I bought this amp for $150  I was worried at first but all the pots n Jack's were dirty, cutting out or fizzing out !!!! I had the amp apart anyways so I  contact cleaned all the parts  one man's garbage is another man's treasure !!!!!!!!! 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

I took the black top off the Deoxit and put the WD40 cap and nozzle on the Deoxit can.

Does DeOxit D5 'damage' carbon tracks?

There is a myth which is going around the Internet that DeOxit D5 somehow damages the carbon tracks on pots by 'attacking' the carbon in some way. I'm here to bust this myth once and for all. TLDR: DeOxit D5 is safe for use  on carbon tracks.
I finally worked out where this myth came from as it didn't make any sense to me. A viewer engaged with me quite forcibly to say that D5 damages pots. I disagreed. He then linked me in to an Internet article which stated that mineral spririts attack carbon. D5 has mineral spirits, therefore it attacks carbon.
This started me thinking. Could I be wrong on this one? So I did some digging. I'd always remembered that pretty much nothing attacks carbon as it is a very stable element. This turns out to be true. If you have a carbon deposit you want to get rid of (say on an engine), the deposit is usually stuck down to the surface with some gunk or other. Soaking in mineral spirits may loosen this gunk and allow some of the carbon particles to be carried away in suspension, note NOT 'dissolved'. So the mineral spirit does NOT attack carbon. You could leave your pot in a bath of MS for a decade and have no effect. I believe this is the origin of the myth. I decided to check in with DeOxit technical department today and here is their response. So... myth busted I reckon.

June 27th 2022

Good morning Stuart,

Your email was re-directed to me. I’m a bit under the weather, so please bear with me.

It is frustrating when so called experts “get it wrong” about fixing or trying to fix electronics with our products, or for that matter, even with our competitors’ products.

Concerning pots and faders, DeOxit D series products have been used on those for countless decades and when used properly work perfectly by service techs and manufactures in production and service kits.
Concerning conductive carbon faders in particular, we developed the DeoxIT® Fader product in concert with RANE Corporation many years ago.  

When, so called, damage occurs, it is not the DeoxIT® that causes the damage.  If they use one of our sprays with a solvent, if the carbon has been scratched or damaged the solvent will flush it off the surface.  

DeoxIT® D-Series products are safe on metals, plastic and carbon. The only caution we state is on semi-cured plastics (some polyethylene may soften), varnishes and any motor windings (which have varnish to protect from other windings).

So, you are correct in your statements. Mineral oil will not damage metals, plastics and carbon. Some solvents will may affect plastics and occasionally carbon if it is an aggressive solvent (we do not use on any of our products).

Hope the above is helpful.  If you have any more questions, please let me know.

Some additional information:

Best regards,

(Caig Technical Department)

Useful info sir !!!
The only pot video I've seen that physically shows how they work !!!
I use these tubes when oil spraying my car and came up with the same idea  the a hose with the same ID as the od on the little hose on the can !!!!!
Thanks for showing how to spray the pots from the inside of the device !!!!

Thanks for the education on the pot screen capacitors, I should never have thought of that myself!

I love all your videos. Very informative & I appreciate the fact that you are willing to share your experience & wisdom with the world.

Great advice from Stuart here. I couldn't get to the back of the pots of my Behringer PA amp so as a last resort I sprayed the pots topside after taking the knobs off. It worked! Probably not as good as getting to the back of the pots but enough product passed through the splined shaft and reached the carbon track to work. Being a PA amp there are a lot of knobs as well. This is now my preferred method of pot cleaning. I currently use WD40, they do now make a contact cleaner version. Much quicker too.

Hello Stuart ,
I realise you posted this Video more than five years ago , so you might not even see my Comment . But if you do , I want to tell you . . . . .
   Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to create and share this Video .
Your knowledge and skills are Amazing !!
 For the last 25 or so years , when I had a questionable Pot I would just purchase and install a new one myself . But due to a major life change I'm no longer able to do that . So simply doing a repair like this is my only option .
 You showed every detail needed to make this repair as easy as possible . And I truly appreciate your help with this .
 Now , I'm extremely excited to browse through your entire Catalogue of Videos to watch and learn about all the things I never knew , that I don't know . lol .
Thank You Again .
   I hope you're doing well and staying safe . 😀
And of course I had to hit your Subscribe Button .

Excellent tutorial, thanks 👍

Best pot cleaner demo I seen.

So refreshing finding someone who's old school enough to deal with the real life of tech work and not merely sanitised examples designed for an imaginary world that none of us actually lives in.

Finally someone with excellent information. Nice drawings too. You must be an artist.
Thanks you,
James

Until I saw this, was panicking over all 10 of the pots on my amp sounding scratchy and dropping out. I’m going to get some of this heading my way now. Thanks Stuart!

AKA How to dissolve your grease inside the potentiometers that protect the carbon and give that smooth feel.

Just found your channel and really enjoying the content. I came looking for info on cleaning pots but really enjoyed your introduction on circuits/symbols etc.  So clear and easy to understand.

Great info, thank you for sharing

The contact cleaner comes in bigger sizes  and cheaper from the motor trade

Hi Stuart, Thanks for this. I now have a clear understanding of what's going on inside my amp and how to address it. There is no need to watch any more videos on this topic!

Absolutely fascinating and beautifully explained, thank you.

Super interesting! I was wondering how a pot works, now I know. Thank you!