How to clean pots

[7string]

As I wasn't able to go to the Bassbash yesterday, I couldn't clean pots for Eude as we'd discussed.

To make up for this in part, I thought I'd write a PM. Then I had a better idea which was to create this thread and throw some photos up as it could be useful for a few people. Apologies if this is simplified too much for some of you, but I wanted to make it as inclusive as possible.

How a pot actually works can be found here on [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer"]Wikipedia[/url]

So here we have your standard potentiometer (pot for short). The top part sticks out the top of your instrument and the control knob is fitted on there. The control knobs will either be a press fit or have a grub screw which keeps it securely in place.






Here's the same pot upside-down which is how you'll see it when you remove your scratchplate or control cavity cover. Here you can see the 3 terminals, but the bit we're interested in the gap behind these. That's where the wiper lies and it's that you want to clean if the pot crackles when you're using it or it feels a bit heavy and not a smooth as it once was.





You need some contact cleaner for this job. Servisol or DeoxIT are 2 brands and a can will last ages. Don't use WD40 as apparently it leaves a residue behind. I bought the Servisol from Maplin for £4.29 (Maplin do their own brand but I haven't used it yet) and even though I've cleaned quite a few pots there's still plenty left. The cans come with a straw to help you aim the cleaner where you want it.





Grab a cloth or some paper towel and position it around the pot. The excess spray is going to come out and even thought it won't do any harm to anything it makes cleanup a lot easier.

As per the pic below you want to aim the straw at that opening in the pot we sae earlier. Give it a quick squirt and straightaway, rotate the control knob fully back and forth quickly a few times. This movement makes surethat the cleaner gets all over the wiper. I usually give pots 2 blasts, rotating the control after each, maybe 3 if it's a really grotty pot.





Straightaway, you'll feel the pot rotating better than it did before and this gets rid of the sluggish feeling and some crackles and buzzes (these might continue but you'll know it's not the pot that's to blame).

Even if you think only one pot needs cleaning, do the others while you're there as they'll need cleaning at some point.


So there you go, how to clean a pot

Edited April 26, 2010 by 7string

[gary mac]

Good man.

Did exactly that to the volume pot on my precision last week, worked a treat