What is the best way to clean scratchy pots and sliders? I have a Rogue and can see some foam underneath the control panel. I have a feeling that contact cleaner could eat up the foam.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
scratchy pots and sliders
scratchy pots
A local electronics supply store will have the products you need.
I have a micro that had pots and switches that were literally frozen. I cleaned the pots by actually unsoldering them from the board and taking them apart and cleaning and lubricating them during re-assembly. This is most likely overkill, but they work great now. You would be best off to at least dis-assemble the unit so you can get to the pots and switches easily. I used a spray can of POTENTIOMETER CLEANER WITH LUBRICANT. WARNING do not spray a glide pot with cleaner it will leave a residue that the glide pot and surrounding area of the board will not like, and will cause drifting problems. Use clean rags or cloth to contain the spray. Work the shaft of the pot fully as you spray. With the switches, the same applies--- spray and work the switch. But bear this in mind-- switches were originally assembled with a special grease and the cleaner will wash it away, if your synth is old the grease is long gone and dried, so no problem. Also, Some cans really BLAST, and others dribble and drool their contents, so test first.
I would, as you suspect not try to introduce any cleaner/lube "From Above"
Good luck, Winbyte
I have a micro that had pots and switches that were literally frozen. I cleaned the pots by actually unsoldering them from the board and taking them apart and cleaning and lubricating them during re-assembly. This is most likely overkill, but they work great now. You would be best off to at least dis-assemble the unit so you can get to the pots and switches easily. I used a spray can of POTENTIOMETER CLEANER WITH LUBRICANT. WARNING do not spray a glide pot with cleaner it will leave a residue that the glide pot and surrounding area of the board will not like, and will cause drifting problems. Use clean rags or cloth to contain the spray. Work the shaft of the pot fully as you spray. With the switches, the same applies--- spray and work the switch. But bear this in mind-- switches were originally assembled with a special grease and the cleaner will wash it away, if your synth is old the grease is long gone and dried, so no problem. Also, Some cans really BLAST, and others dribble and drool their contents, so test first.
I would, as you suspect not try to introduce any cleaner/lube "From Above"
Good luck, Winbyte
This company CAIG (caig.com) makes amazing lubricants, cleaners, conductivity boosters etc. I use them on all my synths and I can't reccomend them enough. Jeez, they really should be paying me for this plug but seriously, their products are great and their website is very informative. They even have a whole "How to clean pots" tutorial. The Radio Shack stuff can actually wash away your factory lube, spend a little extra cash for the CAIG stuff. Your synth is worth it!
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OysterRock
- Posts: 800
- Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 8:52 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
- Contact:
Thats what I recommended for pot cleaning, but was shot down without explanation:drawtippy wrote:This company CAIG (caig.com) makes amazing lubricants, cleaners, conductivity boosters etc. I use them on all my synths and I can't reccomend them enough. Jeez, they really should be paying me for this plug but seriously, their products are great and their website is very informative. They even have a whole "How to clean pots" tutorial. The Radio Shack stuff can actually wash away your factory lube, spend a little extra cash for the CAIG stuff. Your synth is worth it!
http://moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2286
I've had nothing but good experiences with Caig DeoxIT and read nothing but raving reviews. Can someone give a good reason why it shouldn't be used?
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Kevin Lightner
- Posts: 1587
- Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 5:20 pm
- Location: Wrightwood
Oyster, here's an explanation.
I've repaired thousands of units.
I've learned a few things through this time.
Of the units that were treated with Caig products (and others), those were the worst units to repair.
Unlike lubes placed in sliders at the time of manufacture, sprays go everywhere.
Some become very sticky and attract dust. The slider or pot works great at first, but later degrades faster and to a worse condition.
In addition, sprays don't clean out pots well or at all.
They move the dirt around.
It's like adding new oil to old oil in your car.
The proper method is to get rid of the dirt or foreign material first and completely.
Sliders from many Moog, Roland and other makers are regularly destroyed by broken bits of hardened (or goopy) dust cover material.
Some of this stuff isn't going anywhere, even if you spray.
The slider needs to either be replaced or dealt with manually (disassembled.)
Very often I have to retension or align slider wipers, polish slides, etc too.
