Common household product that can be used for pot lube?

[Helmholtz]

See post #7.

[The Dude]

Well, shucks. I was out gigging last week and see I missed a birthday. Happy belated birthday Helmholtz! I hope it was a good one!

[Helmholtz]

Thanks, Dude.
Didn't want to derail the thread.

[g1]

Forgot about the 'comment' option which is a nice way not to clutter threads. Happy belated birthday.

[Greg Robinson]

Really? I have read many times WD40 had no lubrication properties once dry. I'll try it if you're sure but i have read so many times it's not a lube and also not good to use in pots that i'm a bit gunshy.

I think there's nuance there, emphasis mine.

...it´s Saturday afternoon, and you need it NOW...

...and then apply *a little* squirt of WD40 to restore some lubrication.

My personal experience with pots that have been treated with WD40 is poor. In the short term it can help get rid of scratches, but quickly (within months) gets worse than it was originally, and the WD40 impedes the function of subsequent treatment with proper products, requiring multiple applications of D5 or other solvents to clear it out. YMMV.

FWIW, I disassemble quite a few pots for various reasons, they have always in my experience had a *light* film of lubricant on the wafer from the manufacturer, I've not seen one to my recollection that relies solely on the carbon track for self-lubrication.

EDIT: It's also possible that WD40 has different formulations in different markets, which might account for differing reports.

[Chuck H]

It should be noted...

WD in the product moniker stands for "water displacement". So it's a water displacement intention combination of chemicals combined with a solvent. The original product found it's way into use such that almost everyone had a bottle on hand. So what do you do in a humid environment when your guitar players amp isn't working, you don't have time for putting it on the bench and you don't have your full arsenal of products and tools??? WD40 to the rescue! Somehow this reputation got into the public domaign such that the WD40 people decided to market a product specific to the task. Is it a good product??? Certainly not better than whatever had gone before that was immersed in more industry time and understanding. Stay with the tried and true products that STARTED in the electronics industry. I think it's entirely probable that the WD40 electronics marketed products aren't up to speed on the dangers of some solvents with regard to thermoplastics and carbon based inks in potentiometers. They were just taking advantage of internet inroads. Stay with longer established industry products for pot service.

JM2C

[Greg Robinson]

3 reasons.... 1-every other can i buy if not 2 out of 3 leaks all over me when i squirt it, even with the new "improved" nozzle. 2-i do NOT get years of use, more like a year with all the leakage plus they often run out of propellant well before it's empty, and 3-all that for about $20? No thanks, i tend to not patronize companies who sell defective products for a fortune. And yes, i'm sure your experience is better then mine for whatever reason and you wouldn't be the only one. But i AM the one so i'm done wit them. I tend to hold to my strong principles when it comes to stuff like this. Vote with your wallet !

I also am annoyed by the change to the "perfect straw" - I've also experienced it leaking and wasting product, the large inflexible nozzle, the excessive spray pressure and removal of adjustability, and running out of propellant before being empty. Also, at least here in Australia, the "LMH" adjustable versions are difficult to find (and frequently misidentified by sellers) and impossible to have shipped from the US.
However, it's still the best product I've been able to find for the task.

So instead, I've switched to using the liquid concentrate, diluting with my own solvent and applying with a syringe with tiny flexible plastic needle. While the initial investment was higher, the cost per mL is significantly lower, not to mention the lack of waste. The added control in dispensing is very nice too, much less mess.
I dilute the concentrate with "Shellite", a lightweight naphtha/petroleum distillate similar to the one used by the manufacturer. You can check the MSDS for the CAS numbers to find similar solvents available in your area.

[daz]

I also am annoyed by the change to the "perfect straw" - I've also experienced it leaking and wasting product, the large inflexible nozzle, the excessive spray pressure and removal of adjustability, and running out of propellant before being empty. Also, at least here in Australia, the "LMH" adjustable versions are difficult to find (and frequently misidentified by sellers) and impossible to have shipped from the US.
However, it's still the best product I've been able to find for the task.

So instead, I've switched to using the liquid concentrate, diluting with my own solvent and applying with a syringe with tiny flexible plastic needle. While the initial investment was higher, the cost per mL is significantly lower, not to mention the lack of waste. The added control in dispensing is very nice too, much less mess.
I dilute the concentrate with "Shellite", and similar lightweight naphtha/petroleum distillate. You can check the MSDS for the CAS numbers to find similar solvents available in your area.

