How to clean and service pots on guitar amplifiers

Noisy scratchy pots? Seized pots? This video covers how to cure these common problems. Plus a bit of theory!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Does DeOxit D5 'damage' carbon tracks? There is a myth which is going around the Internet that DeOxit D5 somehow damages the carbon tracks on pots by 'attacking' the carbon in some way. I'm here to bust this myth once and for all. TLDR: DeOxit D5 is safe for use on carbon tracks. I finally worked out where this myth came from as it didn't make any sense to me. A viewer engaged with me quite forcibly to say that D5 damages pots. I disagreed. He then linked me in to an Internet article which stated that mineral spririts attack carbon. D5 has mineral spirits, therefore it attacks carbon. This started me thinking. Could I be wrong on this one? So I did some digging. I'd always remembered that pretty much nothing attacks carbon as it is a very stable element. This turns out to be true. If you have a carbon deposit you want to get rid of (say on an engine), the deposit is usually stuck down to the surface with some gunk or other. Soaking in mineral spirits may loosen this gunk and allow some of the carbon particles to be carried away in suspension, note NOT 'dissolved'. So the mineral spirit does NOT attack carbon. You could leave your pot in a bath of MS for a decade and have no effect. I believe this is the origin of the myth. I decided to check in with DeOxit technical department today and here is their response. So... myth busted I reckon. June 27th 2022 Good morning Stuart, Your email was re-directed to me. I’m a bit under the weather, so please bear with me. It is frustrating when so called experts “get it wrong” about fixing or trying to fix electronics with our products, or for that matter, even with our competitors’ products. Concerning pots and faders, DeOxit D series products have been used on those for countless decades and when used properly work perfectly by service techs and manufactures in production and service kits. Concerning conductive carbon faders in particular, we developed the DeoxIT® Fader product in concert with RANE Corporation many years ago. When, so called, damage occurs, it is not the DeoxIT® that causes the damage. If they use one of our sprays with a solvent, if the carbon has been scratched or damaged the solvent will flush it off the surface. DeoxIT® D-Series products are safe on metals, plastic and carbon. The only caution we state is on semi-cured plastics (some polyethylene may soften), varnishes and any motor windings (which have varnish to protect from other windings). So, you are correct in your statements. Mineral oil will not damage metals, plastics and carbon. Some solvents will may affect plastics and occasionally carbon if it is an aggressive solvent (we do not use on any of our products). Hope the above is helpful. If you have any more questions, please let me know. Some additional information: Best regards, (Caig Technical Department)

[@zandig666]

Useful info sir !!! The only pot video I've seen that physically shows how they work !!! I use these tubes when oil spraying my car and came up with the same idea the a hose with the same ID as the od on the little hose on the can !!!!! Thanks for showing how to spray the pots from the inside of the device !!!!

[@MAP448]

I love all your videos. Very informative & I appreciate the fact that you are willing to share your experience & wisdom with the world.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Matthew!

[@richardcron2395]

I took the black top off the Deoxit and put the WD40 cap and nozzle on the Deoxit can.

[@LeviBulger]

You can buy aerosol tips and straws of various sizes on Amazon for extremely cheap

[@juancarlos18998]

Thank you very much Professor!!!... for sharing this accurate and instructional video on pot maintenance!!! I will try it on a Peavey KB5 Keyboard amplifier.

[@TheClouds2000]

Finally someone with excellent information. Nice drawings too. You must be an artist. Thanks you, James

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks James.

[@smartquark]

THanks Stuart. I can now confidently clean my pots. Well explained and informative!

[@Steve-wz5pz]

Thanks for the education on the pot screen capacitors, I should never have thought of that myself!

[@brianhasenkam8607]

Thank you, Sir. Just what I needed; I wasn’t quilte shure if I would ruin something. My mind is now at ease. Cheers.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Great thanks Brian.

[@scottybaby8246]

Thank you for your video. It gave me confidence to actually disassemble the volume pot on my Jackson, which now works perfectly. Thank you so much!!!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Excellent well done.

[@mguizz]

Best pot cleaner demo I seen.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks!

