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Cleaning RCA jacks


fini

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The chemicals arrived yesterday. This afternoon I set things up to begin cleaning. I was hoping using the DeoxIt would be a drip-on/wipe-off type of miracle, but (with this job, anyway) it required a fair amount of elbow grease. The brush, by the way, is a perfect fit into the RCA jack hole (can I use that term??). I even came up with a cool technique, and made a tool for this job. I will now share it with you.

I first used some Scotch blue masking tape to protect the painted chassis. I wet the jack with a bit of DeoxIt, then took a small strip of wet/dry sandpaper (400 grit) and did the "shoe shine buffing" bit all around. I had limited success with this method (it was hard to get even cleaning all the way around). I tried to think of some abrasive (but not too abrasive) tool I might have, or could buy. I couldn't find one. So I went off to Home Depot, and came up with a very simple, yet effective tool. I used a 1/4" X 1-1/2" brass nipple, and inserted a rolled-up piece (about 1-1/2" X 1-1/4") of the w/d sandpaper, leaving it sticking out about 3/8". I used a pencil sort of wedged into the back end of the nipple to keep the sandpaper from moving. Then I moved the whole thing back-and-forth, in-and-out (etc.), lubricating the jack with the DeoxIt. I tried different grits, and for this particular job, starting with 220, then going to 400, then finishing with a small amount of 0000 steel wool wrapped around a Q-tip as a final buff, produced good results.

clean1.jpg

clean2.jpg

fini

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So fini, you have used only DeoxIT so far? Looks pretty good. Do folks really think both DeoxIT and ProGold are required weapons in the arsenal against oxidation?

Randy-

Thanks for the "tip" on cleaning inside the connector. Did you, ahem, "blow out your hole" before you plugged the connectors back in, or just let them air dry? I would think by using the Q-tip, there shouldn't be any gunk left in there, and then you could just plug and play.

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Yes, just DeoxIt (and that grease from my elbow). I have a little bottle of ProGold that I will use on the jacks as a final touch. I have no idea if that is necessary (it's apparently designed for gold-plated connections), but it probably won't hurt.

fini

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Cool, sounds good. I think I'll order up some of the DeoxIT and work on the RCAs some weekend. I'm also thinking of doing the same thing to the screws on the speaker strips, as those are pretty bad too. Maybe I need to get one of the bigger bottles! Thanks.

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I got my nailpolish deoxit kit last week but it will take me at least 3 or 4 months or a bad connection before I get a chance to use it. Thanks for all the tips. The advantage of getting this type of bottle is your grip won't slip causing the bottle to tip or flip while trying to dip a q-tip in the de-oxit.

Not to mention it would take me a lifetime to use even that small amount.

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Well talk about muddying the water...I found these products at my local high voltage retailer: De-Ox-Id and a spray can of Rid-Ox. Now I have not applied as much elbow grease, so mine don't look as nice, but when I first got the Marantz, the phono jacks would not even conduct. They just hummed! I actually used the Rid-Ox on them, but I sprayed it into a container so I could just use a dropper and Q-tips or cloth. This one supposedly has a sealant and protectant and I must say, every cable and plug works...no humming or bad connections.

BTW, to clean tube pins and sockets I just applied a drop or two to each pin and inserted and removed, in and out, and in and out and...since there is a protector I just wiped any excess. But I did make sure that only a bit went on to each pin.

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