That very much depends on what the ‘contact cleaner’ is and where you are spraying it!

If you have access to quality commercial products and you know how to use them, go for it. But if you don’t know what/how much/how/where/why or if you think that WD-40 and CRC 5.56 are contact cleaners and safe to spray on sensitive electronic equipment, then STOP, put the can down and slowly back away from the equipment!

The contact cleaners and treatments I use are commercial, laboratory-grade chemicals, some of them applied in a two-stage process and some used as part of a custom regimen I’ve actually designed, specifically for use on older electronics where no such service procedures even existed previously.

These products are very different from the low-quality products often found in hobbyist electronics stores that leave oily residues. Do you want to know what to use and how? My procedures are so effective that even my competitors want to know what I do. I don’t give this information away, but I will of course apply these processes to your equipment, if needed.

WD-40

WD-40 and CRC 5.56 are aerosol-delivered, low-viscosity, penetrating lubricants, water dispersers and corrosion inhibitors. They consist of light oils suspended in volatile carriers that evaporate, leaving oily residues that protect metallic surfaces. These residues attract dust and dirt, less important on nuts and bolts perhaps, but a very significant problem in sensitive switches, relays and potentiometers with human hair thin gold wipers, for example.

In these delicate structures, dusty, oily residues trap dirt, increasing friction and turning it into a kind of abrasive paste, making them dirtier and less reliable over time. The use of pressurised aerosols containing oleophilic solvents can also flush out greases and oils that are part of the smooth mechanical operation of the switch/pot/etc.

At some point, deep cleaning and re-lubrication will be needed to restore proper functionality, as long as permanent damage has not been caused. This follow-up work is time-consuming and technical, and sometimes too late.

Misinformation

Some of the most problematic equipment I come across has been doused in products that are not contact cleaners like WD-40, so it’s important to understand what a contact cleaner is, its purpose, and how and where to use it. WD-40 is not a contact cleaner, nor is it marketed as one, but I’ve had people tell me that WD-40 is a contact cleaner because they read it in a forum.

Forums are generally not great places for learning because they are typically filled with opinion, misinformation, pseudo-science and worse. When you need facts, opinions are about as useful as a box of hair, hence the popularity of our advisory service.

But Mike, WD-40 was developed for NASA, for use on rockets!

Someone, somewhere

That’s great and maybe it was, but again that doesn’t make it a contact cleaner or treatment. Don’t believe me? No problem, spray it all over you and your hi-fi equipment, just don’t bring it to me afterwards!