[@EvilStu]

Fantastically informative and educational video. Much appreciated, I’ve learned a lot. Now to try to stop the crackle on my pots!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks I'm pleased you enjoyed it!

[@greg4673]

Anyway good video pretty clear and concise and does hit a lot of problems that we amp techs and guitar techs deal with all the time. however there is a fitting now available from stewmac that will screw on to the Imperial threaded type potentiometer shaft , as long as they're not too long, that we can spray the deox it into ..it will travel down the shaft and get into the pot that way.. it's very controlled and it saves a lot of product ..you can also use it with your air can to blow out the residue once you're finished cleaning the pot

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Interesting thanks Greg.

[@WestminsterFJR]

Thank you for the detailed explanation and demo! Very helpful.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I'm glad you enjoyed i.

[@CamInglis]

In Canada, Canadian Tire sells Moto Master Electrical Contact Cleaner. Worked like a charm. I followed your advice on how to deal with hard-to-reach amplifier pots. Thanks.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ok great. There are dozens of contact cleaning sprays which will work BUT, I still like DeOxit because it will de oxidise the metal parts of the pot (eg the wiper) which other cleaners will not. But other cleaners will sort 95% of noisy pot problems.

[@tpop3723]

The only downside of the Moto Master one is that it doesn’t lubricate whereas the Deoxit one does.

[@zandig666]

I bought this amp for $150 I was worried at first but all the pots n Jack's were dirty, cutting out or fizzing out !!!! I had the amp apart anyways so I contact cleaned all the parts one man's garbage is another man's treasure !!!!!!!!! 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

[@JFredick]

Another awesome video. I have been using Deoxit D5 for a long time now, almost 20 years to clean pots. The F5 Fader version also works well as does their fader lube. I won’t ever use anything else. If the fader or control pot is still scratchy after D5, then almost always the pot is getting dc leaking into it, and it doesn’t take much DC to get a very scratchy audio pot. Sometimes the wiper arm is damaged but this too is typically easily repaired. Awesome video as always!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Good input thanks. Yes just a few tens of millivolts DC will cause the scratching npise.

[@martinukas77]

Super interesting! I was wondering how a pot works, now I know. Thank you!

[@michaelmcgarrah6160]

Thank you for your excellent, concise, (calming) video.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Michael. See also my video on DeOxit.

[@stevefsummers]

Excellent video thanks Stuart 👍🏼

[@garethbirds2613]

Hi Stuart, Thanks for this. I now have a clear understanding of what's going on inside my amp and how to address it. There is no need to watch any more videos on this topic!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Gareth!

[@johngaunt2102]

Absolutely fascinating and beautifully explained, thank you.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks john.

[@garethcollocott6310]

Excellent tutorial, you definately picked up a new subscriber. Thank you

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Gareth! I'll be sending 5 robed acolytes over to your place for your initiation test....

[@TheBladepolisher]

Stuart, this works well for me and has for years. I don't remember the O.D. of the little straw, but if you get the measurement via a micrometer, you can match the outside diameter of the straw to the appropriate clear tubing allowing you to slip the tubing over the straw. I cut the red straw to where there's about 2" and then slide the clear tubing over what's left of the straw. The clear tubing returns the pliability to get at those hard to get places like the interior areas of a potentiometer. Tubing also works well for starting small nuts on pc boards. I keep an assortment of rolls of tubes for different apps. You can also heat the clear tubing with hot water to stretch a nut into the tubing. When you're done, try heating the tube and then immerse it in water to return it to it's original size. If it doesn't return to it's original size, try adding a little water to some Elmer's glue and then insert the screw and twist the screw on. You can usually find the rolls of tubing by inside diameter size at hobby shops, medical supply outlets or Amazon. Hopes this helps.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Thanks. They now sell DeOxit with the original thinner straw plus 3 different selectable spray volumes so that's a lot better.

[@nicke9331]

great video, very informative & great delivery

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Nick.

[@youngjdi]

Great video! Super in-depth!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Shawn.

[@justjames1111]

Excellent video, thanks Stuart.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Many thanks. It's been an ongoing and sometimes heated dbate!

