[sdiy] Slide pot cleaning

[David Huss]

I mean theoretically that is what it should do. I have seen repair-people using deoxidizer and rubbing a piece of paper between the wiper and the resistive trace. If we are talking about a copper contact you can do worse than cleaning it with polish meant to clean metals.  

I am not aure what it would do to a carbon or conductive plastic layer tho.

On April 29, 2026 5:58:56 AM UTC, "Adam (synthDIY)" <synthdiy at adambaby.com> wrote:
>Does polishing cream actually improve conductivity by removing oxide build up?
>It's not something I've ever used.
>
>A
>
>> On 29 Apr 2026, at 15:19, Maarten via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>> 
>> I would not advise to use sand paper at all. You better use some polishing paste with a very small grain. 
>> 
>> Op 29-4-2026 om 01:30 schreef Adam (synthDIY):
>>> I tackled this a few years ago, HTH
>>> 
>>> 
>>> https://mezzoauto.blogspot.com/2017/05/roland-sh-09-slide-pot-rehab.html
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> A
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On 28 Apr 2026, at 21:53, rburnett at richieburnett.co.uk <mailto: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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>>> 
>>> 
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