Chemicals for internal cleaning

[SandyG]

I am only a chemistry laboratory technician and not a expert in any way in cleaning electronics or mechanics...

Testing the cleaning agent on a plastic spare part (old PCB or even an unimportant corner) can give you a good indicator how it may behave.
There exist probably many receipts how PCB plastic/composition is made and it changed for sure during the different decades... so testing is the only safe way to be more sure.

Also consider that the cleaning agents you mention contain a very high content of solvents (Naphta, Heptan, Isopartaffinis Hydrocarbon) that act degreasing.
They can clean mechanical parts but some grease is always needed in almost all moving parts... so reapplying grease is then a must.

Other thing to consider is acting time... I mean by that how long the cleaning agent is in contact with the parts...prolonged use can damaged parts.
I once cleaned a Cambo X2-Pro view camera adapter with Isopropanol... one wish wasn't a problem even two or three... but I thought it was still some dirt so I continued until I realised that the dark grey lack paint started to get a away...that was the "dirt".


Other thing that people forget or neglect is safety. This stuff is highly flammable and very unhealthy (don't forget you can expose also your family) and needs very good ventilation (if you don't smell it doesn't mean it is all gone):

• doing in the basement is a bad idea,the fumes are heavier than air so they stay there
• doing in the kitchen is a bad idea, very probable risk of food contamination
• doing in the living room is a bad idea, stuff stay in the room where you are for hours and you (and family) are exposed
• doing in the garage is a better choice, perhaps keep the door open to improve ventilation
• do it outside is the best option after all, wind and dirt can be an issue with all the delicate parts...

Yes! For sure the contact cleaners, with the exception of Deoxit left things clean and dry. Deoxit has a lube of some type. I did relube a few areas after doing the full power wash as the camera mechanism got rough and a bit wonky when winding. I really tried to keep the sprays out of the lens where it could get into the shutter.

I'm usually in the garage, and this stuff is likely the lesser of evils I deal with, but I'm a bit more careful of the nasty chemicals these days.

Thanks for the hints, and a good test area is a good thing. I ran into some what I though was glued on velvet fabric on a Kodak Instamatic case. I had use Lighter Fluid with excellent and safe results removing the glue used to hold it. I got a 3rd case and lighter fluid did nothing. I stepped it up to Acetone and it immediatly melted. It ended up that what they used on the last one I tried was some kind of heat bonding and it would never have come off, testing would have save the 10 dollar case, but lesson learned 😉

Sandy

 

[FotohuisR]

You have found already out that WD-40 Contact Cleaner leaves no residue but doesn't lubricate. It is a cheap and effective cleaner. I am in electronic repair, vintage audio and depending of the component you are using a cleaner or a cleaner with lubrication. Deoxid is here in Europe very expensive and difficult to get so we have our Kontakt Chemie K60 PLUS instead for this. When you want to clean a whole part or PCB, ultra sonic cleaning with IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol) is the way to go. Not very famous the SMD electrolytic capacitors in the 90's. They all started leaking and a complete destruction of the PCB is the result. For Philips DCC systems (Digital Cassette System) you have to replace the whole PCB near the heads by a new one with new components otherwise it is a lost battle. Many examples for this problem.