WD40 or Wera Electric Contacts Cleaner

[QikMik]

I've been asked by a client to clean out their connections (sound equipment) - not one I've been asked to do before TBH so not sure if I could use regular WD40 or would I need to use something designed for this purpose like Wera's electrical spray:

Wera High Tech Kontaktor Electric Contacts Cleaner Spray Kraftform 400ml 019032 | eBay

 

[Richard Burns]

Use a specifically designed contact cleaner, ones not designed for this can leave a residue on the contacts that could possibly make things worse.

 

[telectrix]

what he said ^^^^^^. never use WD40 on electrical contacts.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

I would recommend Caig DeOxit. This is widely used in the AV industry and although I distrust anything that looks like snake oil I have found it effective. There are different versions for different purposes, the general version of the Gold spray is probably the one to get. It is not cheap but you don't need much of it.

Blow dust out of connectors with airgun or air duster can before spraying DeOxit otherwise you can create a kind of oily mud on the contacts. Always mate and dismate a connector after cleaning to scrape any residue away from the active contact area.

 

[nickblake]

Me servisol supa 10 used it for years when servicing audio mixing desks but as lucian has said always blast out the dust and dirt first

 

[shanky887614]

surely isoprople alchohol would work?

a lot of people use it on electronics as it disolves and doesnt leave any residue.

 

[Richard Burns]

Isopropyl alcohol is an OK solvent but not so good for oils and greases, you need aromatic solvents such as toluene and xylene for those, but they do not cover water based contamination.
You then need to flush the surface with the solvent that can cause other problems, generally easier to use a proprietary aerosol.