[@darrellminx5459]

Great job. Thank you. Vast amount of help.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Darell

[@alanb287]

Thank you for your great explanation!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Cheers Alan!

[@PanyingPilot]

Lucid explanation. Appreciated!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Glenn

[@misterbrocoli]

What a fantastic video. Thank you sir, subscribed.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks very much!

[@diegoleerot]

Thank you sir! You are a amazing teacher

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Diego

[@_Tony_Z]

Thank you for the information and time, blessings.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Antonio.

[@nigelduckworth4419]

Clarity-perfect. Marvellously well explained. I have some pots on my Epiphone Casino guitar which are working internittently-so it must just be a cleaning job- but are impossible to spray in situ and are the devil's own job to extract, using bent wire and much colourful language. Spraying from the top in situ has not worked.

[@kevinjupp2223]

many thanks Stuart,, i now have a clean and quiet pots when i set up my amp.. great tutorial, thanks for your post

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Excellent thanks KEvin

[@duncanrose3891]

Noce video Stuart, now cleaning pots on a Peavey Bandit Silverstripe. Older type Deoxit DN5 still available in Australia but have seen a ‘WD40 Contact Cleaner’ available now. How to test if a reverb tank with no broken wires is ok is a video l’m looking for… Thanks

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@duncanrose3891 Just use a meter on the two phono sockets. You should get a few hundred ohms on one and a few tens of ohms on the other. That shows you both coils are intact. Open circuit? Coil is broken.

[@jeffjohansen3458]

Excellent video. Thank you!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Jeff I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@Subtronik]

Thanks for this. I’m about to clean a Scarlett 18i8’s front knob pots with DeoxIT D5.

[@pineconewhisper]

Great teacher i really understand pots now

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Many thanks.

[@FynbosGarden]

Classy video. KZbin at its best. Thank you.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Many thanks.

[@thomascraymer8712]

Great and informative video, now I finally know how pots work! Both my amps (a Line6 Spider and a Marshall bass amp) were ones I bought on the used market at roughly half the retail price, and both had this problem of crackling pots to some degree. I don't have Deoxit but went with compressed air for now, and it seems to work just as well if the crackling isn't too severe. The Line6 Spider is now fixed, the Marshall is almost done but still has a crackling treble pot (it's not as bad as it was before though) so I'll go over that one again tonight. Thanks, this certainly has saved me time and money taking the amps to be serviced!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Thomas I'm glad you enjoyed it. Try and get a can of D5 if possible. Compressed air will only take you so far!

[@thomascraymer8712]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Thanks so much! I've been looking at D5 now, it's more expensive than I expected it to be. However, I found some contact cleaner recommended for electronics in general that's significantly cheaper, would I be ok with the cheaper one or is it better to go for D5?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

If money is really tight I expect the cheaper one will get you out of trouble.

[@thomascraymer8712]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Thanks so much :D I used the condensed air for now and it worked, but will get the cheaper one for next time this happens with either of my amps

[@repairfreak]

I recommend a Canadian product called Nutrol made by MG Chemicals, no stupid trigger sprayer, and can be rotated for the strength of spray as well. Also comes in a 12oz can for about same price as the deoxit d5 5oz can here in the USA. Fortunately I acquired a bunch miniature right angle plastic fittings that have a barb on each end and can be stuck into the tube of the sprayer or heat-shrink attached. These allow me to get in a pot with at least 1/2” space between the pot and board without issue. Thanks for your video.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks for the useful info Mike.

[@repairfreak]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Your welcome, if I can get more of those micro plastic 90 elbows that fit the spray tubes I’ll send you some at no charge, you just pay shipping. I’m holding onto the few I got like they are gold! I’m a self taught consumer tech that has been repairing A-Z in last 30 years. Mainly tvs and stereo amps. Another tech I watched took the pot apart, used pure iso alcohol with high quality swab on the carbon trace, burnished the wiper ring with a scratch brush, then cleaned off old grease on spindle bearing and restored it with the deoxit green label fader grease in syringe form, reassembled and then sprayed pot with a can of the Deoxit fader lube “green label” to re-lube the carbon path. I might try this technique if a pot simply cannot be sprayed out with Nutrol. However reports have shown that the MG chemicals Nutrol works as good as D5 Red.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@repairfreak Hi Mike Okay great let me know. I';ve seen other techs on KZbin etc doing that strip down and clean routine. Fine for high-end 'money no object' audio, but it's completely impractical on 99% of guitar amps. In the VERY rare occasion a pot is really bad, you'd just swap it out for a dollar or so!