Intermittent problems are not caused solely by dirt and cures are not enacted solely by cleaning.
Consider also that two years ago I did a run of Arp Ody repairs.
I serviced 13 Odys in a row.
With each one, I disassembled every slider.
Hundreds of pieces per unit.
Now I would never go to such trouble if I could have just sprayed something in them, right? Why spend hundreds of hours doing otherwise if a spray is so good?
The answer is that I offer a warranty. I have to back up the work, save the owner from reshipping expenses, etc.
I have to make sure the work lasts.
And ask yourself why pot makers don't use the stuff either if it's so good at lubing, anti-oxidant properties, etc.? Alps, Bourns, Clarostat, etc, etc... none of them put this stuff in their pots when they're made and there's a reason.
I first noticed this sort of damage over 20 years ago when I was a service tech at Roland US. Units would come in with corroded green goop.
I have even have some photos of such damaged parts.
Some might be due to previous use of their now discontinued product "Cramolin."
Corroded metal, plating lifted off contacts, IC legs eaten through.
Now while the new formula says it's been redesigned, I still recall that when Cramolin was out, the same advertising words was used then as they are now.
People trusted their products then and instead met with serious problems down the road. I'm not open to trusting them now because of this, don't use their products and indeed have had no problems without. I've received units that were sprayed only months before and failed in that amount of time, yet after servicing these same units without using any sprays, the units have been fine for years.
Technique and specific service is better than a blanket cure of mass spray.
One cannot control technique either.
As above, spray something that gets on a high impedance path such as a CV memory, glide circuit, env generator or VCO and there are greater problems.
Overspray is a huge problem with sprays too, because they attract dust to the PCB forming lower resistive paths. I've seen this countless times.
Moreover, the effect of what happens is that a person bought a spray to avoid spending money with a tech, but later has to spend even more.
That's a bad investment in my book.
It's better to pay a pro to do something right than it is to mess it up cheaply for a while.
I also can't tell you how many times I've seen studio engineers buy and use the stuff, then later call me for help. The product flies off the shelf purely from the implied promises it makes, but in reality, many repairs occur that people don't speak about as loudly. Few people will proclaim how they cured a synth followed by another saying they were wrong. The opinion then skews in favor of its usage.
And if you don't believe me, spray something else in your sliders.
PAM non-stick cooking oil, olive oil, WD-40, silicone, teflon, etc.
All will do the same thing- quiet it up, make it smooth and later cause problems. Try it. I've done such tests.
In fact, I could change the label on tons of spray lubes and cleaners to say "fixes pots" and indeed many people would use such a stuff, receive great immediate results and then spout off how good it was.
A business is formed.
In my opinion, much like Caig's.
Or read all the prose on the side of an automotive fuel or oil additive.
They generally read as if they're the very elixir of life for an engine.
Yet ask a pro and they don't mess with such nonsense.
Again, there are reasons, experience being the greatest.
Quick fixes look great. Spray something in. Noise is gone. Great.
I go for longevity though.
Finally, this sort of post begets responses such as "I've never had a problems" or it's been great for me all this time."
No slam, but this makes little difference to me. Units are individuals and advice often isn't. There is no one cure that can be applied to all units, so it's not good advice to treat others units like your own.
Just because an aspirin cured your headache, doesn't mean the fellow you're talking to doesn't have migraines. You never know.
As for me, I don't frequent this board very often lately and may not see your replies.
You're welcome to write me privately at synthfool@synthfool.com, if you'd like though.
I've repaired thousands of units.
I've learned a few things through this time.
Of the units that were treated with Caig products (and others), those were the worst units to repair.
Unlike lubes placed in sliders at the time of manufacture, sprays go everywhere.
Some become very sticky and attract dust. The slider or pot works great at first, but later degrades faster and to a worse condition.
In addition, sprays don't clean out pots well or at all.
They move the dirt around.
It's like adding new oil to old oil in your car.
The proper method is to get rid of the dirt or foreign material first and completely.
Sliders from many Moog, Roland and other makers are regularly destroyed by broken bits of hardened (or goopy) dust cover material.
Some of this stuff isn't going anywhere, even if you spray.
The slider needs to either be replaced or dealt with manually (disassembled.)
Very often I have to retension or align slider wipers, polish slides, etc too.
