[sdiy] Cleaning silver keyboard contacts

[Oakley Sound]

> Came up lovely with silver polishing cloths (Duraglit and Goddards).

Duraglit is an abrasive polishing cloth. I am unsure of the Goddards one
though. Any abrasive cleaner is really to be avoided. You'll probably
take off the remaining plating as it is very thin. I doubt the plating
is silver either, it is more likely some sort of relatively inert
metal... I think palladium and rhodium was used at some point.

I use Goddard's silver dip [horrible stuff to work with] to soak and
wipe over any contacts. Full keyboard disassembly is usually the only
way to do this, since you have to wash it off afterwards. I also use a
tiny amount of Caig's De-Oxit D5 for the odd contact that needs
individually cleaning.

I don't tend to use any further inhibitor after this cleaning process.
But I do remember some amazing stuff we had at Marconi made by
Electrolube. I haven't seen any around for years which was a very good
corrosion inhibitor for things like edge connectors etc.

Rubber contacts can be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol, or simply
replaced which is easier for Roland keyboards.

Regards,

Tony Allgood                       Penrith, Cumbria, England

Oakley Sound Systems                   www.oakleysound.co.uk
Modular Synthesisers      www.oakleysound.co.uk/projects.htm