How good is this stuff? Does it remove black tarnish, making things shiny again, or just wash away the dirt and grease like most spray contact cleaners?

I dont know about DEOXIT, but I have DE-OX-ID that actually detarnishes contacts, especially the silver plated ones.


Dave

I just got my first spray can.

How do you apply this, with little waste?

I use long wood stick Q-tips purchaced from drug store. 100 for $1.

Use spray wand thingy that comes with can to apply 1 drop to cotton on Q-tip.
Good for wafer swithces.

Go to town!!

For vol pots and such, just use good control to apply very little.


5oz spray can I have I purchaced in 1978. $1.49 Still over half full.

1 drop goes a long way. No need to drench anything, just get it wet.


Dave

Very sparingly if using the spray tube. As in only let a drop or two come out onto the switch contacts. In cases where it is possible, I prefer to wet the tip of a good quality cotton swab and use that on the moving contacts of the switch. Same technique works on tube pins, and if cleaning socket contacts a tiny drop on a welding torch tip cleaner, pipe cleaner etc. is all you need on each contact.

A can of this stuff will last for at least a couple of years if used properly, even if you do a lot of sets.

The deoxit red in the spray can is pricey, but good. Here's how I clean pots, switches, etc.
I only use the thinned propelled version as a way to get a thin coating in to recessed areas.
Not for flushing.
First spray with the cheap plain type contact cleaner, work back and forth, then blast out with "canned air".
Allow part to dry for a while.
Give a quick shot of the canned deoxit red and work back and forth.
Now you have a nice cleaned and protected pot with out using up a half a can of 15 dollar product.
I have done this to switches and pots on 30 or 40 year old equipment that barely worked and even now a few years later still work nicely.

Hello Badrestorer,
I'm like ElectroDave
my can is from the mid 80s .
Sincerely Rich
P.S. I know you will like the stuff when you get it it's great on alot of stuff even relay contacts .

Hello morseguy
I have a Harmon Kardon that restored back in the mid 80s .
I used it on the switches and it's still as good as when I first cleaned them.
Rich

How good is this stuff?

Its junk . It wont last

DE-OX-IT: USE OLEIC ACID, 2 OZ OF OLEIC ACID TO QT. OF NAPTHA. THIS IS SOLD IN SAUDI ARABIA AS CRAMOLIN DOES THE SAME THING. dialcord.com

Cool. How did you reverse engineer it?

In many countries the ingredients have to be listed on the package.

Deoxit is based on oleic acid (a fatty acid found in vegetable oil) and solvent. oleic acid has an affinity for copper and will dissolve copper compounds. It will also oxidize and form a plastic-like film. It cleans copper. It's a good product but is expensive for what it contains. A person can make their own similar product with loleic acid and the solvent of their choice. I ordered a small bottle from Bill Turner. He wittingly calls it "Cease and desist" contact cleaner because he was threatened by the company that makes deoxit.

See this thread: http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/vie ... 355e9ecc34

I think I remember reading that in the olden days oils containing oleic like olive oil were used to clean and protect brass musical instruments and brass clockwork.

I WAS THREATENED WITH EVERYTHING BUT BODILY HARM IF I DIDN'T STOP REFERRING TO THE CLEANER I WAS SELLING AS BEING ______. IN FACT THE FORMULA WAS FROM A LABEL OF THE EUROPEAN "CRAMOLIN". I AM NOT SO SURE THAT THE TWO WEREN'T THE SAME, CAIG AT ONE TIME SOLD CRAMOLIN TO THE AMERICAN MARKET. THE SMALL BOTTLE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DILUTED WITH 32 OZ. OF NAPTHA WHICH MAKES A LIFETIME SUPPLY. dialcover.com

Bill Turner could be correct. I have heard the same thing somewhere else, but I don't remember. All I know is the stuff works good for me and I don't have time to make up my own concoctions.

Several years ago there was heated discussion on a forum/news group over deoxit. I was ganged up on by a bunch of thick headed old jerks that couldn't let reason through their skulls. They treated Deoxit as some mysterious formulae with magical properties. I left that group. I had a relative that was a chemist with access to lab equipment. That relative analyzed drinking water for some of us, and I gave this person some deoxit. I know it contains oleic.

I have the tiny little red bottle of de-oxit. Completely overpriced. To the extent of gouging I would say. I can see why they would want to keep it hush hush. What a gravy train. Must be run by a pharmaceutical company.

Thanks for the enlightening discussion. Any other secret recipes of whatever products anyone know of?

Caig used to sell Cramolin; I think I still have a bottle of the blue (I used up the red) back when they were advertising in Audio Amateur. I understand there was some dispute with the German manufacturer, and Caig changed the name to DeOxit. Whether the formula changed too, I couldn't say. I still buy DeOxit, since the spray cans are convenient, but also have a bottle of Bill's oleic acid.

If you want to know if the stuff works, take a piece of old brass and touch your ohmmeter probes to the surface. Wipe it with DeOxit and try again.

You guys that have DeOxit from the 80s have some primo stuff. I recall how well it worked back then. Oxide on silver plated terminals like bandswitches would just wash off.

Nowadays all the stuff does is sit there and color the phenolic to a red color.

Another victim of "new, improved"...mostly shipping regulations. There was a time when DeOxit was worth the extra buck.

Can you recommend something else?

Phil