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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 25, 2011 20:34:23 GMT
You buy a nice pair of vintage valves whose insides have been preserved in a vaccuum for decades but what about the pins? They have been exposed to the elements and it is inevitable that they will have become oxidised over the years. Do you ever have an intermittent problem with the valves? Could be due to oxidisation on the pins preventing optimum contact. There is no point looking into this too deeply, oxidisation is simply a layer of "oxidisation" that has built up over a period of MANY years and all you have to do to remove the build up is get a sharp craft knife and scrape the pins with it until you see shiny metal..... job done! If you have "Many" valves, whos pins are oxidised, then the most effective way to "de-oxidise" them is in a vinegar bath...... quite simply get a non metallic dish (a casserole dish or something) and pour in enough vinegar to cover the valve pins (too much and the valves will float!)..... leave them standing in this bath overnight and be AMAZED at what you see the next morning..... lovely shiny pins..... Rinse the valves with cold water and you are good to go! Forget all this "deoxit" crap (it's a total rip off)....... vinegar is the way to go Mike.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 25, 2011 20:41:25 GMT
Another good one is lemon juice HP sauce can also be used.
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pjc68
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Post by pjc68 on Jul 25, 2011 20:55:20 GMT
Deoxit is good shit man You could also use coca cola, vinegar and lemon juice are acidic and may sour the sound paddy
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 25, 2011 21:27:25 GMT
I'd rather scrape or soak than entertain those snake oil merchants.... vinegar actually does a BETTER job (IMO).... the BEST job is had by physically "scraping" the oxidisation off and then soldering into position.... in the case of valves that are socketed, scrape it off and insert valves into socket.... no need for anything else.... IF the pins start to oxidise (to a degree where optimal connection is compromised / over a period of MANY years) just scrape it off again.... "deoxit" my arse! a license to print money! White vinegar / a lemon / a craft knife will do a better job! Have a look at how coin collectors "de-oxidise" their VALUABLE coins.... www.wikihow.com/Clean-Coins"De-oxit" my Royal arse, go buy a lemon!
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pjc68
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Post by pjc68 on Jul 25, 2011 21:47:37 GMT
Mike I go metal detecting and cleaning a coin with vinegar is a no no vinegar is acidic and can damage the coin and the patina, a couple of guys i know of found a few roman bronze coins (grots) and cleaned them with something similar and both sides of the coin corroded and fell off I know thats got sweet fa to do with valve pins but deoxit is made for cleaning electrical contacts and is good stuff, i havent used anything else for years paddy
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 25, 2011 21:57:39 GMT
Mike I go metal detecting and cleaning a coin with vinegar is a no no vinegar is acidic and can damage the coin and the patina, a couple of guys i know of found a few roman bronze coins (grots) and cleaned them with something similar and both sides of the coin corroded and fell off I know thats got sweet fa to do with valve pins but deoxit is made for cleaning electrical contacts and is good stuff, i havent used anything else for years paddy Valve pins are NOT "coins"..... they are conductors and VINEGAR is the best substance for tearing the crap off of the conductors... feel free to "WASTE" money, though, I don't give a shite if you agree with me (or not).... I am happy with vinegar. Mike.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Jul 26, 2011 2:00:59 GMT
Wow, you guys really make things complicated. Just use Philips contact cleaner will do. If even can't afford the Philips, use alcohol or Brasso to rub and rub until oxides come out. If still can't afford alcohol or Brasso, rub rub your little brother until the natural fluid comes out and use that FREE.
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rowuk
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Post by rowuk on Jul 26, 2011 4:51:34 GMT
A small plating kit and some gold electrolyte cost about €15 together. Gold plating the pins prevents oxidation and makes scraping/chemicals/salad dressing unnecessary.
I am in line with Mike though. If I am going to use some liquid, then something that I can dump down the drain.
If the pins were silver plated, a hot bath of salt water with a piece of aluminium foil in it causes the oxidation to leave the silver and go to the foil. This is how I clean my silver plated trumpets too - no loss of silver through abrasion.
