[sdiy] Slide pot cleaning

[Adam (synthDIY)]

I tackled this a few years ago, HTH


https://mezzoauto.blogspot.com/2017/05/roland-sh-09-slide-pot-rehab.html
Roland SH-09 slide pot rehab
mezzoauto.blogspot.com



A


> On 28 Apr 2026, at 21:53, rburnett at richieburnett.co.uk wrote:
> 
> Can anyone recommend a good process for cleaning dust our of slide potentiometers on an old Roland SH-09?
> 
> The synth was stored underneath a bed in the spare room when we moved house about ten years ago, and I *thought* it had a dust cover over it!  It turns out it didn't (>.<)  and the slide pots are in quite bad shape now.
> 
> The synth is functional but the sliders feel scratchy and there is obviously intermittent electrical contact because cutoff, LFO rate, etc jump around a lot when the sliders are adjusted.  The slide switches are okay, and the keys aren't too bad after a bit of use.
> 
> I've removed the front panel and also found that there is some sort of black felt/foam sheet that was obviously originally meant to be a dust shield for the slide pots.  The problem is that this material has become brittle and literally crumbles upon touching.  Can anyone recommend a good material to replace this with?
> 
> If I can fix the pots with a squirt of some magic spray that would be fantastic, but I'm also prepared to de-solder then and carefully open them up for cleaning if that is what is required.  I would rather take time to do the job properly, but not sure what is the best way to proceed?  I have access to a dry compressed-air line, dish soap, cotton buds, Isopropyl alcohol, acetone, silicone grease, soldering/de-soldering tools, etc, but don't want to risk making the problem worse without asking for advice first.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any advice,
> 
> -Richie,
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