DeoxIT - Overrated?

[Bazz4CQJ]

I bought a can of DeoxIT D5 quite some time ago and I think I've now used it enough to draw some conclusions about it. What I'm finding an awful lot is that immediately after application, it does indeed work well. The problem that occurs (certainly with switches) is that the effects don't last long and after a few weeks, the contact problems return.

Of course, there are no control tests here to determine whether any other product would do better. But in view of the high price of DeoxIT, I'm not sure I'll be buying it again. Any thoughts?

Bazz

[maninashed]

Use Servisol flux cleaner first, with a soft old toothbrush. Then use Servisol switch cleaner to lubricate. Cleans the corrosion off switch contacts then lubricates. Works for me every time. For me, Deoxit doesn't remove oxidation as well as the flux cleaner, and if you don't believe me, try it !
Bill

[paulsherwin]

All contact cleaners only do one thing, which is to remove oxidation and other crud from the contacts. There may be other faults present, particularly weak contact springs and corrosion, and contact cleaner won't help much with this.

Personally I use WD40 as a 'when all else fails' contact cleaner.

[Restoration73]

Although I have used Servisol for many years, which has caused problems with certain
plastics, my current favourite is Kent "Electric Cleaner II" - you can get this at trade
outlets. They also do a foam cleaner.

[arjoll]

I use CRC CO contact cleaner, followed by CRC 2.26 lubricant - although last time I went to get 2.26 they didn't have any and I got some equivalent electrical/switch lubricant instead (name escapes me).

[HamishBoxer]

Love DeoxIT at this end.

[vidjoman]

I hate all aerosol products. Too many unskilled people think that a good spray of some gunge will cure all problems. As most products are only available in this form, I spray a little into the lid and apply precisely to the contact with a wooden tooth pick. No overspray to get into the wrong place and cause further problems.

[paulsherwin]

This is particularly important when using WD40, which can leave a real mess if sprayed everywhere.

[neutronic]

Not everybody is happy with DeoxIT.

Reading this thread may warn you!
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/view...p?f=8&t=228214
saying:¨ simpson 260 3a repair deoxit seems to have killed it¨

Jard N.

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by vidjoman

I hate all aerosol products... As most products are only available in this form, I spray a little into the lid and apply precisely to the contact with a wooden tooth pick. No overspray to get into the wrong place and cause further problems.

I tend to agree. It's a good way of getting it into pots etc. but the resulting mess does hugely detract from a restored and cleaned PCB. It also seems like a terrible waste.

I save those tiny jam jars you get if you are lucky enough to have breakfast in a posh hotel or go out for a cream tea, and have one half filled with Servisol Super 10 from an aerosol. An old 35mm film canister would do to, but is taller and more likely to be knocked over. I use a syringe with a special blunt needle to dribble it precisely into pots and switches, and an "TePe" interdental brush to clean valveholders. Less mess, less waste. With the lid back on the jar, there seems to be no evaporation to speak of.

I cannot say whether De-Oxit is better than Super10, but it's certainly a lot more costly. However, people I trust swear by it, which must be some recommendation.

Nick.

[Bazz4CQJ]

I'm a chemist by profession, so I always like to look at the MSDS for these products and find out what they are made of. In the case of the Servisol flux remover and switch cleaner, they are both mixtures of organic liquids and so I don't think that either would remove oxidation (if we regard oxidation formally as the build up of a layer of metal oxide on a metal's surface). Scrubbing with a soft toothbrush, or even a Q-tip, is more likely to remove oxide by abrasion. The solvents remove any carbonaceous material.

When you look at the MSDS for DeoxIT, that too is mainly organic liquids, but with 5% of "DeoxIT" which is simply referred to as a secret proprietary material. It might well be the case that the DeoxIT company would respond to my observations with the suggestion that DeoxIT5 is a cleaner and that it should be followed up with the use of one of their other products which contains some lubricant.

Used with extreme care (as many plastics really don't like it), I too have had good results from WD40.

[maninashed]

As I said, if you don't believe me, try it !
Bill

[Bazz4CQJ]

I'm not doubting what you say, but trying to rationalise what does what. And of course, its not always possible to use either a brush or a Q-Tip.

Interesting comment in the thread currently going on about AVO VCM's about an old Marconi company cleaning technique of using white spirit with just a dab of Vaseline dissolved in it. Cheaper than Deoxit!

[maninashed]

If you have any doubt at all, then just try it. I'm not being pedantic about it, I found it purely by experiment, and it works for me so I use it. It has to be servisol flux cleaner, ipa is not the same. I use a childs size toothbrush to brush on the flux cleaner, especially for open-frame wave-change switches, and it removes the oxidation like magic. I follow that up with a little servisol switch cleaner for lubrication / protection.
Its ok reading data sheets and h+s material, but at some stage you need to try different things, to see if it works. This works !
Could another member try this please and report.
Bill

[cmjones01]

I had a curious experience recently with DeoxIT. I used it to clean the two Y gain pots in a Tektronix 1A1 plugin. It stopped the pots being noisy, but the click-switch at the fully clockwise position which selects calibrated gain stopped working. I pulled one apart to see what had happened, and the switch action was done via a tiny diecasting. I don't know what metal it was - maybe aluminium or magnesium. A little peg (less than 1mm diameter) had snapped clean off it, so it didn't operate any more. Fortunately it didn't really matter in this application. But it seems more than a coincidence that *both* of them snapped a few minutes after an application of DeoxIT, when they'd been fine for decades beforehand.

I worry that the magic ingredient might be acidic and prone to corroding some metals. My hypothesis is that there were probably already tiny stress fractures in the switch diecasting, and something in the DeoxIT got in there and finished the job. I have no proof for this, however.

Chris

[Tazman1966]

Originally Posted by Nickthedentist

...and an "TePe" interdental brush to clean valveholders...

What a great idea! I must try it out myself.

As far as DeoxIT is concerned, it's too soon for me to say as I've only just started to use it but so far so good...

[emeritus]

My late father always used to use 3 in 1 oil on noisy volume controls, and I do likewise. I dispense it using a disposable hyperdermic syringe with the point ground off.

The only time it didn't work was in the early 1970's when, being then relatively inexperienced with high voltage valve circuitry, I used some 3 in 1 on a noisy picture-adjusting preset pot in an uncle's TV. I didn't appreciate the high voltage involved, and after a short time the pot started smoking and then ignited the oil. It turned out that a 500V rating pot was required (as I found out after fitting a mechanically equivalent 250V rated pot from Radiospares that spectacularly expired before I had finished adjusting the picture).

I haven't tried it on switches.

Those dental brushes are certainly useful. I got some from my dentist last year, and they are excellent for cleaning out small orifices and tubes such as my mother's hearing aid and the earpiece I use to listen to my radio. Being flexible, they can clean round corners without damage to the plastic. I do also use them for flossing my teeth!

[Bazz4CQJ]

Originally Posted by cmjones01

I had a curious experience recently with DeoxIT.

It may well be the case that if there were small stress cracks, then any liquid could have propagated them. It has something to do with the way cracks behave; if you watch a glass-blower at work, to cut a glass tube or rod, he will make a scratch on the surface, lick the scratch, then 'bend' it to get it to snap.

[HamishBoxer]

Before we get this thread closed, I really love De-Oxit have been in servicing for over 50 years, it's the best yet.

[AC/HL]

Perhaps the answer is that there is no truly universal cleaner. Different contaminations on different materials present different challenges. Then there is cleaner vs cleaner/lubricant.
Its Whatever works.