[brj]

I know this topic has been discussed in the past, but the products have changed over time and I'm trying to make sense of the current crop...

Does anyone have a specific recommendation for which Caig contact cleaner and/or enhancer to use these days for a mix of copper, silver and gold plated contacts?  Is there another product better than any in the Caig product line?

(I note for example, that the old "ProGold" product is now "Deoxit Gold", but it seems specific to gold plated contacts.)

Thanks for any guidance!

[brj]

Huh.... everyone must have clean contacts, because the crickets are deafening in here!

[Æ]

I just called CAIG the other day. I asked them the difference between CRAMOLIN and DeOXIT. They told me DeOXIT is made/formulated by them, but CRAMOLIN is made in Germany, something like that. Anyway the red stuff cleans dirty oxidized contacts and the blue stuff seals protects.
Have you been to their website? Give them a call, website has several numbers including toll free 800 numbers.
I have both CRAMOLIN and DeOXIT blue and red and DeOXIT GOLD too.

[nature boy]

I use Craig DeOxit.  For power cord prongs (yes they get dirty) I used to use Flitz followed by DeOxit, but found something much better - California Metal Polish.

The metal polish cleaned up my aluminum wheel rims very nicely and works great on my copper plugs. Much easier that Flitz.

http://www.californiacustom.com/purple_metal_polish.html

NB

[Toon]

(I note for example, that the old "ProGold" product is now "Deoxit Gold", but it seems specific to gold plated contacts.)

It does state on the front of the ProGold bottle that it's for gold-plated connectors, but on the rear lists "gold, silver,rhodium, copper & nickel" along with a bunch of other applications. The Caig website repeats this list for the newer 'DeoxIT Gold' product. Great product, sold primarily to the electronics industry so no BS and it doesn't command a premium audiophile price! Taking a couple of hours to clean and treat every metal-to-metal contact in your system with the the two Caig treatments (the red contact cleaner, now called D-Series, and gold contact enhancer) can realise an amazing improvement in its sound.

[Speedskater]

While CRAMOLIN was made in Germany for a long, long time. I have a test instrument instruction book from the 1950's and recommends using CRAMOLIN. Now in the US, CRAMOLIN is made by Illinois Tool Works chemical division. Modern CRAMOLIN use's a different formula as some of the chemicals are no longer permitted.

On a different note:
Caig DeoxIT D100L is a very serious cleaner and all traces of it need to be removed after your done cleaning.

[brj]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Sounds like the "red" for more seriously tarnished contacts and "gold" for followup or initially less tarnished contacts is the way to go - thanks!

I was unaware of "Cramolin", which now seems to have morphed into "ContaClean".  Unfortunately, it seems harder to find.

Two questions, however...

• Have you typically found the the aerosol cans or the liquids more convenient?
• Are the 5% solutions enough, or do you typically need the 100%?  (I have some old Silcleared connectors that might be a challenge for the 5%.)

Thanks!

I used to use Flitz followed by DeOxit, but found something much better - California Metal Polish.

Hmmm.... the inclusion of an abrasive makes me a bit hesitant with this one unless other options had already proven unsuccessful.

[Æ]

My favorite aluminum polish is SIMICHROME. I also have/use BRASSO and TARN-X, it just depends on the metal.

I use Craig DeOxit.  For power cord prongs (yes they get dirty) I used to use Flitz followed by DeOxit, but found something much better - California Metal Polish.

The metal polish cleaned up my aluminum wheel rims very nicely and works great on my copper plugs. Much easier that Flitz.

http://www.californiacustom.com/purple_metal_polish.html

NB

[Æ]

I recently obtained (free) a bunch of those RCA shorting plugs. Some sort of tin, that had tarnished quite a bit. I soaked them in TARN-X then water rinsed and air compressor dried them. Look at the copper down inside, like new!