I've had two radios on the bench lately whose metal bat
toggle switches were nearly frozen. Discovered a good squirt
of DeOxit helps loosen things up. Set the switch with the
bat up and put some DeOxit around the round ball. It'll
soak in and work its magic. Work the bats back and forth a number
of times and the resistance will lessen. I did break two doing
this (out of 9) but I figure they were toast anyway.
Steve

I get the same results with WD40. Also, more than once, I have drilled out rivets, and disassembled and cleaned up the contacts. Reassemble using 12 or 14-GA copper wire to make "virtual rivets"

"DeOxit" pushes my buttons---do you mean D5? If so, it is intended for oxidized contacts---as often found in wafer switches. This is not the typical failure mode in a toggle switch---or the typical switch on the back of a volume control.

Agreed. My brother (who's in the repair parts business) says that half the customers that ask for DeOxit have no idea of what they want it for - all they know is they heard that "DeOxit is great for controls and switches...."

Show them Fader Lube, D5, or G5, and it's deer in the headlights.....they have an applicability chart that guides most to what they want. Caig Labs has a video that's germane....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otK130JVyZQ but still leaves you head scratchin'............

For me, the bloom is off the rose when it comes to CAIG and DeoxIT. Their product line is
confusing, pricey and most recently I bought some D5 in one of their flip-top cans. It is
impossible to use it without the chemical peeing-out all over the place. It's a mess. I wrote to CAIG, that of course, ignored my complaint; after all, I'm just another unimportant customer.
So I am indeed looking for a good contact cleaner.

I bought some WD40 Contact Cleaner and been using that when I don't feel like taking a bath
in DeoxIT spray.

Oh, for the good old days when you could walk into an electronics store and buy a can of
no-name contact cleaner without it being haute cuisine!

I have had at least a 95% success rate using the method you describe on toggle switches. If you press the nozzle very lightly you can get just a dribble of Deoxit to come out; use several drops. I usually actuate the toggle about a hundred times. very rapidly. Then check continuity.

I have a few pints of oleic acid, which I understand is the active ingredient in deoxit. Once I find the proper strength to mix, this will be the solution I use.

Amen. In the 70s, I worked for a regional electronics distributor and we sold a couple of cleaners - and somehow that was enough! I've studied the Caig information on which product to use where and I must be stupid, 'cause I still don't understand it!

Hey pixellany -

Can you elaborate on your process for making "virtual rivets" from copper wire? Sounds intriguing and I currently have an application for this. How do you form the ends?

5% solution in naptha:
viewtopic.php?p=946889#p946889

Bend the wire over, and then "stake" it as if it were a rivet----but use a flat head punch. Stake gently to avoid breaking the plastic housing.
You can start by clamping the wire in a vise and forming one end with a few hammer taps

De-Oxit is fine for a first pass to clean contacts but you want a LUBE in there... BUT, WD40 does a great job on every one of these I have done. WAY cheaper, too.
Mark Oppat

Oleic acid makes an excellent flux when soldering lead strips together in a stained glass project.

Joseph

The whole DeOxit debate ... ...Kinda makes one long for the days when there was only Cramoline.....

I've freed up frozen switches and rotary shaft bearings and bushings with either WD40 or a drop of turbine or other fine oil. The key is patience... you have to let it work a bit, then wiggle the parts a bit, and repeat. You get too ambitious and ... SNAP!!!!

A drop or two of sewing machine oil around the toggle ball, then some gentle warmth from a heat gun or hair dryer does the same thing.

A couple of drops of kroil works well too.

I am working on a Grundig 5088, a large table model. Someone drilled a hole in one of the side speaker panels to install a toggle on-off sw as the original was frozen open. The sw in the radio is like a toggle operated by the push buttons and buried under all the other band switches. So I tipped the chassis on its side and dribble the D5 into the backside where there is a opening and sure enough after being actuated a few dozen times it works fine. I was lucky to find a replacement side panel from another set I bought cheap because the cabinet was in terrible shape.

... and randomly dissolve plastic parts and pot interiors! Been there, done that... lost a complete Roberts s/s stereo that way!
Cheers,
Roger

IF there is an issue with resistance in the switch contacts on a toggle, I will put isop in them and let it run in. Then work the snot out of them to wipe the contacts. This done measuring the contact resistance with a meter at the time. I can see putting in something a little bit lubricating or penetrating in the instance it is a mechanical issue versus contacts. I lubed a sticky switch on a Hallicrafters I have here. Was not gonna take the switch apart or replace it except as last resort. I have taken apart switches on volume controls and fixed them up. Easier than finding an exact replacement for a particular radio. Deoxit used to be easy. Red for oxidized or dirty contact, blue for preserving clean or new or shiny connections. But I have mislaid my little bottle of blue. Had a large vintage bottle of the blue at one time in the box and sold it. It would have been more than a lifetime supply. What was I thinking? I forget. Probably 80$ worth of new blue. I wrecked a 1000$ plastic switch on a plane with "contact cleaner" spray one time. After that it was isop alcohol, period.