Lubricate a pot

[Axtman]

One problem with using Caig DeOxIt (and other comparable products) is that cleaning the pot removes the lubricate. The pot does not turn smoothly. Is there any way after the cleaning to lubricate the pot? That is without disassembling the pot?

[mozz]

They sell fader lube.

[DrGonz78]

I always use lithium based lubricant for pot sliders. I notice it restores the travel of the pot slightly. But over time it helps a little. But yeah once you flush out the lubricant it is tough to get it back to the way it was.

[Chuck H]

I've had good luck using potentiometer cleaner/lube products. I've also looked into the detriment of some de ox products and solvents as they relate to thermo plastics used in many (most?) potentiometes. Most potentiometer cleaner/lube products are safe but do your own research. Some de ox cleaners and solvents made for metal contacts will melt pot tracks. Not always all at once but damage with every use until failure. So DO look into this. And...

Before using cleaner/lube products I always blow out the potentiometer as best I can. Sometimes it's just my mouth but usually I use a small hand pump made as a portable bike tire pump with a narrow tube attached. Getting as much dust out as possible before introducing lubricant is important because lubricant has "viscosity". Read "sticky". And we don't want to make any conductive mud.

[Greg Robinson]

Pots have two or three areas that are lubricated - the wafer and the shaft on most standard types, and for some designs also the backshell - CTS nylon shaft pots for example, the wiper and shaft is one assembly that is not retained by the bushing and can slide out the rear, and is instead retained by pressure from the backshell, so there is lubricant between the backshell and wiper.

Depending on the manufacturer and design they may use the same or different types of lubricants in each area.

Typically it's only the wiper/wafer that needs cleaning (and then subsequent re-lubrication). We don't want to be flushing/washing out the shaft or backplate lubricant which does not contribute to electronic scratches. Typically if a shaft itself has become rough or siezed it's already too late to re-lubricate and will need to be replaced due to galling on the shaft/bushing, and the pot will need to be disassembled to properly relubrictate those parts anyway, so I'll skip that.

I've had best luck with Caig Deoxit D series. Several years ago Caig introduced the so-called "perfect straw", a horrible design for our purposes. The pressure is much higher than it ever was before and lacks the adjustability of the previous design, as well as leaks at the joins and the expensive product doesn't even make it down the straw! This is still the standard item sold as D5/F5/G5, but they did eventually relent and begin selling the previous version as "L-M-H" (for low, medium high adjustable pressure), though it's still a little difficult to track down at least here in Australia, and it's usually sold at a premium over the "perfect straw" version.

Anyway, most of the problems for lubrication of the shaft or backplate in my experience comes from excessive use of cleaner spray. The perfect straw version of Deoxit makes it near impossible to control the dose of cleaner. LMH version is better but still not ideal IMO. I've actually mostly switched from using the D5 spray to making my own diluted version from the D100 concentrate and mixing with a petroleum distillate. I've not found a local source of the same CAS number used in the genuine product, but use Shellite, which is a similar light aliphatic naphtha. It's also MUCH cheaper this way.

Dosing this mix with a syringe (get a type with small flexible plastic tip or put some heatshrink on the end for a fine nozzle!) gives me much better control on where and how much I apply.
I apply a small amount of my 5% D series mixture to the wafer and use gravity to my advantage where possible (shaft facing down so the product sits on the wafer), give the pot several back and fourth rotations, wait about 5 minutes, and apply my 5% F series (faderlube) mixture with several more rotations.

Since being more concious of what I'm doing and avoiding spraying anything down the shaft of pots (something I often see recommended to avoid having to open chassis), I never have any problem with the "feel" of a pot changing or becoming loose (though I still encounter that often on repairs that have been serviced by others previously). You don't need much product, like Chuck mentions we're not trying to "flush" dirt out of the shell with these products, you should clear dust if present by other methods first. The D series cleaner is quite effective at removing oxidation in small doses all by itself, and the F series lubricant protects the wiper and wafer long term.

[tedmich]

Nye makes several suitable lubes for potentiometers, see attached sheet Nye_potentiometers.pdf
for conductive plastic (CP) pots I like their Fluorocarbon Gel 813-1 or 868H

I bought 1g of their Fluorocarbon Gel 868H off Ebay with this vendor
https://www.ebay.com/usr/best-microscope-solutions

[Mick Bailey]

I've use motorcycle chain lube for a long time. It's designed to go on thin and penetrate the chain links, not fling and cushion against shock loads. It's also extremely tenacious. I use PJ1 or Bel-Ray and It needs to be non-graphite. It restores the smooth drag in a pot shaft back to feeling like new. There are two ways I use it - if the pot is dismantled I spray a little into a jar and let it thicken to grease and apply it to the shaft. If the pot is assembled I apply the thin product with a toothpick to the pot shaft/bush gap and let it wick in, but don't spray it directly as too much comes out - spray it into a jar or lid first. It takes overnight to thicken and may need a couple of applications. Too much will migrate before thickening - you want just enough to get down the shaft.

