Would love some advice from users here on how you clean up your vintage gear, what cleaning products you use. I heard vasoline helps repair aged plastic but not sure if it ends up harming the plastic in the long run…
Any tips I’d be very grateful, regards!!
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So far I’ve used some contact cleaner on the faders and pots, but I will also need to clean out some input jacks. Was thinking metholated spirit s on a cotton bud
Perhaps overkill but if you ever wanted more in depth advice maybe contact these guys.
https://soundgas.com/
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Be sure to re-lube the pots and faders once cleaned else they will wear out very quickly, caig faderlube is very good for this, makes them feel like brand new again.
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Do you mean cleaning up the outside or inside? For the outside, I always start with the mildest solution first and work may way up as required.
On the inside, it depends on the job at hand. Don’t blow canned air into your gear if it can be avoided. And I recommend being very, very sure about any cleaning/lubricating solutions you intend to use. Products like De-Oxit can be brilliant for many uses (pots), but not so great for others (some faders) and can leave a nasty mess if overdone. There are many types of these products on the market and you have to choose carefully to get the right one for your specific task.
Some jobs require little more than a quick squirt of the appropriate cleaner and a bit of wiggling, while others can be very time consuming. For example, I usually clean faders by completely removing them from the circuit board, opening them up and using a q-tip soaked in alcohol. And yeah, as darenager says, lubricating them can add years to them. For the faders, I usually use plain old silicone grease. I’ve brought a lot of gear back to life this way, but I have to really, really want that piece of gear up and running, as it’s tedious work.
(disclaimer: I’m no expert - I don’t restore/service gear professionally, only for myself and a few friends)
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Oh for inside I meant. For faders and pots I use Deoxit fader cleaner first, then faderlube, as you say though be very careful not to overdo it or it gets messy fast, also since it is conductive I always clean up any which goes onto the PCB afterwards.
Contact cleaner isn’t really suitable for pots, as it is basically just a solvent, so it will remove the lubricant inside the pot or fader, which if not replaced will cause it to wear out. Contact cleaner is fine for switches and sockets but again used in moderation.
BTW I’m no expert either, but these methods have served me well when fixing or restoring gear and are tips that I have picked up over the years from techs.
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Ha ha, yes, I knew what you meant. I was responding to the OP. And yeah, ditto on the contact cleaner for switches and sockets.
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I can tell you something to avoid. Do not use isopropanol to remove fingers prints and dirt from early Yamaha FM synths. You’ll strip the paint off the synth.
One other bit on isopropanol, it’s been my experience that it’ll frequently remove the legend/text/numbers, etc from synths with a powder coat or anodized finish.
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I take it you learned the hard way. 
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Yeah unfortunately. Sigh.
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@Buska these are useful too. Depending on where you live, you may have to find a local equivalent. This product is in north America but I believe it may not be in Europe. 303 can be helpful for reconditioning black and gray plastics that have become discolored and it leaves no greasy film.
And use a set of clean paint brushes for dusting. Avoid canned air with devices that have screens. It’s only a matter of time before you blow debris between the screen and the outer plastic or glass cover.
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Thanks everyone, great tips! @darenager thanks for the lubricant tip, would have missed that…
@konputa good tip there, luckily I didn’t have any compressed air so ended up using a fresh paint brush… but I would have used the air if I had any left 
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New video for cleaning pots. This is really well-done and goes into a lot of detail comparing various methods.
Felt it was worth reviving this topic, which i think is the right place for this. Video is 12 minutes long.
What a dirty fader looks like on an oscilloscope.
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