Electronic control cleaner

[oldtvman]

In case your looking for control and switch cleaner Harbor Freight has an 11 oz can for $5.99 I bought some and tried it out, works good.

[Tom S]

Wish I could find the old De Ox Id in the green can. And even the old Tune O Power green foam. Boy you couldn't beat that stuff. I used to clean tuners with the Conta Care kit in the green boxes too. Great stuff.

[colorfixer]

DeOxit is still available in the green (ok now black/white/green). They also have a red version that is made for faders.

[walterbeers]

I've had pretty good results with "Electronic Contact Cleaner" made by CRC. It's in a red and white can and I've found it at auto parts stores like O'Reilly auto parts, Advance Auto Parts, etc, Also hardware stores like Westlake, and even found some at Walmart in the automotive section. It's just a contact cleaner though and doesn't have a lubrication base used for tuners. I miss Tun O wash, and tuner cleaner made by GC. I'm going to see if Harbor Fright has the control cleaner as it is a lot cheaper, especially since there is a Harbor Freight about 6 blocks from my house.

[zeno]

Dont forget WD40.
Even cleans a UHF tuner without pulling the ground forks.
Loosens ceased pots especially Pannys & Quasars.
Only a few drops in a tuner, and NEVER use on an old RCA tuner.
Also keep away from dial cords, clutches etc.

73 Zeno

[oldtvman]

Originally Posted by Tom S

Wish I could find the old De Ox Id in the green can. And even the old Tune O Power green foam. Boy you couldn't beat that stuff. I used to clean tuners with the Conta Care kit in the green boxes too. Great stuff.

that and Channel Master color shield

De-ox-id was an excellent cleaner.

[oldtvman]

Originally Posted by walterbeers

I've had pretty good results with "Electronic Contact Cleaner" made by CRC. It's in a red and white can and I've found it at auto parts stores like O'Reilly auto parts, Advance Auto Parts, etc, Also hardware stores like Westlake, and even found some at Walmart in the automotive section. It's just a contact cleaner though and doesn't have a lubrication base used for tuners. I miss Tun O wash, and tuner cleaner made by GC. I'm going to see if Harbor Fright has the control cleaner as it is a lot cheaper, especially since there is a Harbor Freight about 6 blocks from my house.

That's what they have at Harbor freight.

[walterbeers]

Thanks, glad to know that, it's cheaper at Harbor Freight than the prices I've been paying, and there is a Harbor Freight store only about 6 blocks from me. I will definitely check it out.

[nasadowsk]

I remember as a kid seeing 'TV contact cleaner' and "COLOR TV contact cleaner' at Radio Shack. What the heck was the difference? Besides a few bucks a can?

[oldtvman]

Originally Posted by nasadowsk

I remember as a kid seeing 'TV contact cleaner' and "COLOR TV contact cleaner' at Radio Shack. What the heck was the difference? Besides a few bucks a can?

back in the day just like with HD people would use color on things to enhance advertising. Contact cleaner was no exception. Like I said Channel Master had color shield and other companies had cleaners with color in the title also. I'm not a chemist but I don't think there was much difference in any of them.

[oldtvman]

Some other products that took advantage of the color tag were tv antennas, coax cable.

[wkand]

I just checked yesterday, and Radio Shack here in Washington State still carries the equivalent of the old Archer TV Tuner cleaner, and the old COLOR tuner cleaner. The more deluxe version appears to have lubricants in it. They also had a third type of RS branded cleaner for about $8 a 6 oz can. Not sure what the difference is.

They also sell De-Ox-It, but it is spendy stuff, over $20 a can for less than 12 oz.

I agree with whomever said that the automotive style electronic cleaners works as well, just don't use the brake and contact cleaner.

I have used WD-40 for frozen/gummy gas controls on my gas BBQ grill, just fine, but never thought to try it on an electronic control. I'm a little scared of that personally.

[Fairlane500skyliner]

Originally Posted by zeno

Dont forget WD40.

I do not like WD-40 one bit, as it isn't a proper lubricant. It dries up and ends up going gummy and I've even had it get to the point of freezing bearings (oh the irony). Lanox is my preference for light-duty lubrication, with sump oil in an oiling can for anything heavy duty.

Chris

[powerking]

I agree with Chris, WD-40 sucks as a penetrating oil (want to be) or a long lasting lubricant. About the only thing it's good for is removing tar and bugs from auto/truck paint. If you want a really good penetrating oil (in the states at least), Kroil, Gibbs, Liquid Wrench, PB-Blaster are some of the better ones.

Tom (PK)

[julianburke]

When you clean controls; ie pots, make sure it is made for that purpose or at least have some form of a lubricant in it. There are electronic contact cleaners out there but if you use one w/o the lubricant, plastic pots esp will seize.