I forgot to add that to my reasons why i don't buy deoxit anymore. So thats what, 4 reasons then. Thats one of my biggest complaints. I've sprayed it in small bottle before but it's just a hassle to clean a pot w/o removing it. With spray i can just give it a shot and done in 2 seconds. So thats why i switched to the WD40 contact cleaner called "specialist". I just wish it has lube in it.

[Delta362]

I spray the D5 into a small medicine cup and dip Q-tips to apply it. I've found that a can lasts far longer than just spraying it.

BTW, since so many customers complained about the "Perfect Straw", they've brought back the original LMH version. Now I just buy whichever version of it is on sale since I started using the medicine cup.

https://caig.com/caig-perfect-straw-almost-perfect/

[g1]

BTW, since so many customers complained about the "Perfect Straw", they've brought back the original LMH version. Now I just buy whichever version of it is on sale since I started using the medicine cup.

https://caig.com/caig-perfect-straw-almost-perfect/

Some interesting links on that page, especially this one for adding a tiny right-angle needle: https://caig.com/90-degree-straw-att...perfect-straw/

[Leo_Gnardo]

I've switched to using the liquid concentrate, diluting with my own solvent and applying with a syringe with tiny flexible plastic needle. While the initial investment was higher, the cost per mL is significantly lower, not to mention the lack of waste. The added control in dispensing is very nice too, much less mess.
I dilute the concentrate with "Shellite", a lightweight naphtha/petroleum distillate similar to the one used by the manufacturer. You can check the MSDS for the CAS numbers to find similar solvents available in your area.

I like your approach.

With a small plastic "glue" applicator bottle, I'm doing similarly. A bottle meant for applying drops of oil would work fine too, about an ounce or two. These are flexible plastic bottles with a hollow steel tip. I put a good squirt of D5 spray in the bottle, a milliliter or two is enough. Then about 5x as much 95% ethyl alcohol. I can dole a drop or two out that way, even more dilute than D5, maybe 1% or so. There's enough DeOxit to do the trick most of the time, and less mess to prevent or clean up compared to using their spray cans.

I suppose I could mix from concentrate. Actually I ran across another tale of dilution from back in the days of Cramolin, before it was supplied as a convenient, more or less, spray. Probably an account in an ancient Audio Amateur or similar, one tech said he had a jar of red Cramolin thinly diluted in ethyl alcohol, and he soaked switches & pots in there for a day or two prior to installation. Soldering-in done after a good drain and drying out I'm sure. Trying to build in longevity I suppose. 40ish years later now, I wonder how his pots & switches held up.

Cramolin was the predecessor to DeOxit prior to about 1990. Caig's never been clear if they are one and the same product (or group of products, red blue and whatever else), but it would seem that way.

[Wound_Up]

You can buy the oem damping grease used in CTS pots on Amazon. It's Nyogel 767a. Made by Nye Lubricants. It was actually called something else but this stuff has replaced that grease since whatever literature I found was printed.


I bought a jar for 12.95, cleaned a pot & lubed it, and it feels indistinguishable from a brand new CTS pot. When I found the name of the oem grease, I contacted Nye Lubricants about getting a sample and the specialist told me at that time that 767a had replaced whatever I was looking for, then pointed me to a company where I could get a sample.

So I just bought this jar instead since it was $13 and when used in a clean pot, it was indistinguishable from a CTS pot with new, untouched grease. You only need 1 small dot of grease inline with the low spot on the back of the wafer. That's the only place you grease. I assumed the shaft would be, also, but it was clean & dry along with the carbon trace.

https://a.co/d/5WFZQi3

I don't have anything to do with Nye or the place selling this stuff on Amazon. I'm just a guitar player that came across this from some Google search results so I thought I'd share my info & knowledge. I was actually searching for Hot Rod Deluxe info and came across a post here from R.G. so I was looking to see if he was still active because it was a pretty old thread. 10 yrs old or something. Anyway. Just thought I'd share. Lol

Edit: now that I think about it, I have no idea which guitar I put that pot in that I cleaned and lubed and it'd be impossible for me to find it without taking apart every pot in every guitar I own. The only difference between the grease on Amazon and what CTS uses is the color. This stuff is clear while CTS uses a colored grease. I'm sure they do that because it's easier to see how much has been applied.