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pjc68
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Post by pjc68 on Jul 26, 2011 11:09:59 GMT
Mike I go metal detecting and cleaning a coin with vinegar is a no no vinegar is acidic and can damage the coin and the patina, a couple of guys i know of found a few roman bronze coins (grots) and cleaned them with something similar and both sides of the coin corroded and fell off I know thats got sweet fa to do with valve pins but deoxit is made for cleaning electrical contacts and is good stuff, i havent used anything else for years paddy Valve pins are NOT "coins"..... they are conductors and VINEGAR is the best substance for tearing the crap off of the conductors... feel free to "WASTE" money, though, I don't give a shite if you agree with me (or not).... I am happy with vinegar. Mike. Whooa there tiger You mentioned the vinegar and coins, i just pointed out they are acidic and that it had sweet fa to do with pins if you read my post. Deoxit has been formulated to work with electrical contacts etc, and is a big seller worldwide and i know that a few people on here probably swear by it as well as recomendations in hifi mags etc Using vinegar will leave an undesirable film on the pins, why not plug and unplug them about 20 times in an old valve socket to remove oxide or better still use sulphuric acid paddy
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Jul 30, 2011 13:15:11 GMT
Hi guys, I must not be doing this the right way because I do not see much of a difference. I started with a pair of Russian 6H23n I received from Mike (see first pic). Then I realized I did not have any white vinegar but I had apple cider vinegar so I said, "what the heck" lets give it a try. The pins were submerged overnight and the results (or lack of) can be seen on the second picture. Disappointed with the results I went and bought white vinegar and submerged the pins overnight. Again I scrubbed them pins with an old toothbrush and rinsed thoroughly. Sadly I did not see any results either as can be seen on the third picture. As a last ditch effort I used 600 grit sand paper on the outside surfaces of the pins and although a bit cleaner I wonder if the effort is worth it. I have installed the pair on a Red Wine Audio Isabella and it sounds as nice as I remember. Pictures can be seen at: picasaweb.google.com/109437154048011247077/6H23nPinCleaning
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pjc68
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Post by pjc68 on Jul 30, 2011 18:41:16 GMT
Miguel Now you want to clean the pins with deoxit and a q tip and plug them back into the valve holder slightly damp, let dry for an hour and that should keep a seal from oxide paddy
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 30, 2011 20:35:25 GMT
I love winding you guys up Miguel, use the vinegar for your fish and chips I just wanted to see how many people would actually soak their valves in a bath of vinegar
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Jul 31, 2011 17:02:03 GMT
Well, I am gullible! Anyone wishes to try hydrogen peroxide instead of vinegar?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jul 31, 2011 19:31:40 GMT
Well, I am gullible! Anyone wishes to try hydrogen peroxide instead of vinegar? I'll give it a try
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pjc68
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Post by pjc68 on Jul 31, 2011 20:43:23 GMT
Hydrogen peroxide is used in hairdressing for lifting the colour. Also it is used in the cyanotype type printing (alt processes) for quickly oxidising the paper to a deep blue colour instead of waiting a few days for the print to naturally oxidise itself, so i think it could oxidise metals over a period of time, and this is the 3% stuff paddy
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Aug 3, 2011 1:44:05 GMT
A small plating kit and some gold electrolyte cost about €15 together. Gold plating the pins prevents oxidation and makes scraping/chemicals/salad dressing unnecessary. That's interesting! Any link for all souls interested. Can also gold plate RCA, XLR and amp face plate for the golden look?
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rowuk
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Post by rowuk on Aug 12, 2011 11:45:07 GMT
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Post by Garage1217 on Aug 17, 2011 5:29:26 GMT
lol and you were trying to get me to soak mine in vinigar Mike lol glad I stuck with my red scotch brite as I would have felt a fool Just glad you did not want me to ask a 20yr old virgin from Siberia, wearing a red dress to piss in a bottle in which to soak my TOOBS for the best possible sound That would have been just mean... And VERY hard to find lol
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mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Aug 17, 2011 9:48:15 GMT
The red dress or the 20 year old virgin?
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Post by nicoboom on Feb 25, 2012 16:48:31 GMT
I'm beginning to like this forum more by the minute.... Almost had me there Mike with your vinegar hehe. It's a bit like customers who ask me if they get a electrical shock when they touch both battery-posts of their 12 volts car battery; I do so and shake my arms while pulling faces. Then invite them to try....nobody dares. I tell them the thruth though before they leave the workshop.
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Post by coil on Jan 14, 2013 22:14:44 GMT
In my opinion nobody should use sandpaper or scrape the oxidization off. Lot of you use vinegar as I read but why only vinegar? Add some baking soda and then it works like a charm!
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 15, 2013 10:46:00 GMT
Why is that?
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 15, 2013 19:43:59 GMT
A bit of 800 grade wet / dry paper brings the pins up nice and shiny.... this is preferable to oxidised pins as there is better metal to metal contact. The valve base socket will dig into the pins and should provide an airtight connection.... they used to say that the best way to clean a connection was to make and break it a few times, simply removing the valves and reseating them will do it's bit to keep the contacts clean.
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Post by coil on Jan 15, 2013 21:20:15 GMT
In my opinion, using any sanding method or scraping makes connection pins thinner and out of round shape, making less contact with socket. But it is theory in my head and I am very pedantic/paranoid about those things But like I said, add some baking soda to vinegar (I used 30% vinegar), works very well. Should have taken some before/after pics when I cleaned my just arrived tubes for Aune T1. Pins got quite shiny.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 22:57:54 GMT
How about sticking the valves in a small glass tumbler with just enough Coca Cola to cover the pins ? Coca Cola has often been used to clean coins to a nice shiny surface. If you want something more aggressive, drop them in a glass of beer ! Years ago I saw what happened to a telephone after it was accidentally dropped into a pub's slop bucket.It wasn't a pretty sight.
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