[@joemcgraw5529]

Hi Stuart what I did with my deoxit (new can ) was take off the old cap from the older Deoxit that was empty , I took off the old cap and put it on the new can and works great .100% agree it makes no sense having the bigger straw sprays to much ,my therory is it wont last as long so you buy another can,I also learned that the Red label D5 deoxit can dissolve the Fader grease and was told instead use the blue label F5 thats for pots ,it might just be hype to buy it as well or maybe clean with the D5 and then use the F5 ,thier saying the D5 will dissolve the grease on the fader ,im going to look more into this .BlueGlow Electronics on you tube was talking about this Cheers !!!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Joe. Ok I didn;t know that thanks. I think they've reverted to the small straw again which is good.

[@arjenland4374]

In case of the last difficult to spray pot in chassis example, maybe you could block the end of the thin 'straw' and drill a small hole in the side of the 'straw' so you could spray 'around the corner'

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Good idea

[@georgechambless2719]

Make sure you are wearing eye protection the first time you try it. It might get messy.

[@richardharkness6777]

DeoxIT has always been my favorite. Mine is 30 years old and still has the flexible spout.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Richard. I believe they now have reintroduced the 'straw' thank goodness!

[@joshuaOFsteal]

Nice video, very informative

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks! If my name was Joshua Of STeal I'd have cards printed and hand them out to passers-by!

[@richardknott2021]

excellent tutorial..

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Richard.

[@DanishWarriorSkald]

Very informative, thanks a lot.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks!

[@alanpearson299]

Thx for the wisdom,you're awesome

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Alan!

[@padawan9127]

Great video

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Many thanks.

[@totalbullion5882]

Good stuff! I design things for 3d print. I'm thinking I can make some custom nozzle tips to help get the cleaner where it needs to go. I'll send you a link when I have something to show.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Great sounds interesting!

[@barkinkaplan2785]

Very informative and decent thank you

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks very much.

[@jameshuckle9325]

Thank you for this highly informative and brilliantly explained video. I'm trying to service an old Arbiter Soundhouse 50/100 inherited from my late father and found this extremely useful. Regarding choice of contact cleaner - the other product I've read about is Servisol Super 10 (comes with the traditional style of straw applicator) and wondered if you have any experience of using this?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi James. I've never actually used that one but if it's intended for this sort of application I'm sure it will be fine.

[@american23t]

​@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Have you seen the CRC product line of automotive spray can contact cleaner & other chemicals.

[@garrynathan8478]

Hello Stuart, I have just ordered 200ml Servisol Super 10 from Ebay £9.75 here in UK, I researched it and it said it does the job and it has a thin flexible delivery tube.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ok thanks for the useful info.

[@Jonobueno]

Thanks mate.

[@tedc6694]

Thank you

[@bozakarlin9034]

The potentiometers on my ROLAND JC amplifier have been cleaned with WD 40 lubricant. The amplifier has been working great for 15 years.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Boza. Ah, interesting! I'm making a video right now where I use 5 different cleaners on 5 pots over a 1 year period! WD40 is one of them.

[@bozakarlin9034]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 The engineer cleaned my potentiometers and he told me that it should be with oil. The oil has the disadvantage that dust sticks to it.

[@johnpaulgard]

Brilliant video Thanku

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks John-Paul

[@erikgrijp355]

👍 well explained

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Erik

[@jasonodeorain366]

Hi there all your videos remind me of back in school everything explained the way it should. Thank you for your interesting vids Would it be ok to drill a small hole in back of pods and put a plate on after.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Jason I wouldn;t recommend that. It's REALLY hard to do that without the drill then hitting the carbon track inside, plus you then have metal swarf floating around in the pot!

