In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points - Guitar Repair and Maintenance

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

Blue Jay — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:44:44 +0000

Yes, Stabilant 22 is expensive, but it lasts a long time. (1) One drop or two will do (2) The connection protection usually lasts years.

But if you don't have a connection problem, I can see where the price seems daunting.

For my situation here in Florida, it's priceless.

â™« Notes That's cool, right you would really need it. I parked my car near the pier at Virginia Beach and know what can happen! :shock:

Here are some pics of my cheaper Source PTFE Micro Lube in action, it is indespensible, or should I say very dispensible?

Add it right into the mix of things; makes just about everything run smoothly, quietly, and it could be a rust coating too.

In the final pic I have it sitting in the lower right near the shield cutting knife. The strange caption was used before and isn't necessary here, but it means that the wire salvaged from the crash of a vintage 1960's Air Force Tutor jet has been dug out of the ground by me and my daughters, cleaned of fuel, and put back right to work making more sonic power :lol:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/bluesdlx/moved/IMG_1892-1.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/bluesdlx/moved/100_1382-3.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y177/bluesdlx/moved/100_1368.jpg

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

notes_norton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:43:25 +0000

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

Ricochet — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:16:18 +0000

Nitrocellulose lacquer is sensitive to a LOT of solvents. Kind of a shame that it's come to be regarded as a "premium" guitar finish, since it was originally a cheap substitute for shellac.

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

Blue Jay — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:07:19 +0000

Response to both of the above: I think I can afford the DeOxit but not the Stabilant.

http://www.micro-tools.com/store/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=DEO

So, DeOxit woks, and then you add the Stabilant,eh? I understand but am floored by the price.

I don't have too much of a problem with oxidation, rust, or even dirt and dust on switches, so maybe I won't need the best. I may try the DeOxit but am discouraged by the Stabilant's price - what a letdown, and I was looking forward to getting some, just waiting for you guys to indicate the source of this miracle. :cry:

I would like to have the best, but may have to settle for my original discovery, which I replenish only rarely and from time-to-time at around $7.99 per "pen", and that is Radioshack/Source's PTFE 'teflon' micro-oiler.

I should get something soon, because I have run out. I would never use WD40 and tried LPS-1 a few month's ago, and it splashed and made welts in the lacquer of my Lucille. It has happened before with Armor All - I found that it eats lacquer.

I can't think of a better name than welt which is a skin lesion - so I am using the term as a disambiguation. :roll:

Anyhow, to end that story... there was no tragic ending. I brought out a Lemon Oil and a little Orange Glo to dilute the LPS on top of Lucille, right on the front where you'd see it, buffed it off by hand - the welt still showed, but I knew it would shrink, just because Nitrocellulose has done that before. In 10 minutes it was back to normal, and perfect, absolutely no signs of damage after a little more car wax, but that was too close for comfort.

Sometimes, money is best spent on the right product? My son could use it on vintage synths. They are quite unique in their failings and maybe the worst in electronics. When you open them up, it looks as if somebody has sprayed the boards and all those sliders with pure acid or a salty brine (from dripping hands). I've never seen anything so bad. :roll:

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

notes_norton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:27:20 +0000

Caig DeOxit's good stuff. Indeed. It's the best all-around contact cleaner I've ever found.

If the connection is badly corroded I use DeOxit first and then ProGold or Stabilant22 after it's clean (they protect and enhance the connection).

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Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

Ricochet — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:01:22 +0000

Caig DeOxit's good stuff.

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

notes_norton — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:57:58 +0000

<...>Where did you find your supply Bob? I googled it and found it at http://www.micro-tools.com/

I've never tried it on potentiometers. Thanks for the heads-up on that.

I had a bottle of Tweek a loooooong time ago and it worked miracles. When I ran out, I started using Caig Pro Gold, and although Pro Gold is good, it isn't as good as Tweek was.

Then one day while surfing the net, I ran across an article that said Tweek was purchased by another company and renamed "Stabilant 22". I got a bit excited and immediately googled Stabilant 22

I live in a corrosive climate (South Florida, near the ocean) and am plagued with connection problems. They require regular maintenance. I'm so happy I found Tweek again (with a new name) as this is the longest lasting connection enhancer I've ever used.

(Perhaps they should put me on the payroll )

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Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

kent_eh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:49:37 +0000

about a decade and a half ago when I worked in radio, there was a sample kit of Stabilant22 showed up in the mail, and I tried it on a few chronic noisy places, and it worked like a charm.
Where it wasn't entirely helpful was in some cheap carbon based potentiometers. It seemed to soften the carbon trace on some brands, but not all of them.

It was magic on the selector switches,and step attenuators in the on-air console, though. Normally I had to clean them a couple of times a year to keep them quiet, but the Stabilant seemed to last indefinitely. Or at least until sometime after I changed jobs!

Unfortunately, at the time I wasn't able to find a local supplier of less than industrial quantities.

Where did you find your supply Bob?

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

TRGuitar — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:09:32 +0000

I fixed a similar problem with isopropyl alcohol. The switch on a brand new guitar wasn't working. Once they had a new one in the mail I decided to try cleaning the contacts. It worked. Didn't enhance the contact like the Stabilant 22 though. I'll keep that stuff in mind.

Re: In praise of Stabilant 22 on Switchcraft contact points

notes_norton — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:49:59 +0000

<...>I it fixed your guitar, it is surely going to fix car problems for millions across the nation with broken door locks, stuck power windows and sunroofs. :lol: Not to mention halitosis, and bad hair days ;-)

Seriously, it's really good stuff.

I've used it on jacks/plugs on the back of my mixer (where I hardly ever go), RCA plugs on my home stereo, MIDI cables, and anywhere else I'm having a connection problem that can't be solved with the less expensive Caig DeOxit and Pro Gold.

I never experienced the volume boost before (or never noticed it).

But since I gig with this guitar, and have the volume controls marked, I usually know where they are during those songs that we play almost every night (I play with backing tracks so the mix volume is stable). There was no change when I went from the Asian switch that came with the guitar to the Switchcraft one. But there is definitely a change after the Stabilant.

I wasn't expecting that.

I also think I'm getting better treble response, but that isn't scientific and could be my imagination.

For those who live in corrosive climates (like Florida where I live), contact problems are a fact of life. Any product that reduces that problem is welcome.

BTW, I own no stock in Stabilant and do not profit in any direct or indirect way from the sales of their products.

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