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Dampening Greases for Potentiometers + track grease Reveiw

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  • Dampening Greases for Potentiometers + track grease Reveiw

    I have had the good fortune to be able to test many dampening greases from 'Nye Lubricants.
    So far I have tested in rebuilding the slide pots in a vintage Moog Satellite synth and a Tascam Porta One Mini Studio with great results.

    For the contact track grease Nye provided me with 'Rheolube 362CP', which is the same contact/track grease that Bourns uses on there wiper contacts. From the engineers mouth who sold Bourns on it.

    For the dampening greases iv used there 'Fluorocarbon 868' series, 868vl,868l,868 and Rheolube 368F. Now slide pots have mechanical play in them and depending on there constructions with determine which grease to use.
    For the Moog it had alot of play and required to Fluorocarbon 868 to provide great feel and to hold the slider in place without bucking which causes skidding.
    The Tascam could use the 868L or VL do to newer and tighter tolerance + reverse construction.
    It is trial and error with taking notes on what feels/performs the best.
    This is all nylon on metal plus the carbon tracks with metal wiper contacts.
    Now for a plastic on plastic pot a lighter grease like the Rheolube 368F would work great.
    I have yet to try the Fluorocarbon 868H, the heaviest i can get from them but i will be able to pick some up soon.

    This process of course requires disassemble of the pots, cleaning (99.9% iso alc), test building with different grease for the best dampening/shear effect feel of the greases. The major benefit is extending the life of the pots to there maximum and restoring or enhancing the feel of there movement. I thought the Moog slide pots were toast, they were horrible with grinding and skidding (they are from the 70's). But after the rebuild they are smooth moving and quieter, plus they function great! The track grease should really extend there life.
    For cheap gear and do to budget i will spray clean/lube as is not worth it to rebuild or replace them.

    Click image for larger version

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  • #2
    Nye makes some cool products and its nice that they gave you some, a very little should go a long way. The main quality of a fader/pot lube should probably be stability and flurocarbon/synthetic lubes would be best in this regard. As I understand it these lubes are of course all highly dielectric but do not cause an appreciable change in the element's resistance in the thin film they form.

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    • #3
      Wow... I'm surprised you can still buy fluorocarbon based stuff. Yellow can TF solvent was outlawed years ago.

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      • #4
        Chloroflourocarbon is the outlawed stuff. Often used as propellant in aerosols, or as refrigerant.
        Solid material using flourocarbon is fairly common, like modern fishing line.
        Originally posted by Enzo
        I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


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