[@muppit666]

@muppit666 0 seconds ago I’ve seen on here that Deoxit leaves a coating that can cause more problems that it solves. Green Deoxit is the one to go for, for cleaning plastic orceramic stuff. But I use rapide electrical contact cleaner that seems to leave no residue behind. WD 40 is a moisture dispersant not a cleaner. WD water dispersant is in the description. Have only been working on electronics for 40+ years, but what do I know! Deoxit F5 is for pots with carbon resistance, Deoxit d5 is for metal on metal pots. D5 will soak into the carbon ceramicor plastic base and ruin the pot.

[@92Amt]

Thanks

[@mrmansville9340]

AKA How to dissolve your grease inside the potentiometers that protect the carbon and give that smooth feel.

[@samyosef]

Thanks that was helpful, time to fix 😅

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Sam.

[@sirblingjax]

Hi James just wanted to make a comment I did use some of that CRC contact cleaner I noticed after a while I would spray a potentiometer and it would work fine for a little while and then afterwards it would start going back to the same old thing started getting all scratchy and of course the pot had to be sprayed again and again and again and then afterwards the same result. So of course I stopped using it and I do believe that the deoxic product is better but it is so expensive just for a little can. I believe that you have to use the F100 it's like a cleaner but it also lubricates the pot so it doesn't dry out. I think when you spray with a contact cleaner or that other deoxit 5. I think it works for a while but then it goes back to the same old thing I mean once it leaves your repair shop the pot is fine but then afterwards the pot dries out and then you have problems again. I don't understand why there's other products out there on the market to compete with deoxit because it's so expensive there must be an alternative. Why can't somebody come out with something that works better and cheaper!

[@LeviBulger]

You have to follow up with a lubricant if you use that stuff. CRC makes a small can of electrical lube, which is pretty cheap thankfully. Using both in conjunction is just as good as deoxit, IMO. Better yet, just buy the lubricant and use lighter fluid squeezed through a needle tip bottle or syringe to clean before lubing. Deoxit is, after all, almost entirely naphtha (lighter fluid) with lubricant already inside. That's the most effective and economical solution.

[@futurekarlos5256]

WD40 Specialist Contact Cleaner works a treat and it's only about £8. Also works at all angles!

[@BREEDINGGROUND1]

I use the MG Chemicals line of spray cleaners/solvents

[@kidritalin1]

Than you so much. I've thought the same about the wretched Deoxit design of the new stiff and larger diameter straw for application. Just ridiculous. My take on WD40 as a lubricant is that it's one of the poorest on the market these days. PEN-T-10 from Ecolink is a Super Penetrant is hard to beat, but use it sparingly because it will travel. Cheers from the U.S.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks for that. Yes DeOxit have now reverted to the old straw thank goodness! It's a bit of a myth about WD40 being a lubicant. It was never designed for that. I'm sure you know that WD stands for Water Dispersant - so it's really a maintenance spray to stop damp getting into various areas. Spray silicon or good old fashioned oil are way better lubricants. All the best.

[@pulpanochamaster]

Very nice! So deoxit to the volume contact internal area and wd40 to the driveshaft?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I'd be a bit wary of WD40 on the driveshaft. It's VERY penetrating and likely to end up on the carbon track. No realy harm, but it's not really designed for that. You don;t need to 'oil the shaft' unless the pot is really stiff. If it is, try a small droplet of WD40 or silicon lubricant on the end of a cocktail stick etc onot the shaft where it goes into the pot. Use very sparingly.

[@bryanbailey6963]

Have you found a good substitute for DeOxit? I haven't tried CRC yet - they have a wide range of cleaners. I can't stand the new DeOxit spray top - I get more cleaner on my hands and work top than on the pot where I need it.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Bryan I was overwhelmed with alternatives. In the end I extended the DeOxit nozzle using a spare thin 'straw' from another aerosol and some heatshrink sleeving.

[@sting1111]

I have 2 Marshalls and both have DC on the presence pots. now I know how to fix. thanks

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Great, but a bit confused. Cleaning the pots will not remove the DC!

