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Hints, Tips and Solutions (Do NOT post requests for help here) If you have any useful general hints and tips for vintage technology repair and restoration, please share them here. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE!

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Old 11th Jul 2012, 9:45 pm   #21
Alistair D
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

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Originally Posted by HamishBoxer View Post
De-Oxit is indeed superb,though read latest PracticalWireless re WD40.
I had a look at the July issue of PW today in the newsagents but could not find an article that mentioned WD40. Can you confirm which issue the article was in?

Cancel that. I have just had a look at the PW site. The article is in the August issue out tomorrow(12th). Did you get your issue early?

Thanks
Al
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Old 12th Jul 2012, 6:18 pm   #22
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

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Did you get your issue early?
I suspect that, like me, he's a subscriber and thus did indeed get it before it reached the newsagents.

Hugh
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Old 13th Jul 2012, 6:39 pm   #23
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Can anyone enlighten us non-PW readers as to the latest horror story? Poor old WD40 - always seem to be in trouble . Of course, the WD40 company has launched a new range of Wd40 products including a new releasing agent and a dedicated contact cleaning agent http://wd40specialist.co.uk/ but I never see them on sale anywhere; their launch seems to have been all but secret.
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Old 14th Jul 2012, 10:09 am   #24
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

It is the mess we have to clear up when one of their customers gets a video cassette stuck in the machine.
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Old 14th Jul 2012, 5:39 pm   #25
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

I use Lubec -originally made by Crown Johnson Ltd - which seems to do the job really well. As the company was dissolved ( appropriate for a chemical company) in 1999 the chemicals are almost certainly banned now but I got a case of the stuff off the internet a few years ago. With luck I have enough to last me out.

Has anyone else used the stuff?

Phil
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Old 14th Jul 2012, 6:59 pm   #26
Stockden
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

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Can anyone enlighten us non-PW readers as to the latest horror story? Poor old WD40 - always seem to be in trouble .
Actually it's not a horror story at all and WD-40 gets some credit for a change!

In essence, Harry Leeming (who, it must be said, has quite a lot of experience in radio servicing) describes how he discovered that WD-40 will, on occasion, successfully clean contacts that other things won't. He emphasises that it's a cleaner of last resort but one that can save the day.

For me the most important thing is that, once WD-40 has done his stuff, he then washes it off with Servisol Aero Klene and adds a little Super 10 "to lubricate it". That would seem to get over the problem of the nasty, sticky residue that WD-40 leaves behind.

Hugh
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Old 14th Jul 2012, 11:54 pm   #27
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

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Originally Posted by Stockden View Post
In essence, Harry Leeming (who, it must be said, has quite a lot of experience in radio servicing) describes how he discovered that WD-40 will, on occasion, successfully clean contacts that other things won't. He emphasises that it's a cleaner of last resort but one that can save the day.

For me the most important thing is that, once WD-40 has done his stuff, he then washes it off with Servisol Aero Klene and adds a little Super 10 "to lubricate it". That would seem to get over the problem of the nasty, sticky residue that WD-40 leaves behind.

Hugh
Interesting! I guess that you can rationalise the best way of restoring contacts is that first you want to clean them, then you want to leave a suitable film of something that protects and lubricates. So in difficult cases, maybe a "two step" approach using different agents makes sense.
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Old 15th Jul 2012, 4:50 am   #28
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Never been impressed with the exotic stuff, and compared it directly with servisol 10 you can see the results here...
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Servisol wins on this occasion!!

Where possible I always opt for a manual clean then spray some lube for final protection...
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Tandy use to do two cleaners in small cans, one with a lube and one without. The one with was fantastic!
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Old 20th Jul 2012, 7:16 pm   #29
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Hi all , I always found the Phillips brand contact cleaner (in the red can) really good , however I recently used the last of the can(from 1982 !) and was unable to find a U.K. source of supply. A search on the internet turned up this supplier so I got a few cans which made the cost of postage worth it.I always found that the Phillips cleaner didn't cause the plastic to crumble the way other cleaners did.
Mike.
http://www.retroamplis.com/epages/62...367/Categories
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Old 20th Jul 2012, 9:42 pm   #30
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

The WD40 issue is in P/Wireless is August 2012. PM for copy if I am allowed to scan it?
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Old 20th Jul 2012, 9:51 pm   #31
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stockden View Post
In essence, Harry Leeming (who, it must be said, has quite a lot of experience in radio servicing) describes how he discovered that WD-40 will, on occasion, successfully clean contacts that other things won't. He emphasises that it's a cleaner of last resort but one that can save the day.
This has been my experience also. WD40 gets its bad name because clueless people spray huge amounts of it everywhere. Applied very sparingly using a needle dropper or screwdriver blade it is indeed very effective at shifting ancient crud deposits.
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Old 20th Jul 2012, 10:10 pm   #32
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Interesting experiment, LXSTEIN45, thanks.

If direct access to the sliding contacts and wipers is available, I use Brasso on a cotton wool bud, followed by a blast of IPA to wash off the residue, and finally, a very light application of Servisol 10 as a lubricant, as Hugh's described.

Nick.
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Old 27th Jul 2012, 2:15 pm   #33
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Hi
The old RS one was interesting - drip some onto a polystyrene tile and whoosh - no tile! I found Servisol to be quite useful but only used as Nick outlines above as it will cause plastic crumbling eventually.
After seeing this thread I've found a half-full tin of our old favourite - the Philips red can! I'll use it very sparingly.
I think anyone who's ever repaired VCRs for customers has a knee-jerk reaction against WD40. Unfair, I know, but just the smell brings me out in a cold sweat...
Glyn
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Old 27th Jul 2012, 7:00 pm   #34
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

WD40 gets a bad reputation because the non technical spray it all over the item before they bring it for repair.
I had a VHS recorder with a borrowed tape stuck in it. Water had got into the tuner via the coax and there was half a can of WD40 in through the cassette hatch.
I managed to copy most of the two halves of the tape onto another blank one and carefully swapped the reels over into the shell with the label on it without ripping the label that went over the join.
The recorder was a write off.
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Old 4th Aug 2012, 1:13 am   #35
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

At my job, we use automatic transmission fluid; the blue stuff used for Chevrolet. We mix it with 99 percent alcohol, apparently it's a 90:10 ratio of alcohol to ATF. Use a squeeze bottle with a blunted syringe needle tip to get it into tight spots in switches. The stuff just WORKS and it prevents previously cleaned pots and switches from getting gunked up and scratchy shortly thereafter.
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Old 4th Aug 2012, 1:38 am   #36
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

That sounds about one million times cheaper than De-Oxit! Of course, it has also been claimed that a mixture of ATF with acetone makes a great releasing agent for rusted bolts.
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Old 8th Aug 2012, 6:34 pm   #37
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

I was told by my camera repair friend that WD40 is 90% white spirit and 10% clever stuff.

When cleaning camera mechanisms we used to squirt a few mils in a pot, let it settle and remove the white spirit. The clever stuff was then used in minute quantities as a lubricant. It spreads miles if you put too much on.

Trouble with spraying WD40 onto metal is that the white spirit washes off oils etc and the metal is then prone to rust. Contect is I believe a better metal protector.
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Old 9th Aug 2012, 8:47 am   #38
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Default Re: Switch Cleaner

Some solvents in cleaners have the effect of making polycarbonate plastics extremely brittle... the old "Inhibisol' and 'Ultraclene' sprays were problems.

It's servisol switch cleaner/lubricant I keep around the place. And I use their foam cleanser quite a lot. Never had any problems.

David
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