Intermittent problems are not caused solely by dirt and cures are not enacted solely by cleaning.
Consider also that two years ago I did a run of Arp Ody repairs.
I serviced 13 Odys in a row.
With each one, I disassembled every slider.
Hundreds of pieces per unit.
Now I would never go to such trouble if I could have just sprayed something in them, right? Why spend hundreds of hours doing otherwise if a spray is so good?
The answer is that I offer a warranty. I have to back up the work, save the owner from reshipping expenses, etc.
I have to make sure the work lasts.
And ask yourself why pot makers don't use the stuff either if it's so good at lubing, anti-oxidant properties, etc.? Alps, Bourns, Clarostat, etc, etc... none of them put this stuff in their pots when they're made and there's a reason.
I first noticed this sort of damage over 20 years ago when I was a service tech at Roland US. Units would come in with corroded green goop.
I have even have some photos of such damaged parts.
Some might be due to previous use of their now discontinued product "Cramolin."
Corroded metal, plating lifted off contacts, IC legs eaten through.
Now while the new formula says it's been redesigned, I still recall that when Cramolin was out, the same advertising words was used then as they are now.
People trusted their products then and instead met with serious problems down the road. I'm not open to trusting them now because of this, don't use their products and indeed have had no problems without. I've received units that were sprayed only months before and failed in that amount of time, yet after servicing these same units without using any sprays, the units have been fine for years.
Technique and specific service is better than a blanket cure of mass spray.
One cannot control technique either.
As above, spray something that gets on a high impedance path such as a CV memory, glide circuit, env generator or VCO and there are greater problems.
Overspray is a huge problem with sprays too, because they attract dust to the PCB forming lower resistive paths. I've seen this countless times.
Moreover, the effect of what happens is that a person bought a spray to avoid spending money with a tech, but later has to spend even more.
That's a bad investment in my book.
It's better to pay a pro to do something right than it is to mess it up cheaply for a while.
I also can't tell you how many times I've seen studio engineers buy and use the stuff, then later call me for help. The product flies off the shelf purely from the implied promises it makes, but in reality, many repairs occur that people don't speak about as loudly. Few people will proclaim how they cured a synth followed by another saying they were wrong. The opinion then skews in favor of its usage.
And if you don't believe me, spray something else in your sliders.
PAM non-stick cooking oil, olive oil, WD-40, silicone, teflon, etc.
All will do the same thing- quiet it up, make it smooth and later cause problems. Try it. I've done such tests.
In fact, I could change the label on tons of spray lubes and cleaners to say "fixes pots" and indeed many people would use such a stuff, receive great immediate results and then spout off how good it was.
A business is formed.
In my opinion, much like Caig's.
Or read all the prose on the side of an automotive fuel or oil additive.
They generally read as if they're the very elixir of life for an engine.
Yet ask a pro and they don't mess with such nonsense.
Again, there are reasons, experience being the greatest.
Quick fixes look great. Spray something in. Noise is gone. Great.
I go for longevity though.
Finally, this sort of post begets responses such as "I've never had a problems" or it's been great for me all this time."
No slam, but this makes little difference to me. Units are individuals and advice often isn't. There is no one cure that can be applied to all units, so it's not good advice to treat others units like your own.
Just because an aspirin cured your headache, doesn't mean the fellow you're talking to doesn't have migraines. You never know.
As for me, I don't frequent this board very often lately and may not see your replies.
You're welcome to write me privately at synthfool@synthfool.com, if you'd like though.
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OysterRock
- Posts: 800
- Joined: Thu May 26, 2005 8:52 pm
- Location: Portland, OR
- Contact:
Obviously synthfool is a pro and knows way more about the topic than most all of us, I'm guessing. So if he thinks Caig products are bad, imagine what the Radio Shack ones do! That was the main point of my post. Spraying some stuff into your synth is not a replacement for having it gone over by a professional tech. However, in my very humble opinion, I think CAIG products, applied in small amounts with "spray straws" and Q-tips can work quite well.
I am very interested in sharing/learning synth restoration tips and I think this thread is a good place to start. Thanks all.
I am very interested in sharing/learning synth restoration tips and I think this thread is a good place to start. Thanks all.