WD40 is probably the all time worst cleaner/lubricant you can use for 
electronics.
for a couple reasons.
Firstly, WD40 is petrolium bassed, which means it'll break down plastic.  In 
modern pots, there is quite a bit of plastic and other soft material 
components that will decay with wd40.  Also, wd40 is conductive and can 
short pots, especially when there is significant voltage or current flowing 
through the pot.
Secondly, wd40 tends to evaperate rather quickly, and dry up, leaving a 
nasty sticky film, and as butch says, it will attract dust and dirt and 
other nasties like a magnet.
It can actually bind up a pot and cause dead spots on the pot.  Unless the 
pot is moved all the time that is, which  it isn't in most applications.

Contact cleaner, the kind that is a solvant and that removes greace, oil, 
and anything else on metal is good for basic cleaning of the wipers and 
other components in a pot, but you have to refill the pot with a lubricant 
usually to keep the wiper from waring out.
I love contact cleaner for lots of audio and electronics pots, but I also 
use non-conductive greace or oil after I'm done to give the pot a nice 
smooth feel again...other wise, the wiper will decay over time and you'll 
end up with a totally dead component because there is no lubrication along 
the sweep of the wiper.

just my 5 bucks worth hi hi.

73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Butch Bussen" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2011 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: Question on LDG TW1 volume control


> Not true.  I've worked on electronics since 1966 and I have used contact
> cleaner often.  I have found on relays it is more of a temp fix, but have
> never experienced harming pots.  Cleaners aren't as good as they use to
> be, but there are two kinds, one that just clean and others that have a
> lubricant of some kind.  I tend to just use the cleaner.  When tv tuners
> were mechanical things, we used stuff called tunawash and it worked on
> pots as well.  I've heard of people using wd 40, but I'd never use that on
> a pot as it leaves a film that can collect dust.
> 73
> Butch
> WA0VJR