IPA won't help the problem with noisy pots.
Pots get noisy for several reasons:
In the cheaper pots that have deposited carbon elements,
the noise is often caused by the wiper grinding its way
through the carbon, and leaving holes. These can sometimes
be fixed by moving the wiper to touch other parts of the
element... but the accuracy of the pot is already compromised.
Some cheaper pots have the insides open to the outside,
and are dust magnets. A naptha (lighter fluid) wash and
lube job will help.
In more expensive pots, the noise is caused by the
lubricant getting hard, and lifting the wiper off of the
resistance element. Again naptha to clean and a pot
lube to lubricate.
I use DeOxit Fader lube for most pot elements. There is
also a DeOxit synthetic grease... one of the PPA's, but I
haven't tried it yet.
99% IPA becomes 91% IPA shortly after the bottle is opened.
IPA is good for a lot of things, but it is weak at removing
old grease and pot lubricant. Use naptha.
-Chuck Harris
OBTW, 91% IPA is fine for flux removal on PCB's.
wilson2115@... wrote:
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I have some 91% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol sitting around and I have a Tek 577 with dirty horizontal and vertical display controls, I have used this to clean residue on circuit boards and grime off surfaces and it works quite well so I was wondering if it could be used to clean the dirty potentiometers on the 577 curve tracer. 91% seems the best the best I can find. I also have a can CRC Lectra Clean. What are your thoughts, recommendations? Thanks
