is using DeoxIT D5 really safe used as directed

Thread Starter

petewh

Joined Mar 23, 2016
45
I've used the contact cleaner before and the spray gets on a lot of electronics and doesn't evaporate. I have sprayed canned air on afterword that thins the excess out. I have another signal generator that cleaning the switch contacts may improve performance. I thought I'd ask the Forum if someone had more experience with DeoxIT D5. The instructions say the electrical equipment can be used 2 minutes after application. I'm not heavy on the trigger but a burst comes out and I know I'm going to get the cleaner all over the circuit boards. Off hand, I would think it is flammable and the can says it is. It's a common recommended cleaner. What's the story?
 
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to3metalcan

Joined Jul 20, 2014
260
I've been using D5 for years in audio repairs and I've never had any trouble with it. It does smoke if stuff is super hot (like overheated vacuum tubes), but it's never flamed or flashed, and I can't imagine it would unless you really douse it. It's also really, really non-conductive, so unless you're working on something stupendously high voltage the electricity itself is not a concern.
 

Thread Starter

petewh

Joined Mar 23, 2016
45
I've been using D5 for years in audio repairs and I've never had any trouble with it. It does smoke if stuff is super hot (like overheated vacuum tubes), but it's never flamed or flashed, and I can't imagine it would unless you really douse it. It's also really, really non-conductive, so unless you're working on something stupendously high voltage the electricity itself is not a concern.
Thanks for the post. I did Google about the solvent and quite a few said the didn't like the residue it leaves. They also agree that using compressed air to blow it away is used a lot.
 

recklessrog

Joined May 23, 2013
985
Hi, if you don't want it to go everywhere, spray a little into a container and then use a small artist's brush to put it just where it is needed.
 

Thread Starter

petewh

Joined Mar 23, 2016
45
What kind of contact cleaner are you using that doesn't evaporate?
The stuff is made by Caig Laboratories. They have several different types designated by DeoxIT followed by the the particular type. I'm using D5. They have a "gold" type for contacts that I've read doesn't leave a residue. D5 does the company says evaporate, meaning some of the solvent. But It leaves a residue that looks wet and stays. I've looked 6 months later at the ckt board of a scope I was calibrating and it was still there and just as "wet" looking. I hadn't a problem operating the scope but have been a little concerned enough to ask. Normally I don't want a sticky fluid covering both ends of my resistors at the leads, capacitors, etc. People who clean pots with it complain that the residue makes dust stick.
 

Thread Starter

petewh

Joined Mar 23, 2016
45
Hi, if you don't want it to go everywhere, spray a little into a container and then use a small artist's brush to put it just where it is needed.
Yes, that would work, The container is a good idea. I have a bunch of small brushes around. I don't have the unit open now and won't for at least week but when I looked, the switches were sealed except for a small opening. I don't remember if the opening was on top so gravity could do the trick, or in the horizontal. But I might be able to tilt the unit and do it.
 

to3metalcan

Joined Jul 20, 2014
260
I think I've sometimes rinsed it off with 99% isopropyl, which definitely does evaporate quite quickly. I wouldn't use D5 in pots, I would use F5 which is made for the purpose, but the thing about making dust stick sounds like internet horsefeathers, if you'll pardon my saying so. Dust isn't what makes pots noisy or inaccurate anyway (unless you've got a whole hairball stuffed into one), it's wear on the resistive track or oxides deposited on the track or wiper by humidity. The former isn't going to be fixed by any chemical, though the lube in F5 can make it a little less noticeable. The latter will actually be prevented by the supposedly undesirable "residue."
 
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