[@sting1111]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Sorry Hum King. I meant adding a capacitor which you have done to block the DC.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ah ok. Most/all pots should be fed from a capacitor anyway. If you can measure DC on the pot (even 0.1V will cause an issue) you probably have a leaking feeder cap to that pot. If you can identify it, change it. If hard to identify you could try adding a 0.1uF at 600V in series and see if that affects the tone. It should remove all DC. I'm sure you can tell the difference between DC on a pot and just a noisy pot. DC has a continuous even noise throughout the entire seep of the pot. Noisy pots are more patchy.

[@richwalker7912]

I us Servisol Super 10. The last one I bought was a couple of years ago, but it did come with your preferred delivery system. I wonder if there’s been a change in the law which has been the reason for a number of aerosol manufacturers changing?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Rich Yes I guess that's possible although I did hear they had reissued the old style again..

[@dreamoficarus1]

Great video. I have a scratchy volume pot on my guitar and I have tried the cleaner spray/lube method shown towards the end of your video which works but after a few days the scratchy noise comes back. Is there anything else I can try to achieve a longer lasting result? I haven't opened up the pot as yet. Thanks

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Andy Did you use DeOxit D5? If not, try that. If you did use that it may need a new pot. Also check this IS a dirty pot issue and not DC on the pot. The difference is this, with a dirty pot it will be patchy as you turn the control up. There will be good bits and bad bits. With DC on the pot there will be an absolutely even scratchy noise as you rotate the pot, not drop offs, no louder bits, justy the same low level scratchy sound as you rotate. DC on the pot is usually caused by a slightly leaky capacitor which feeds the pot.

[@andrewgregory9478]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 many thanks. Will look into this.

[@ericvannielsen]

Hi Stuart, thanks for posting these videos; would you have any advice regard modern sealed, surface-mount potentiometers? I know to get the D5 down the stem and agitate, but I hate losing that lovely resistance from the factory grease inside. Is it a lost cause to find a way to replace that grease or could they be disassembled/reassembled? Def a moment to mourn the loss of old-school manufacturing quality... thx!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi. Well one thing is only clean the pot if it absolutely needs it. Is it noisy? If so I'd try and get some deoxit down the shaft as you say, and take the hit on maybe losing some of that silky feel. You could also replace the pot if it's very bad.

[@thomastucker5686]

Great video, thank you very much. Is there always a slot in the pot where the leads are like in this case? I have a 3 channel valve amp where the two overdrive channels sound great and the clean channel at first lost signal level and then started making an awful noise like something bad was about to happen. Would a failing capacitor cause a loss of signal, about half the output? Just curious what I might be looking for. If it helps, it is a Fryette/VHT 100 CLX Pitbull. 4 power tubes, EL34 and 5 12ax7s. Lovely clean channel when it is working.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi most times there is a place where you can sporay in but some pots are sealed which is a right pain. With them, you can sometimes get some cleaner to go down the shaft and into the pot. My gut feeling is your problem is not a failing capacitor. That said, it could be 101 things! Good luck.

[@thomastucker5686]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 thank you. The Peavy 112 Bandit came back to life and sounds like when it was new. The heavier than any amp I have ever lifted monster was dropped to a person like yourself who can properly repair tube amps. I don't know how many hundreds of dollars it will cost, but it has tubes, so even though I think the tubes have zero to do with the problem, just being a tube amp makes repairs expensive. I hope it is well built.

[@RockingMeetball]

Does CRC Electronic Cleaner work fine to clean the pots? Deoxit is pretty expensive in comparison. Or do you know any other cheaper alternatives?

[@johnsuggs3952]

I use that and it works just fine. Just don't use too much of it. A single short burst of it and immediately turn it back and forth to work the cleaner in

[@juancarlos18998]

...and one more question, would you recommend to clean inside the pot with an air compressed can first, and then to apply the contact cleaner? Thank you very much!

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Not needed the spray will flush away iny small bits.

[@timothyerb7443]

Hi Stuart, Thanks for the video. I'm wondering, is WD-40 Specialist Contact Cleaner OK for cleaning pots?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Timothy. I've never used it but I expect it will be fine.

