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Recommended cleaner for corrosion stains on electrical contacts

Rantenti

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Hello all,

I had wrapped up the ends of some of my unused cables in cling wrap and thought they would be better protected like this. Sadly, the supposedly gold-plated contacts showed corrosion stains more quickly than ever. I guess the culprit is the condensation within the cling wrap. Here's a photo of my poor ifi iPurifier.

If I plug it into my DAC (which is new and the contacts have no corrosion), will the corrosion on my cable/ iPurifier cause any detrimental effects on my DAC contact surface/ signal transmission?

What are the cost-effective agents to remove those ugly stains to restore the electrical contacts? I looked up WD40 contact cleaner but it only said it protects against corrosion but did not say it removes existing corrosion stains.

Thanks!
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Katji

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Just clean it with Deoxit.
The gold flash deposit is porous, maybe somewhat translucent, but the Nickel beneath - if that's what it is - doesn't oxidise, AFAIK.
The clingwrap itself can cause reactions.
 

AnalogSteph

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Most people should have isopropyl alcohol or similar at hand, so I'd start with that. Dedicated contact cleaner is better, of course.

And I guess consider investing into some silica gel for next time, if you don't happen to have a few bags of the stuff laying around anyway that could be dried in the oven.
 

Wes

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cling wrap likely has PVC in it - vinyl chloride > H-Cl

if Deoxit does not work, then try a cleaner made for electric motors from an auto parts store, follow with Deoxit
 

Blumlein 88

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CRC QD electronic parts cleaner available at auto parts stores.
 

Katji

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I think it's not oxidation, as such...but what matters is the contacts inside...
 

wwenze

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The external gold metal contact thingy doesn't even matter. Technically it is pin5 (shield ground).

The pins on the inside are what matters and if they were not in contact with the wrap you shouldn't worry.

What I do if I need better contact from my bad 3.5mm or RCA is just to grab a tissue, grab the pin and give it a big twist. Yes it is abrasive but I'm already too old to give a ____

Alternatively I dip it in vinegar or bleach.
 

Doodski

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I've had good results using a fiber glass burnishing tool. Other than for burnishing PCBs to create solder lands and clean up corroded lands they also work great for contact cleaning of many sorts of contacts and for burnishing copper with a fine grit of abrasion. They can be found at electronics suppliers in the tools section.
https://www.rpelectronics.com/70-450-p-burnishing-tool-fibreglass.html
 
OP
Rantenti

Rantenti

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Thanks for all your ideas and experienced sharing!

Deoxit is not readily available in my local area, so I got a soft eraser and gave it a good rub, then the stains are gone! Looks like the stains were reactions with the cling wrap. Luckily the shiny pins inside looked okay. Lesson learned!

I will take a trip to buy some Deoxit soon though, as I guess they will come into good use some time or another.
 
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Wes

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a trip? buy it online
 
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