Dead Pots

PopDufc · September 2023

Couple of pots on my Gretsch Streamliner are a bit dead. Give them a good tap and they come back to life. Is wd40 OK down the shaft or any recomendations for spray. Don't want to randomly spray in the body cavity.

OilCityPickups · September 2023

I wouldn't get WD40 near any pot or guitar! Great on cars and door locks ... keep away from bare wood and pots.
I would try running a TINY bit of https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/electronics-cleaners/0491752?gb=b
run down the pot shaft ... it may or may not work it's way to the wiper ... but really the pot needs to come out to be cleaned properly, or replaced.

BillDL · September 2023

Are you talking about using normal old WD40, or are you referring to the specialist solvent based electrical contact cleaner made by WD40? Normal WD40 leaves a slippery residue that (as far as I know) is not conductive, so you could do more harm than good. The WD40 electrical contact cleaner and Ambersil electric cleaning solvent evaporate and do not leave any film. Servisol Super 10 switch cleaning lubricant leaves a conductive film, which is fine for pots.

When pots are new there is grease on the shaft where it goes up through the inside of the externally threaded collar. Ideally you don't want to be skooshing that out with solvent or alcohol based electrical cleaners because it can leave them feeling very "loose" and sometimes even a bit "scrapy" when rotated. It is better to give a quick blast of cleaner through the small holes on the casing of the pot while rotating the shaft each way. If you really need to get cleaner into the pot from the collar side, I would suggest finding a bit of clear tubing that pushes over the collar tightly and just running a little bit of cleaner into it so that it finds its way down the gap without being blasted through. That doesn't wash out as much of the grease on the shaft.

OilCityPickups · September 2023

BillDL said:

Are you talking about using normal old WD40, or are you referring to the specialist solvent based electrical contact cleaner made by WD40? Normal WD40 leaves a slippery residue that (as far as I know) is not conductive, so you could do more harm than good. The WD40 electrical contact cleaner and Ambersil electric cleaning solvent evaporate and do not leave any film. Servisol Super 10 switch cleaning lubricant leaves a conductive film, which is fine for pots.

When pots are new there is grease on the shaft where it goes up through the inside of the externally threaded collar. Ideally you don't want to be skooshing that out with solvent or alcohol based electrical cleaners because it can leave them feeling very "loose" and sometimes even a bit "scrapy" when rotated. It is better to give a quick blast of cleaner through the small holes on the casing of the pot while rotating the shaft each way. If you really need to get cleaner into the put from the collar side, I would suggest finding a bit of clear tubing that pushes over the collar tightly and just running a little bit of cleaner into it so that it finds its way down the gap without being blasted through. That doesn't wash out as much of the grease on the shaft.

Unfortunately with a semi acoustic the OP would really have to take the pot out to access the usual gap behind the tags which is the best place to put in a little contact cleaner. I've not tried the WD40 specialist contact cleaner ... but my guess it's the same as any proper contact cleaner so should be fine.

Sassafras · September 2023

I've had good results with this stuff:

Image: https://cdn.aws.toolstation.com/images/141020-UK/800/87848.jpg

As BillDL says, spray the back of the pots.

BillDL · September 2023

I can usually get the thin spray nozzle up to the front of the knobs with their solder tags facing the F-Hole on standard "335" style semis, but Gretsch semis have a different pot layout that I wasn't considering.

ICBM · September 2023

Standard WD-40 works very well as a last-resort pot cleaner and will not harm a normal guitar pot. That said, I would not use it as a first option until you’ve already tried contact cleaner and it hasn’t worked - and you need to get it into the pot body, not the shaft bushing.

OilCityPickups · September 2023

ICBM said:

Standard WD-40 works very well as a last-resort pot cleaner and will not harm a normal guitar pot. That said, I would not use it as a first option until you’ve already tried contact cleaner and it hasn’t worked - and you need to get it into the pot body, not the shaft bushing.

My worry about 'standard' WD 40 is it dripping on the bare wood inside the instrument if you try to do it in situ on a semi acoustic.

PopDufc · September 2023

I have the spray. I'll try it tomorrow!

jca74 · September 2023

...and I won't forget to put capacitors on your grave...

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