[MRCA] Contact cleaner query

[Ray Fantini]

I use isopropyl alcohol or denatured or whatever they call the alcohol that sold in one gallon cans at the big box hardware stores.  Good for cleaning surfaces, evaporates and leaves no residue and is cheap so you can slop it on cases and cover plates without issue. I have a small squirt bottle that I keep around on the bench full of it.  Long time ago when I worked in television we would have people who get all worked up about what you would use for cleaning audio and video heads and we regularly used lint free cloth and denatured alcohol on head assemblies that cost thousands of dollars with no issue.  Still use squirt bottle of alcohol and paper towels today in cleaning high powered transmitters and cavities. Also have used it on Q tips for cleaning AC contactors. Imagine you can spend a lot more but it's always worked for me.

Ray F/KA3EKH

From: MRCA [mailto:mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of DSP3
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2015 2:29 PM
To: mrca at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [MRCA] Contact cleaner query

Gentlemen,

I use De-Oxit D5 as my standard contact cleaner.  Its getting rather expensive, of late, and I looked around for a suitable substitute.  Also, I wonder if De-Oxit is part of the audiophile and curator/purist's conspiracy for pricing?  Not being either a chemist or metallurgist, and only a smattering of corrosion control engineering, I ask anyone here if the over-the-counter industrial contact and switch cleaner Ideal #40-610 product might be an acceptable substitute product?  I got two BIG spray cans w/ nozzle (like De-Oxit) from an electrical supply house for $7 each.   Lowe's has it, too.  Most older MIL gear doesn't have exotic plastics, etc. so maybe OK for older stuff, at least?

Alphatic hydrocarbon-based solvent.

Contains alphatic petroleum solvent 64742-89-7, isopropol alchohol 67-63-0 1,1 diflouroethane propellant 75-37-6.

certified for circuit breakers, electronic relays, switches, terminals, sensors, printed circuit boards, motor controls.

Hmmmm,   De-Oxit D5 has same alphatic hydrocarbon but spec # is 8052-41-3, also exact same diflouroethane propellant.

Looks like the difference is the presence of isoprop alcohol in the Ideal product.

Jeep - K3HVG

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