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Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please

98.114.239.169
Posted on December 30, 2016 at 20:23:20
Permanent Waves
Audiophile

Posts: 155
Location: Keystone state
Joined: December 23, 2016



Bought their vacuum tube survival kit which contains the paint on pin treatment to be used after the contact cleaner. Said to improve electrical connection. Anyone using this and think it's good or worth using? Or is it snake oil? Wanted to ask before trying it and having it in my expensive guitar amps tube sockets for fear it may be more harm than good in the long run. Opinions please you won't hurt my feelings lol

Sitting here on the Group W bench

 

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RE: Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please, posted on December 30, 2016 at 20:43:00
FenderLover
 Good stuff in my opinion. Use in moderation. Clean off any excess.

 

RE: Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please, posted on December 31, 2016 at 03:07:29
Uncle Mike
 You didn't do your due diligence before you bought it, did you? There are plenty of posts going back years attesting to their virtues.
The search engine of the archives here works well, getting it to look for what you want can be a challenge at times. Often you can find answers from the past long before you get a response here.

 

RE: Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please, posted on December 31, 2016 at 03:31:26
vinnie2
Audiophile

Posts: 4481
Location: North Carolina
Joined: September 28, 2013
 I am probably by my lonesome with this one, but for some reason I have never had good luck with the GOLD cleaner. The red seems to work fine, but I have had problems with the gold of poor contact after cleaning. Several time I have had to remove the gold with contact cleaner then apply red to solve the problem. Don't know if anyone else has had this problem, or if it would carry over to the other products as well. Please let us know what you find out.

 

Deoxit Gold - Cleaning Abilities, posted on December 31, 2016 at 10:54:56
JazzDude
Audiophile

Posts: 368
Joined: July 30, 2002
 Howdy Vinnie2. Your experiences with Deoxit's Gold product makes sense as the Gold is not a cleaner, it is a contact enhancer. Deoxit calls it a Conditioner & Protector. Thus you would use a different Deoxit product to clean and optionally apply the Gold as a second step. Here's what Dexoit mentions on their website about the Gold:

"DeoxIT Gold is a unique conditioning solution that improves conductivity and provides long-lasting protection on gold, base metals and other precious metal contacts and connections (gold, silver, rhodium, copper, bronze, nickel, etc.). Use on plated connectors, contacts and metal surfaces for maximum performance and protection. Recommended for critical applications where only slight cleaning action is necessary."

Also, check out Jim McShane's suggestions with using Deoxit to clean tube pins and sockets, linked below. Hope this helps!

 

RE:No way, I say, stay away., posted on December 31, 2016 at 19:42:40
DAK
Audiophile

Posts: 2712
Location: PACIFIC
Joined: August 8, 2010
 I had a McIntosh MX110 in for a cap job and the owner had used caig on all the tube sockets. The problem was that it had migrated everywhere! I mean the whole top panel of the unit had rings around the tube sockets from the residue. I don't think it was over applied. Erm, maybe a little.
Anyway stuff like that usually is a boon to the repair guys 10, 20, 30 years down the line as it changes its chemistry as dirt and dust start to accumulate on it and it start to form new elements. Sometimes conductive sometimes non conductive. I am being facetious but just remember back in the day when tubes were everywhere, no one was using contact treatments like that for energized contacts.

 

RE: Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please, posted on January 1, 2017 at 12:06:17
claud
Audiophile

Posts: 958
Location: North Carolina
Joined: February 13, 2001
 I have the same kit as the OP. Was just going to start cleaning tubes & sockets on my Cary /Merlin system. THANKS for the advice. NO GOLD crap on tube pins/sockets. JUST use the cleaner. It has more of the conditioner than the D5. Thank you Asylum Inmates

 

RE: Deoxit Gold - Cleaning Abilities, posted on January 3, 2017 at 08:33:59
Jim McShane
Dealer

Posts: 5910
Location: Chicago
Joined: January 13, 2003
 That post is pretty old but still worthwhile. You might also find my FAQ post worth checking out.

 

I don't like it., posted on January 3, 2017 at 11:05:07
Victor Khomenko
Manufacturer

Posts: 55316
Joined: April 5, 2000
 Most pins do not need any cleaning. Those that do (very old tubes, that have been sitting long time in storage) can be cleaned very nicely with steel wool or steel brush, but that is rarely required. Some chemicals leave nasty residue behind, some bake on socket pins, some create conductive path causing noise.

Seriously - there is no better way of cleaning the pins than the contact wiping action.


 

RE: Think about it, posted on January 5, 2017 at 11:00:57
DAK
Audiophile

Posts: 2712
Location: PACIFIC
Joined: August 8, 2010
 If the tube amp guy did not use it, he did not see any need. None of the amp makers, guitar and audio ever did something like that. If your unit has new tube sockets and new tubes there is no better contact than that between the pristine metal surfaces that exist now. I use that stuff on switches and vintage rca jacks after cleaning.

 

RE: Think about it, posted on January 5, 2017 at 14:05:05
Jim McShane
Dealer

Posts: 5910
Location: Chicago
Joined: January 13, 2003
 There is no guarantee that new tube sockets and such are pristine though! They can have some tarnish on the metal surfaces, there can be deposits from manufacturing on the tube pins, and so on. You just can't assume that new parts are pristine. Cleaning is a smart move - based on my experience; and DeOxit D5 is a superb product for that job.

I would also recommend that if you or anyone else are going to use it you read the instructions so you know how it is meant to be used.

 

RE: Deoxit Pin treatment Opinions please, posted on January 8, 2017 at 22:36:03
shane.
Audiophile

Posts: 394
Location: S.A.
Joined: March 27, 2004
 Stick the pins of your tube into a lemon, if its 7 or 9 pin tube its easy. If its octal get creative. Citric acid will clean the pins - and very well too. Rinse with water after.. and dont eat the lemon !

You can buff the pins to a fine shine and remove all the crud in many different ways. If it makes a difference - I cant say. Cotton swabs spun into a floss and then doused in fine cutting compound (toothpaste) works as well.. sockets.. hmm.. you want the removable type.. or some way of getting 'in there'... or just capacitor clamp the tube and heavy flux then solder pins direct :-)


 

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