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Vintage Synth Repair

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Message

contact cleaners

2008-04-07 by Roy J. Tellason

I find that you can divide contact cleaners into roughly three categories:

1. Stuff that just cleans.  I used to use a lot of "Tun-O-Wash" which blasts 
pretty good,  though I hear that the formula has changed since the whole CFC 
thing and is not quite as effective.  Also "Lectra-clean" for stubborn cases,  
used to buy that in a gallon can,  I don't even think it's available any 
more,  and it will attack some plastics.

2. Stuff that "cleans and lubricates".  The key word there is "lubricate" and 
if you see that on the can you'll know that this stuff leaves a residue 
behind,   typically some kind of silicone but it could be any number of 
things.  Because of dust and other considerations,  I tended not to use this 
much.

3. Stuff with abrasive cleaners in it.  There have been a number of different 
kinds of this out there,  it's typically got a bit of some really fine 
abrasive (think "jeweler's rouge" or similar) in it,  and leaves some of that 
no the contacts to get them to continue to get a nasty case cleaned 
off.  "Blue stuff" and RCA's "Big Red" come to mind,  I'm sure there are 
others.

More recent stuff like de-oxit and whatnot would be something I'd put into the 
first category.

Not ever WD-40,  no way!  :-)

-- 
Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and
ablest -- form of life in this section of space,  a critter that can
be killed but can't be tamed.  --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters"
-
Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James 
M Dakin

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