# Need advice on cleaning old school components



## 63flip (Oct 16, 2013)

I have an old Kicker x3i electronic crossover that needs to be cleaned up internally. The adjustment knobs are real sensitive and I believe it's due to 20 years of crud building up. So I have a few questions about cleaning it. 

What's the best type of product to use for the job?

Are there certain areas to pay special attention to?

Any other tools I should have on hand?

Any other techniques or hints would be greatly appreciated. I tried searching forums to see if this topic had come up in the past but drew blanks. Any advice would be great. Thanks.


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## Sine Swept (Sep 3, 2010)

I've had great results with switch and contact cleaner. There are various formulations and obviously brands. I have heard many people swear by Deoxit. 

Some formulations are straight cleaner, some have an added lubricant as well. I would make sure your device is turned off while you clean the pots, etc. Make sure to let the cleaner dry off before turning it back on.

I actually just fixed a JBL GTO 75.4 yesterday where a 3 way switch had become corroded above the PCB and below the switch itself. I pulled off a daughter board and the solders underneath looked great so I just focused on cleaning what almost looked like rust on the pins leading into the switch. I just kept swabbing it with Qtips until everything looked clean. I put everything back together and tried messing with the switch to get the channel to drop out like before and after all these years everything is working great!


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## minbari (Mar 3, 2011)

just be carefull with contact cleaner, some of them can melt plastic.


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## 63flip (Oct 16, 2013)

Is it safe to use a product like duster or other cleaners used for computer keyboards? 
Products like that just blow the grime away if I'm not mistaken. Would it be safe to start with that then see if more cleaning is necessary?


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