Contact Cleaner

Fatparrot, I think that oxygen in the air does most of the damage although excess moisture certainly does not help.

What all of these products do is remove the layer of oxidized material, ( which is no longer the same metal chemically ), so that conductivity is at it's best again. Probably the best option is to clean and leave nothing behind at all. Problem is, mother nature IMMEDIATELY begins her work on converting the metals to oxides again.

There needs to be a balance between the (negative?) effect of the preventative coating and what it does to the sound, compared to the short lived improvement of simply cleaning the connection and allowing it to degrade.

I found an excellent contact cleaner today while shopping for some auto care stuff at Kragen autoparts.

The product is called QD Electronic Cleaner manufactured by CRC. Yup, I never heard of it before either. I just picked up a $5 can out of curiosity.

After rubbing away the oxidation on my electrical contacts on my components and cables with 90% prophopyl alcohol, I gave every component a deep polish with the QD, and sprayed intensively in female inputs where it is impossible to clean. This stuff dries almost instantly, so wiping is not neccessary. Just let the excess drip out.

Now, my system sounds like it just had TWO cable upgrades. The breakdown on the improvements in sound is probably 70% QD and 30% prophopyl alcohol. I've used prophopyl alcohol before, and my system never reached this level of clarity before.

Interesting...

Like someone from these forums taught me, "Never pass up an audition."!

Caig Pro-Gold & Deoxit. You can now buy the big can direct from Radioshack for cheaper than most.

After briefly living in Tucson AZ for a year, yes less oxidiation with less humidity.