In message , Jerry Stuckle
writes
On 11/22/2015 1:45 PM, Michael Black wrote:
On Sun, 22 Nov 2015, gareth wrote:

On the basis that someone must manufacture the things in the first place,
has anyone much experience of disassembling volume controls and
the like to deal with scratchiness, for AIUI, injecting WD40 although
seeming
to provide an interim solution (sic) only stores up problems for the
future.



WD40 is not a good choice, though some may have used it in emergencies.

IT depends on the potentiometer. A lot of the old ones could be pried
open, little tabs at the front. But there are also fancier ones that
are sealed up in plastic casing, I'm not sure if those can be opened,
though hopefully some of the dirt problem is fixed. Maybe drilling a
tiny hole (like for component leads on a circuit board) and then
dripping some cleaner in would work?

Michael


I remember some 40+ years ago when I part-timed for a CB shop. A guy
brought in a radio with a broken squelch control. His son tried to fix
it with WD-40 or something similar.

Of course, it didn't work (taking the control apart, the wiper was
broken).

WD40's good - but not good enough to mend broken wipers!

Charged him $15 for the repair (remember this was a long time
ago!) and $25 to clean up the oil all over the case.

I doubt his son tried that one again!

On the occasions when I've used WD40 on pots, fan bearings etc, it
hasn't caused any subsequent problems. But, of course, you must use it
vary sparingly.

--
Ian