Turned it on. No smoke yet.

Tim,
 I've read the product description a few times and it does seem, but I am not sure about it, to be conductive. I imagine you chose it while aware that it is NOT a cleaner but merely a lubricant.

 In the future use as little of it as possible. A little lube goes a long long way where as a cleaner product might work very well with a liberal application.

 The amount of conductivity may be so low that there is no concern of arcing across a few millimeters of motherboard surface running 5 to 48 volt potentials.

 I'd be curious to know more about it.

 I am glad to learn that everything seems ok.


best regards,
mike

Mike, 

I got it at guitar center. They had 2 varieties. I think the other one was for metal to metal or something. Anyway, The mixer works, the flying faders fly a little more quietly. Everything seems clean. 

It does leave a mess that still hasn't evaporated (on the desk holding the mixer).

I still don't understand how something liquid can be non-conductive? That's new to me.

Most of my old amps and guitars and anything else with a pot have lots of scratching going on. 
I just ignore/deal/wiggle with it.
The mixer was sort of driving me nuts though.

It could be a silicone based lubricant that is suspended in a mild solvent. The solvent cleans and the lubricant does what it does. There are some solvents that go after certain plastics and can do some serious damage. Old TV tuner cleaning fluid for example has some very harsh solvents. Most modern pot and switch solvents are designed for modern plastics formulations.

You have to be careful with that stuff. I usually just use electronic cleaner made for computers which also cleaned the pots of my old amp and cleans the computer circuit boards also. Usually deoxit is a step up from the other but it costs more and I think it is more for projects to clean up the circuit boards someone may be soldering together.

timidi


Mike, 

I still don't understand how something liquid can be non-conductive? That's new to me.

Hi Tim, FWIW the only conductive liquids are the conductive ones. :-) Some liquids hold conductive stuff in solution and others do not.

Pure water, for example is not inherently conductive. Most examples of water DO have conductive materials such as minerals and salts in solution and so you can get shocked easily.

I am not trying to emphasize that water isn't conductive as much as I am simply trying to offer an example of familiar liquid that isn't inherently conductive just because it is a liquid.


Drewfx or Quantam can probably explain the actual chemistry or physics of how it works.




Silicon products are interesting in this regard. Silicon can be formulated into molecules that are conductive or insulating. The chemist making the product will choose the appropriate form.

I don't know that the product you bought has silicone in it... but the fact that the stuff will not go away does sort of suggest silicone. That stuff is PERSISTENT.


I am glad to learn that your mixer is working better... It seems like you made the best choice for the circumstance. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do to keep stuff working.


all the best,
mike

timidi




I still don't understand how something liquid can be non-conductive? That's new to me.

Pure water is actually a pretty good insulator of electricity.  It only becomes a conductor when impurities are added to it....such as salts. Most water we are familiar with (tap, stream, pond, rain) has sufficient impurities to start with that it is dangerously conductive. 


Voltage also plays a major role in how much current will flow with a given conductance.  Since most of the circuits we use these days are solid state to one degree or another, the voltages are in the 5 to 12 volt range and so there in not much electrical pressure or voltage to push the current across a slightly conductive substance. 


For example..... lay your dry arm across a car battery terminals.... 12 vdc.... and you won't feel a thing. BUT.... do that when you have been working under the hood and your arm is covered in salty sweat, and it's a whole different story.