Actually, dissolving the grease in the collar doesn't necessarily damage the pot. If the trace is clean and the wiper is OK, what difference does how easily the pot turns matter?
If spraying the pot with a cleaner/lube doesn't do the job, it is possible the trace is worn, the wiper is damaged, the trace is cracked or any number of other problems that cleaner can't fix.
If a pot is really dirty...lots of dust or worse, mixed with whatever lube might be in there, spraying cleaner might only move the grime around, not fixing the problem.
I used to use Deoxit, but with pots, I find Deoxit Fader Lube to do the job better most of the time.
I've worked on old amps where I could not get replacements. I've removed the pot, taken it apart, cleaned it manually, lubed it back up, and put it back together. It's rare I couldn't re-habilitate an old pot.
I had an original Tapco mixer. I loved it. The pots turned slowly and smoothly...for a few years, then they started to seize up. Cleaner didn't help. I wrote Tapco (Mackie's earlier company) and was told they used a proprietary lubricant that hardened over time. All pots on that mixer eventually seized up and all Tapco said to me was "sorry...our mistake."
If spraying the pot with a cleaner/lube doesn't do the job, it is possible the trace is worn, the wiper is damaged, the trace is cracked or any number of other problems that cleaner can't fix.
If a pot is really dirty...lots of dust or worse, mixed with whatever lube might be in there, spraying cleaner might only move the grime around, not fixing the problem.
I used to use Deoxit, but with pots, I find Deoxit Fader Lube to do the job better most of the time.
I've worked on old amps where I could not get replacements. I've removed the pot, taken it apart, cleaned it manually, lubed it back up, and put it back together. It's rare I couldn't re-habilitate an old pot.
I had an original Tapco mixer. I loved it. The pots turned slowly and smoothly...for a few years, then they started to seize up. Cleaner didn't help. I wrote Tapco (Mackie's earlier company) and was told they used a proprietary lubricant that hardened over time. All pots on that mixer eventually seized up and all Tapco said to me was "sorry...our mistake."
