The Steel Guitar Forum

George sherrard

Peavey Funk-out.

First - DO NOT use anything labeled "cleaner" alone.

"Contact cleaner" by itself will destroy pots. Pots have lubricating oils in them that have to be maintained. Anything you use must be a "cleaner lubricant" meant for use on pots.

Many techs I know use Caig Deoxit D5 followed by Deoxit Pro Gold. Both work well, but the D5 is a slightly better cleaner and Pro Gold is a better product for long-term protection. Deoxit F5 "Fader" cleaner/ lube is also excellent. Many of us use the D5 because it has a wider range of uses

FWIW a small aerosol can of D5 runs about $15-20, which seems expensive compared to other things out there. But so little is needed that it's a lot cheaper in the long run.

And DON'T ever use WD-40, even in a pinch. It's a terrible, contamination-filled product product for electronics.

thank you so much for the great info
my amp is almost as old as I am lol

I used the Caig DeOxit / ProGold recipe on all the pots on one of my old ShoBud amps recently. The amp was unusable, but after several liberal sprays of the DeOxit while working the knobs back and forth the old amp came back to life nearly perfectly! These pots had fairly large access holes so it was a simple matter to do it.

I've been using CAIG Laboratories' Deoxit D100 in the shop for many years and it works; I believe all their products are probably good but, some have a specifically targeted application that should be noted. The D100 will not damage the conductive plastic pots as well and lubricates. I use it on all pots on the bench....so I can recommend this one. It's not inexpensive but, it will last quite a while....one or two shots at the most and work the wiper back and forth

Try this after you use a cleaner, lubricate.

CRC 2-26