thinks they are
getting something for nothing. I'm not a robot stuck back in the far end
of the building churning out amp repairs on an assembly line. Customers
are welcome to visit my service area and ask questions pertaining to their
equipment. Word of mouth has brought me many customers, some travel from
out of town where they could have had repairs done locally so I must be
doing something right. I'm also a gigging musician so I understand the
customer's needs. As far as Band-Aids go, a pot spray is about it. Nothing
will lose you a customer faster than sending out an amp only to have it
fail while it's being used at a gig. I always recommend replacement and in
emergencies when a part isn't available, I will make a suitable loaner
available with a deposit. I just treat customers how I want to be treated
when I take something in for service like my Harley or other vehicle.

 

If it takes any amount of time, I would ask the owner what he wants.

greg

 

Read the part of my post were I mention customers are welcome to ask
questions. Some do, some don't. Many different personalities needs etc..
making it hard to generalize in policy.