[@brimans3092]

In UK recording studios I frequented 35 years ago in London, Servisol 10 was ALWAYS used to spray mixing console faders. Im talking about the top studios here as well as the dodgy 24 track ones! Used to buy from Studiospares or Tandy (RIP), uk Radio Shack. Ebay sellers now. But beware crap Amazon cheap contact spray which is vile abd nothing like slinky Servisol 10. Maplins used to sell too but i think Maplins gone now.. 😢

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi. Yes Servosol is good and similar to many other contact sprays. BUT... in about 1 in 10 pots it's the metal wiper which is oxidised and no amount of servisol or other cleaner will fix it. DeOxit fixes that, so that's why I use it.

[@davescupper5789]

Can you use brake cleaner on pots? Would splicing the tube end and curling the end slightly help to clean those amp pots ?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi DAve, no idea about the brake cleaner, depends what's in it I guess. Yes I have a few home-made spouts which help!

[@markjamesgoddard2247]

As always a fab video.. terrible lighting though Stuart.. want some nice LED strip lights installed.. Mark The Spark.😊

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Mark. I've actually got a fair old bit of lighting pouring down on the 'set'. Amazing how much you need though.

[@SoytiChannel]

Did you use the lubricant one or the contact cleaner?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

I used DeXoit D5. The lubricant one is mostly for faders I believe.

[@donjoseph73]

They save little squeeze tubs of it, and brushes on. Are they any good? Have you gave them a look?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Don. I haven;t seen those. But how would they work? Brushes??

[@wicketandfriendsparody8068]

Bruh, the tube rig HAHAHA. They need to hire you to design the delivery mechanism, somebody needs to get FIRED!!! Lol 😂

[@wicketandfriendsparody8068]

Pretty much the most informative vid I’d seen on pots. I’d go as far as saying you could be awarded the moniker pot head ( no not some kinda weed addict lol ) ;)

[@MERCMX1]

Mr. Stewart Greetings from the state of Georgia U.S.A. have you considered LPS 1 greaseless lubricant in place of the WD40 & also LPS electro contact cleaner. as an alternative to the CAIG DEOXIT D5 - I use these products to service aircraft electronic components with great success. Regards Mark Shorkey...

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Thanks Mark. There are quite a few contact cleaning sprays, I doubt we can get LPS here in UK. Not sure. I think DeOxit have also reintroduced the thin straw. All the best.

[@nowherebrain]

I have the issue that, well for one.., it has that scratchy sound when I turn the volume knob, but also the volume jumps radically up and down...I do think it's possible it's sometimes making good contact and sometimes not...but even at lower volumes it can be much louder than expected... this is a two channel amplifier, and both channels do it...makes me wonder if there are two issues, rather than two dirty or bad pots....all the other knobs( low, mid and high cut) work properly. any thoughts? and thank you for the video.(liked)

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Ok try cleaning the pot first with DeOxit D5. If that doesn;t work you may need to change the pot

[@gravl1]

Deoxit must have listened to you. They now offer both spray can types, and you can actually adjust the spray on them.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Wow, interesting! I bet they had a TON of bad comments pouring into them!

[@jaysorensenIBEW]

I found some easily, as well. Regulated sprayer dial, and all.

[@MERCMX1]

by the way the LPS PRODUCTS USE THE SMALL FLEXABLE RED STRAWS.

[@user-pl7fc6dv2o]

I have a vox wah pedal with a scratchy pot and have removed it and sprayed inside it with deoxit 5 and still scratchy. Like you said gets the sound of a bad capacitor still. Do I need to just replace the pot.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Terry. Short answer. YES. The pots on a wah take an absolute hammering - hundreds of times more use than a pot on an amplifier. They simply wear out.

[@user-pl7fc6dv2o]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 thanks your the best

[@juancarlos18998]

Good evening Professor, my name is Juan, there is a WD40 Specialist Contact Cleaner available in my country, do you think it would be an option in case of not having the one recommended?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Juan I exoect that is fairly good. My favourite is DeOxit D5 but it's quite expensive.

