[sdiy] Slide pot cleaning

[Adam (synthDIY)]

> On 29 Apr 2026, at 09:53, chris <chris at chrismusic.de> wrote:
> 
> When I opened some slider pots for cleaning a couple of years ago, I didn't bend the lugs back - I soldered a stiff wire across the bottom of the case, in order to close it. That way the lugs won't break from fatigue if the procedure needs to be repeated some day.
> 
That's a sound idea but I would've thought it could affect the height profile once the slide pots are back on the PCB? Or did you splay the lugs outward so they were flat?

A





> On 29/04/2026 01:30, Adam (synthDIY) wrote:
>> I tackled this a few years ago, HTH
>> 
>> 
>> https://mezzoauto.blogspot.com/2017/05/roland-sh-09-slide-pot-rehab.html
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> A
>> 
>> 
>>> On 28 Apr 2026, at 21:53, rburnett at richieburnett.co.uk <mailto:rburnett at richieburnett.co.uk> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Can anyone recommend a good process for cleaning dust our of slide potentiometers on an old Roland SH-09?
>>> 
>>> The synth was stored underneath a bed in the spare room when we moved house about ten years ago, and I *thought* it had a dust cover over it!  It turns out it didn't (>.<)  and the slide pots are in quite bad shape now.
>>> 
>>> The synth is functional but the sliders feel scratchy and there is obviously intermittent electrical contact because cutoff, LFO rate, etc jump around a lot when the sliders are adjusted.  The slide switches are okay, and the keys aren't too bad after a bit of use.
>>> 
>>> I've removed the front panel and also found that there is some sort of black felt/foam sheet that was obviously originally meant to be a dust shield for the slide pots.  The problem is that this material has become brittle and literally crumbles upon touching.  Can anyone recommend a good material to replace this with?
>>> 
>>> If I can fix the pots with a squirt of some magic spray that would be fantastic, but I'm also prepared to de-solder then and carefully open them up for cleaning if that is what is required.  I would rather take time to do the job properly, but not sure what is the best way to proceed?  I have access to a dry compressed-air line, dish soap, cotton buds, Isopropyl alcohol, acetone, silicone grease, soldering/de-soldering tools, etc, but don't want to risk making the problem worse without asking for advice first.
>>> 
>>> Thanks in advance for any advice,
>>> 
>>> -Richie,
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>> 
>> 
>> 
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