WD40 - Contact Cleaner

[TimR]

So WD now do electrical contact, switch, potentiometer cleaner, whatever you want to call it.

 

Available at Amazon, Halfords, Screwfix etc.

 

Not sure if I'm late to the party. Just cleaned my amp and bass pots. 

 

Maybe there's a more suitable forum to put this in but probably crosses a few of them. 

 

https://www.wd40.com/products/contact-cleaner/

[tauzero]

I've got a can of it. The squirty nozzle bit on the top fell off and so it squirts all over the place.

[TimR]

There was a recent zombie thread where someone was looking for straws...

 

Which prompted me to search to try and fix my crackly pots.

[Bolo]

Motip, 3m, Griffon, kontakt Chemi, etc,etc,etc ...

It's WD that's late to the party.

My favourite:

 

Woah that pic is way larger than it needs to be, sorry.

[TimR]

Oh yes. I've used Servisol for years - which I believe is now rebranded as Kontakt? Which means searching for Servisol won't get you the results you might be after. 🤣The problem is finding it in the shops. I have 3 cans of it - with no straws. 🤣

 

The thread I saw had a few people suggesting using WD-40 with others saying NEVER use WD-40. 

[Supernaut]

I've used Servisol and WD-40 on my basses - no issues with either. 

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, TimR said:

... NEVER use WD-40. 

 

unless it's contact cleaner, for cleaning contacts. Folk are so used (conditioned..?) to thinking of WD40 as a rust remover et al, it's not (yet...) in the Public Psyché to imagine that they do, now, make a contact cleaner. It's so easy, though, to reach for the wrong can; I use KF2 (I'm in France...), or Kontact. Both are very good; WD40 may well be, but my can lasts so long, I may never get to try it out. 

[Bassassin]

I'd give the WD40 variant a go, but I've had the same can of Servisol for probably 20 years, and at this rate it'll outlive me.

[lurksalot]

2 hours ago, Bassassin said:

I'd give the WD40 variant a go, but I've had the same can of Servisol for probably 20 years, and at this rate it'll outlive me.

I’ve got a can of own brand I bought from Tandy back in the day , I don’t use it much either 😁

[AndyTravis]

The stuff of nightmares since I saw this today…

[chris_b]

WD-40 is a lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer.

 

It's not a switch cleaner.

[mike257]

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

WD-40 is a lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer.

 

It's not a switch cleaner.

Did you miss the bit in the original post, with a helpful link included, saying they've launched a WD40-branded switch cleaner?

 

Edited December 17, 2023 by mike257

[chris_b]

OK, so the new WD-40 does clean switches.

 

The old one didn't.

 

Make sure you are using the right one.

[oldslapper]

Great band.
Sadly how the brothers ended up hating each other. 

[Bolo]

5 hours ago, chris_b said:

OK, so the new WD-40 does clean switches.

 

The old one didn't.

 

Make sure you are using the right one.

They've branched out and now make a range of products, from silicone spray to brake cleaner, and still make the original water deterrent.

[Alba]

I have used the WD-40 contact cleaner for a little while. Does the job nicely.

[barkin]

18 hours ago, Bassassin said:

I'd give the WD40 variant a go, but I've had the same can of Servisol for probably 20 years, and at this rate it'll outlive me.

Me too. Same with my wee bottle of Dr Ducks. 

[MungoBass]

20 hours ago, TimR said:

Oh yes. I've used Servisol for years - I have 3 cans of it - with no straws. 🤣

 

 

I can relate to that! Where do the little blighters go?!?! 

[ahpook]

29 minutes ago, MungoBass said:

 

I can relate to that! Where do the little blighters go?!?! 

 

I bought a couple of cans of Servisol a few years ago that didn't come with straws. I emailed them and they sent me a bundle. Might be worth a try.

Edited December 18, 2023 by ahpook

[tauzero]

16 hours ago, chris_b said:

OK, so the new WD-40 does clean switches.

 

The old one didn't.

 

Make sure you are using the right one.

 

It's not a new WD-40. It's a contact cleaner sold by WD-40.

[MungoBass]

18 minutes ago, ahpook said:

 

I bought a couple of cans of Servisol a few years ago that didn't come with straws. I emailed them and they sent me a bundle. Might be worth a try.

Thank you! I’ll give it a go!

[la bam]

Yeh, get the right one for the right job. Plenty of decent fixes out there now. 

Edited December 19, 2023 by la bam

[prowla]

There was a can of WD-40 contact cleaner in the goody bag at the Screwfix Show last year.

I don't think I've used it; I've still got a half-full Maplin one.

It is one of a range of WD-40 products, but the name has tended to be a bit Hooverised to refer to the original penetrating oil.

https://www.wd40.com/products/

 

(Back in the day, the bass guitar used to be called the The Fender Bass.)

Edited December 19, 2023 by prowla

[Norris]

2 hours ago, prowla said:

... to refer to the original penetrating oil

Apologies for the pedantry but "WD" actually stands for water displacement.

 

Yes, it lubricates. Yes, people use it to try to free up rusty parts. However you'd do much better with a dedicated penetrating fluid like Plus-Gas if your nuts are seized up

[BigRedX]

3 hours ago, prowla said:

(Back in the day, the bass guitar used to be called the The Fender Bass.)

 

TBH I don't think I've ever heard a Bass Guitar being called that unless it actually had a "Fender" logo on the headstock.

 

When I was getting into music in the early 70s the bands I liked were more likely to be be sporting bass guitars by Rickenbacker or Gibson as they were Fender.