[nevetslab]

Tucked away in my smaller storage locker is a tool chest that has a collection of old medical syringes and their various swappable needles before eBay outlawed the sale of such items, and seems like I need to cobble some additional pot lubrication tools to revise that hard plastic straw that now is far larger in diameter than the older D-100 deoxit ispray containers now obsolete.

Will share the outcome as I have to rescue more tool chests in the two lockers I now have to rescue and relocate closer to home.

[Mars Amp Repair]

Hello Axtman,
I agree with Nevetslab, but I don't have a syringe. I should get one. I just split a wooden cotton swab so it is thin on the end. I then try to get a drop of deox on it & slip it into the slot on the fader so the deox only coats the carbon track, and doesn't touch the lubed part of the fader. Not the best method, but the process is the same. If I saw more mixers w/faders I'd definitely get a syringe. I'm not even sure if you can purchase syringes w/o a prescript.
BTW Nevetslab: I hope you're able to get some local help with your storage issues.

[nevetslab]

While I regularly carve up the ends of spent cotton swabs’ wooden shafts for tiny spatulas, having a small bottle of Deoxit with the screw-on cap having a tiny brush attached, that normally is the applicator for brushing on Dioxit onto the carbon track & wiper on the pots removed from chassis and PCB’s.

[Axtman]

Thanks for all the replies. I have actually taken apart pots and lubricated them with Vasoline.

In my specific case, I determined the pot had a cracked wafer, so I replaced it; there was no need to lubricate a new pot.

[g1]

As far as re-lubing the bushing without disassembly of the pot, I don't think it's possible.

[Chuck H]

As far as re-lubing the bushing without disassembly of the pot, I don't think it's possible.

Me either. The viscosity of shaft lube is too great to force it into the small tolerance of the fitted parts. Unless...

You warm things up. I've considered using a heat gun to warm both shaft and lube to allow some wicking. But I've never tried it. Sounds like it could work. (I'm getting an odd deja vu right now)

[Mark Hammer]

Cleaners/reconditioners, like DeOxit, are intended to remove unwanted stuff from the contacts and resistive strip. Maybe they leave something lubricating behind, but that's not their express purpose. I like to use something called Stabilant 22. It is incorrectly described by some as a cleaner. It is formally a contact enhancer, and used to be sold as an audiophile product under the name Tweak.. It is named "Stabilant" because it remains viscous for the life of the product and never dries out. The viscosity of the product does two things. First it fills in the "pits" in the resistive strip that have been worn away from excessive use over the years, with an electro-conductive polymer, turning it from a "gravel road" to "smooth 2-lane blacktop". Second, that viscosity serves as an ongoing lubricant.

There are two caveats. One is that it is bloody expensive. Several millilitres of the stuff can set you back fifty bucks. But it takes very little to restore a noisy pot to full functionality. A couple of sesame-seed-sized droplets, and you're in business. Second, because it never dries out, you can't build up layers. So it will do a fabulous job restoring reliable conductivity in so many things (I've restored SIM cards, Nintendo cartridges, TV remotes, etc.) that haven't been used to near death. But if you've been playing the same wah in a Cream cover band doing 3 sets nightly for the last 20 years, and playing White Room and Tales of Brave Ulysses, again and again and again, you're probably going to have to buy a new wah pot, because there's only so much of a gap the stuff can fill.

Rather than spray, which I find messy, I lift the tabs holding the back of the pot on, just enough to offer some wiggle room, and clean the resistive strip with a cotton-tipped applicator, now that I can really get in there. Insomuch as things like DeOxit are also meant to chemically remove any tarnish on the wiper, putting a bit of the stuff on the cotton applicator isn't a bad idea at all, but a dry wipe is perfectly fine, too. You'd be surprised how much black crap will show up on the applicator, most of it stuff that has been worn off the resistive strip by the constant rubbing of the wiper. The Stabilant will come with small applicators. You put a droplet in, move the wiper around to spread it, move over a bit and put another droplet on, and so on. Many pots will need application in the area of most use. For many devices, it will often be the first 30% of rotation that gets used most and is noisiest. While the back is removed, I sometimes find it helpful to give the rivets securing the solder lugs to the resistive strip a little squeeze with the needle nose pliers, because they can also become loose enough to impair reliable conductivity.

A number of members here with busy repair benches have noted in past that they rely on the one-two-punch of DeOxit and Stabilant. DeOxit first to chemically remove contact inhibitors, and Stabilant after to enhance what's there.

[Tom Phillips]

[QUOTE=Mark Hammer;n1005606...I like to use something called Stabilant 22. It is incorrectly described by some as a cleaner. It is formally a contact enhancer, and used to be sold as an audiophile product under the name Tweak...[/QUOTE]
I remember Tweek. In fact, after reading this, I found that I still have some bought long ago. (It's labeled "Tweek" vs. "Tweak") It's in a small glass bottle with an applicator brush cap.
I stopped using it long ago after reading reviews from faithful users reporting connector metal surface deterioration after they had used it on their sound system RCA connectors per the instructions which said to apply it annually. This doesn't mean that it's successor is not an excellent product to use on pot resistive strips. I plan to do some current research. That usually results in finding both strong supporters and strong condemnation as well as totally frustrating ridiculous opinions.