Summary to this question is: am I heading down the correct route trying silver grease for a rubbing electrical contact grease / lubricant?

Recently, I've been using a retro joystick.

It has a very simple design with a metal ball (probably polished stainless steel) which is earthed..


..and 4 metal contacts for each of the directions


The Problem
I've broken a couple of them as the contact between the metal surfaces gets jumpy (bouncing) especially at the diagonals unless you push quite hard (which can cause the ball to break off or the contacts to rub down quickly).

Attempted Solutions!
1. Isopropyl alcohol cleaning. I tried to clean the contacts with Isopropyl Alcohol which worked well for the electrical connection however, it ended up causing the metal contacts or the metal ball to wear very quickly which causes a sanding effect on the metal. This gives the joystick a horrible grinding feeling (normally the metal on metal contact is very smooth).

2. Contact Cleaner Lubricant. I tried some contact cleaner lubricant from RS.

This stuff sprays a bit like WD40 so I can imagine it is good for cleaning contacts and it is supposed to have a lubricant in it too. This stuff works well for a time but then the problem with the diagonals comes back rather rapidly (It does avoid the sanding effect though).

3/4/5/6. Other greases. I've tried Castrol Multipurpose grease [think this is Lithium based] / Servisol Silicone Grease / Cycle Oil / Wood Polish!
I read that any dialectric grease might work for electrical contacts as the grease gets pushed aside and so the electrical contact is still made. These worked ok for the lubricantion part but not for the electrical contact especially in the diagonals again.

So finally, I came to the conclusion that I needed a conductive grease. I tried MG Chemicals Carbon Conductive Grease which seems to be great for the electrical contact, however it has carbon particles in it which are quite coarse. This gives the joystick a grinding feeling again!

I am thinking about trying silver (electrically) conductive grease, although apparently again this is silicone grease mixed with silver compound in it.. so maybe this will have a rough texture too? It's quite expensive £35+ for a small syringe so I wanted to ask here if I'm going down the right route? Or is there something more suitable for this type of application (maybe graphite lock powder or something?)?

Any help is much appreciated!

 

Graphited oils and greases are available. Don't know if they'd be suitable for your application, though.

 

It looks as though the springy contacts that contact the ball have been pressed into the sides through lots of heavy use. They should be bent out so they are can flex when contact is made. This will lighten the action needed to make contact and will reduce wear. It will also restore the sliding action to the contacts to keep them from oxidizing. Contact cleaner should be all you need once it is repaired.

 

Thanks very much for the responses both. The contacts in this joystick aren't meant to have a springyness. The rest on the plastic square in the middle and it provides a pretty harsh click/clunk as the joystick is moved and the metal ball hits the contact. Not the best design for a switch but the joystick works well.. when the contacts are connecting well at least.
I'll have a look for graphited grease as well.. hadn't seen those (if they are different from carbon grease?).
I think I'm going to try silver grease next.. hopefully it won't have the grainy texture of the MG Chemicals carbon grease that I bought. Just need to save a little first
I'll let you know how it goes.