Deoxit -- ruined my volume pot?

When I did my recent Sansui receiver refurbish, I cleaned the control pots as a matter of course. They weren't scratchy or intermittent, but I figured they're old and could use it. After I used Deoxit then Faderlube, the volume pot went from being smooth to having a rough, gritty feel, the shaft kind of wobbles loosely, plus the left channel now has a crackle when I rotate the volume. Needless to say I'm kind of bummed, since it was fine before.

I have always been a little suspicious of Deoxit to be honest -- it is basically alcohol and mineral oil. The alcohol part is fine, but the oil seems like it will be a dust magnet, essentially requiring frequent cleaning forever more. Plus, it seems to have wrecked a perfectly good volume pot.

When I first sprayed it in, I used the briefest spray humanly possible -- but still, after I rotated the pot, a tidal wave of Deoxit came sloshing out. Since the pots are attached to the preamp board, it got all over the components and board, leaving it a greasy mess. I let it sit overnight, hoping it would evaporate, but oil doesn't evaporate...

So then I washed down the board with contact cleaner, and got the grease off. That's when I noticed the volume pot was loose and scratchy feeling. I hit it with another dose of Deoxit (catching the excess with paper towels this time), then Faderlube. It got a little smoother, but now I have the left channel crackling that wasn't there before (it's a dual gang pot), plus the shaft is loose and wobbly.

Bottom line -- I don't think Deoxit is the be-all it's been purported to be, and I will never apply it except as a last resort in the future. I'm kind of wishing I'd never heard of it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The problem, most likely, is you used Deoxit D5, which is not recommended for pots because the naptha and other solvents used to dilute Deoxit from 100% to 5% can dissolve the cement holding the carbon fader pads on, inside the pot. For pots you should either be using 100% Deoxit followed by 100% Faderlube, or just 100% Faderlube by itself. There are many references to this in the AK archives. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.

I use Deoxit and Faderlube on a daily basis in my business and have not had any problems with it damaging controls. I use as little as possible to achieve a good result. I have found that on truly dirty and oxidized wire-wound pots it does an amazing job.

KingBubba said:

The problem, most likely, is you used Deoxit D5, which is not recommended for pots because the naptha and other solvents used to dilute Deoxit from 100% to 5% can dissolve the cement holding the carbon fader pads on, inside the pot. For pots you should either be using 100% Deoxit followed by 100% Faderlube, or just 100% Faderlube by itself. There are many references to this in the AK archives. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.

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Have you had experience with or heard of how to re-attach the pads? I guess if they can come unglued, they can be reglued. Thanks for the info.

ChrisMarantz said:

I use Deoxit and Faderlube on a daily basis in my business and have not had any problems with it damaging controls. I use as little as possible to achieve a good result. I have found that on truly dirty and oxidized wire-wound pots it does an amazing job.

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I'm pretty sure this is a carbon-deposit pot. Also, I'm wondering if in the original construction they packed the shaft with grease, which the Deoxit may have dissolved. I can try repacking it I suppose.

I think it is an irreversible situation, sorry to say. I have never heard of a repair job on a volume pot. There is also the possibility that what happened was a temporary situation and not as I described. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

BTW, the spray is adjustable on the Caig products.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=264438

The grease has been washed out of the sleeve bearing. ANY cleaner will do this if enough is used. As far as the overspray, it may take a day or two to evaporate.

KingBubba said:

I think it is an irreversible situation, sorry to say. I have never heard of a repair job on a volume pot. There is also the possibility that what happened was a temporary situation and not as I described. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

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It's easy to take a pot apart. If it's really trashed, what's the harm in trying?

it may come back I have done this and in a few days its pretty ok...

If you're handy and feel brave, you can use this stuff (the 100000 cST is good all around damping fluid) to re-damp the pot shaft in the sleeve. You will, of course, have to remove and disassemble the pot.
BTW, I much prefer the fast evaporating DN-5 for use on pots.

I've been using a spray contact cleaner, then exercising the pot; followed by Cailube and more exercising. It has worked out really well for me (so far). But I wonder if the contact cleaner itself could cause a similar problem?

It's possible the contact cleaner was the culprit. I'm thinking whichever solvent wicked into the pot shaft, dissolving the thick damping grease in there, making the shaft loose and rough feeling, and possibly leaking onto the resistance surface as well, causing the scratching. Luckily it's just a scratch when I move the knob -- it doesn't distort the music once I set the volume.

Thanks for all the info. I may give that silicone a try. I need to re-damp my turntable arm anyway, so that's a good source to have.

That explained what hapend to my balance control in my c-65.Now the thing has to be set at 7 oclock and its verry loose feel.Time to look for a replacement.

glum said:

That explained what hapend to my balance control in my c-65.Now the thing has to be set at 7 oclock and its verry loose feel.Time to look for a replacement.

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I suspect this has happened to more people than is generally known. The Deoxit sticky should probably have a big disclaimer. I don't recall seeing anything like that in the main post, only deep into the many, many pages. I wondered about it myself when it seemed to be advising D5 for general pot use, when the label says it is for contact cleaning only. Maybe it's in there, but I read it twice, and I got the impression that D5 was the way to go for pots.

I should have known better. I studied electronics for 2 years (way back in the 70s) and I remember being advised not to use any cleaner that left a residue. I know others have had great luck with Deoxit, but YMMV and all that...

How are you getting DeoxIT into the shaft bearings? Are you squirting the stuff around the knob, or though the openings in the side where you're supposed to apply it?

Funny, that happened to me once with a Sansui (1000X or something). Volume pot nearly seized right up after an application of Deoxit. Didn't upset me too much, it was only for a work receiver. Funny thing is, I tried the pot a week later, and it was smooth as smooth can be. Only time I've ever had the problem, and it fixed itself.

Sam Cogley said:

How are you getting DeoxIT into the shaft bearings? Are you squirting the stuff around the knob, or though the openings in the side where you're supposed to apply it?

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Only into the opening, not into/through the shaft. But I'm thinking some solvent could have migrated along the shaft where it shouldn't be.

Sometimes these things get worse on first application. I've had several pots become very gritty feeling and even stop working when first cleaning the crap out. A few more sprays and a lot of "back and forth" later, they work well.

titanstats said:

Funny, that happened to me once with a Sansui (1000X or something). Volume pot nearly seized right up after an application of Deoxit. Didn't upset me too much, it was only for a work receiver. Funny thing is, I tried the pot a week later, and it was smooth as smooth can be. Only time I've ever had the problem, and it fixed itself.

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Yes, I noticed the last few days it has gotten a little better on its own. It's smoother anyway, but still crackling in one channel. As long as it doesn't do that while the music is playing, I guess I can live with it.