To: Analogue Heaven analogue@hyperreal.org,
From: Kevin Lightner heaven@synthfool.com,
cc:
Subject: Re: [AH] De-Oxit??
Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 23:00:44 -0700
>on 7/3/00 1:05 AM, Kevin Lightner at synthfool@synthfool.com wrote:
>
>>> Does anyone know where I could buy de-oxit? I dont mind getting it
>>> on-line. Just to make it on-topic, I need it to clean my J-Wire Pro-One.
>>>
>>> -John
>>
>>
>> With as much tact as I can possibly muster.... Are you sure you want
>> to do that?
>> :)
>>
>> K
>>
> Is there something I should know?? You're scaring me here! :)
>
> -John
I've written a bunch on this stuff in past years.
Let's consider a few things.
J wires -
J wire keyboards (are) were manufactured with no coatings on the contacts.
They are dry as their normal operating condition.
Spraying a spray, especially a somewhat oily spray like deoxit, on a
bussbar or j wire will immediately help wash away any coatings
(cigarette smoke, etc) but the spray will remain on these parts.
Airborne dust, pet hair, etc will then stick to these parts and cause
friction that will wear away the gold plating. The unit often then
fails much quicker than it would have from a normal contact cleaning
such as when alcohol or other solvents are used. The owner often
thinks he's got to "clean" it again soon after and does the same
treatment, again making it worse.
I've seen SO MANY ruined synths from this stuff!!
Caig is very proud of their claims. They say it "penetrates" the
metal and makes it more conductive.
Think about that. How can this occur? You can't get better than bare
metal to metal contact unless you add something that conducts
electricity. De oxit doesn't conduct electricity.
That means it's actually an insulator and impedes the flow of current.
But what if it's very slightly corrosive? That's an interesting question-
When I see a unit that had been sprayed with lots of deoxit, say 10
years ago, I often find the overspray on IC legs, connectors and
other board components. There is often a green residue as well.
Copper turns green when it oxidizes. Now, this is concerning because
even if the deoxit isn't corrosive (and I'm not saying it isn't
considering their claims), it's residue it can help suspend copper
oxide when can become a low conductive path on a pcb. Any tech will
tell you how bad this is.
It can be as bad as a leaky battery on a pcb.
As far as it being corrosive, I can't say for sure. I'm not a
chemist. There may be some other chemical action taking place which
it facilitates.
However I've definitely seen IC legs break in two from units sprayed with it.
It penetrated the metal alright.
There is no way to "clean" a pot by spraying something like this in there.
You can flush a pot out with various solvents and that can be a true cleaning.
But there's other problems with overspray, plastics, paint, etc.
The fact is, you can spray almost anything in a pot and it will
probably feel better and get quieter.
WD40, Pam non-stick cooking spray, Avon body splash, nasal spray..whatever.
Like many "pot cleanings" they help lubricate the pot and move the
dirt around often temporarily dissolving it.
If this stuff "protected" moving contact parts so well, how come so
many manufacturers don't use it?
There are a couple of isolated makers that use it in their final
products, but I've never seen a large OEM component maker use it at
time of manufacturer of their pot or slider.
It seems that "cause and effect" are too widely spaced here to see
what happens.
You can take a unit with problems to a tech. He sprays up the pots
and contacts and it all works well again. The owner picks it up and
two months later the unit is flaky again.
The tech looks like he was very effective because the unit worked so
well soon afterwards.
But the owner has to bring it back more and more often afterwards.
Btw, I -do- use Caig products occasionally when the owner states he
doesn't care, he just wants it to work for now. I can't always
replace a pot. But having seen so many units for restoration, I can
also see the long term effects of this "wonder chemical" on metal.
Ain't pretty.
If you do use the stuff, make sure you use very little. Even their
instructions say this.
In fact they say to wipe up the overspray.
Interesting for them to say this too (think why!)....but still, it's
often impossible.
My 2 cents, now let's hope I don't get sued. ;-)
K