Used to use some stuff I had for many years called "Tweek" for cleaning 1/4" and 1/8" cadmium/nickel plated patch cable ends and patchbay contacts until the bottle ran out about a month ago. Went to reorder some and found they don't make it any more.

Ran across some stuff called DEoxIT cleaner and DEoxIT Shield which has been said to clean & protect the non-brass patchbay contacts and cable ends rather smartly. If anyone here uses this stuff, does it live up to the jargon promoting it?

What are you all using these days for cleaning non-brass cable ends and patchbay connectors?

 

you can use alcohol in most cases, esp. in a patchbay there should not be anything which can be harmed by alcohol.

what i wonder more is what tool you guys use. cotton swabs? shouldn´t there be a special brush for jack sockets?

 

One would think. In passing I heard someone mention .30 caliber (7.62mm) gun cleaning brush tips (they are reusable apparently) for cleaning 1/4" patch panel connectors.

 

deoxit makes great contact cleaner, i use it pretty much exclusively in my shop. i've had great results with both D5 and F5. i've never tried the shield version so i can't speak on that one

straw brushes work great for cleaning out patch bay connectors

 

Ive just only ever used Isopropyl alcohol for many many years but I'm sure an Audiophile can hear the difference

 

Isopropyl alcohol is available at our pharmacy. It makes all connectors 100% clean and sterile.
It's also inexpensive, and it's also very effective at removing adhesive residue from tape.

 

Isopropyl alcohol or acetone. Acetone is especially handy as it dries really quick. For the record: yes, nail polish remover is mostly acetone, but you should never use it for this purpose as it contains all sorts of skincare oils that can mess up contact. How do I know? No reason...

 

I use cotton swabs, but I find you need to be very careful not to soak them as that can leave some fibers behind if fully wet. Thankfully the cleaners that I use (isopropyl alcohol or acetone) dry real quick so I get some on the swab, let it dry for a minute or so and then go to town.

 

You can use 'lint free' swabs. They're made specifically for this kinda stuff. They don't shed anything of note even when getting a bit overzealous on boards and drag it across pins n leads. And I drown things in Iso 90+. If there is no real risk of hitting rubber or paint ( or getting it into pots I don't plan on relubing) I just pour straight from the container onto the board sometimes. Never an issue with the lint free swabs.

 

With the "tweek" stuff I could clean the patch cable plugs with a little of the stuff applied to a lint free cloth or tissue. Then just apply a few small drops of the stuff to a clean cable end plug and run it thru the patchbay socket(s) a few times. That would, 99% of the time, clean up a rough connection in just a few seconds and it would stay clean for months afterward. I ordered some DeoxIT and the Shield protectant. Hopefully I will have pretty close to the same results I had with "TweeK'... The DeoxIT stuff is not cheap, but then again my last bottle of cleaner lasted close to 15 years.