[@Paul-rt4ix]

My Vol pot was slightly scratchy but had a nice smooth flyid feel when turning & after a spraying a tiny amount of contact cleaner it now feels really loose when turning & spins too easily. Why is this?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Paul. Two possibilities. That nice smooth fluid feel may actually have been a slightly gunked up feel! It's now free. Or.. if the pot is quite high end, it may be lubricated (most cheap ppots aren't) and the cleaner has washed the lubricant out. If yo can;t live with it, try a bit of fader lube down the shaft. DeOxit F5 is also good as it has the cleaning properties of D5 but plus a bit of lubricant.

[@bubblekuku5992]

Hi.i have pointentiometer 10k to 250mw is ok if replace with 10K to 400mw or 2w?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes that's fine.

[@kevinnichol8855]

👍✨

[@Diggerdog2nd]

Hi I just tried to clean my pots for the first time & made the mistake of skipping around your video & missed the part where you said don't use WD 40 but saw the part later where you mentioned spraying WD 40 on the shaft. My mistake because I used WD 40 & now my amp keeps blowing fuses. Any tips on how to clean the WD out of the pots?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi. It's highly unlikely that the WD40 is causing your fuse to blow, that will be some other problem. Just use any solvent 'switch cleaner' sort of spray to flush the WD40 away. My view is that the WD40 won't have done any harm, it's just not a very good cleaner!

[@tubbers20]

Wouldn't penetrating oil work better than WD40? Also, I think there are small, needle nozzle/reservoirs you can get to help eliminate the use/waste of the big nozzle tube. Good show, guv. 🙂👍

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Yes you may be right. After all, WD40 isn;t REALLY a lubricant. It sure pretends to be though!

[@tpop3723]

Is it unheard of to have to spray the pots a few times to get it working again?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

It's not unheard of but here;s my take. If you're not using DeOxit and you have to spray more than once it's likely to be oxidisation on the pot wiper, not dirt on the carbon track. About 90% of pots can be cleaned using pretty much any contact cleaner, alcohol etc as all it is doing is flushing away contaminants. In about 10% of cases though you have corrosion on the little bit of bent metal which serves as the wiper. No amount of contact cleaner will solve this. It's why I use DeOxit as it does both. If you are repeatedly having to use DeOxit though, it may indicate the pot needs changing.

[@hankevans7890]

I have a Marshall vs65r amp with a potentiometer problem. The pot for the reverb works fine shortly after I clean it with spray cleaner, but after a few minutes it goes back to malfunctioning. It malfunctions by always being on no matter how high or low I turn the pot and it won’t turn off when set to 0. Do I just need to replace it? Thanks.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Hank. Yes you'll have to replace that. My guess is that it has had a knock. I hope you manage to get it fixed ok. Stuart

[@hankevans7890]

Thanks for the help!

[@hankevans7890]

For the hell of it, I decided to take that potentiometer out and take it apart. I cleaned the hell out of the inside parts with a q-tip and CRC cleaner. It was pretty greasy in there. It’s working perfectly now.

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

@@hankevans7890 I'm verty surprised at that. I still think it wasn't the cleaning that did it. Maybe the taking apart and reassembling? Anyway, glad it's working!

[@joemacmods]

If I have to clean the pot through the shaft I have used a straw over the shaft and let the cleaner run down

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Joe yes I've found that SOMETIMES works but only about 25% of the time. Depends on seal between shaft and pot. Stuart

[@bitkerr]

what causes an amp to drop volume while playing?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi No one answer I'm afraid it could be a lot of things.

[@misterfourstroke]

Would you dare to drill a hole (2mm) in a pott to get cleaner in?

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

The only downside is getting some swarf in there. You can often clean a pot from the top by allowing cleaner to run down the shaft. Works in a surpirising number of cases!

[@seanmckenna228]

What about WD40 contact cleaner?? Is that the same as the Deoxit??

[@stuartukguitarampguy5830]

Hi Sean It won't be the same. I don't know that cleaner but my best guess is that it's like dozens of other similar cleaners. It will flush away dirt but won't deoxidise the metal wiper.

[@seanmckenna228]

@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Hi Stuart, thanks for your swift reply. I'll take that on board, much appreciated. Love your work here on youtube, I'm learning a lot. All the best, Sean.