degreaser that won't damage plastic

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 15 Oct 2015 6:57 am

I want to clean the changer on my old shobud. It is filthy from all the years. But I am afraid to spray a common degreaser that might damage the white plastic tuners on the end of the rods. Anybody have a suggestion?

Jim Pitman · Post by **Jim Pitman** » 15 Oct 2015 8:25 am

If they are nylon, which is typical, they will take quite a bit of chemical abuse.
There's nothing like a disassembly to really clean a changer which is a PITA.
Seems I recall a post about cleaning a changer from the top of the guitar without disassembly - lotso newspaper underneath. You are more likely to loosen the formica or damage the wood so cover it up. Use plastic and masking tape. Watch your oversparay. Some others may have a strong opinion against this.

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 15 Oct 2015 8:37 am

I absolutely am not going to disassemble. Also I am sure the white tuners are nylon. I just want a spray that I can apply and let it drip. Then blow with air and maybe dry with a cloth. I guess then I can apply some oil. I just didnt want to use an automotive degreaser that could eat up the white tuners or the aluminum.

Ned McIntosh · Post by **Ned McIntosh** » 15 Oct 2015 1:56 pm

A gunsmith friend of mine used to use ordinary shampoo (undiluted) to degrease metal parts before bluing them. Might be worth a try?

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 15 Oct 2015 11:32 pm

James Morehead is out of contact, so I'll put in his words: spray on solvents will get most of it out, but some of the gunge will get blasted farther into the small gaps.
That said, nylon is pretty chemical tolerant. I'd blast it with brake cleaner.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 Oct 2015 4:13 am

Brake cleaner won't hurt nylon, but it will disolve some plastics. (Like the plastic used in my Peavey foot controller...found that one out the hard way.) Naptha is very safe for most all plastics and finishes, and won't cause rust or corrosion. Wash things off with it by putting some in a small container and using a small paintbrush or acid brush to clean the parts. Keep it away from flames, and also protect your eyes, as you would with any cleaner!

Edward Rhea · Post by **Edward Rhea** » 16 Oct 2015 4:47 am

"Blast it with brake cleaner"...?
Lane, aerosol brake cleaners have chlorine in them. While I agree that it most likely wouldn't harm the aluminum parts, it most likely will create problems on the steel axle, causing it to rust and/or pit? Especially if the OP isn't going to disassemble and thoroughly wipe down the part. And you're correct, James isn't here to respond...but if he were, there's NO WAY that he'd recommend anything less than total disassembly and cleaning each piece by hand, with a non-abrasive cleaner and some clean t-shirt rags/soft toothbrush. I don't have but about 2 1/2 year of playing the PSG, behind me. I'm not a steel mechanic or a resto specialist.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 16 Oct 2015 5:46 am

You're right, Eddie. But I don't think the chlorine would stick around long, especially if followed with aerosol Triflow. Perhaps electronic components cleaner be better?
And I agree that James would EMPHATICALLY say "do it right or don't do it at all," I think if it's gunky to the point of interfering with operations, the blast and relube would be an improvement.

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 16 Oct 2015 6:09 am

The steel still works fine. I'm trying to sell the guitar and cleaning for cosmetic purposes.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 16 Oct 2015 7:36 am

In that case, I'd just shoot it with Triflow and call it job done.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 16 Oct 2015 10:07 am

WD-40 generally gets a bad press on these clean/lube threads. Is it actually any use at all around a pedal steel? One-word answers are acceptable.

Lane Gray · Post by **Lane Gray** » 16 Oct 2015 10:27 am

It's neither cleaner nor lube. Water Displacer is what the initials stand for. It's often used as a penetrating oil, but it sucks at that compared to PB Blaster.

TL:DR: NO

Mike Wheeler · Post by **Mike Wheeler** » 16 Oct 2015 12:39 pm

It's base oil is vegetable oil....guaranteed to gunk up a mechanism. It is not what we understand lubricating oil to be...as Lane indicates.

Actually, it was the 40th formula, that was finally successful, in the quest for a good, inexpensive, water displacement product for the US Army. Thus the name WD-40.

I'd never use it on anything that I wanted to remain lubricated for more than a few days.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 16 Oct 2015 1:23 pm

That's interesting, Mike. I know it contains naphtha (they have to tell you that in case you smoke) which would explain why it does have some cleaning action, and that it leaves behind a protective film of oil in case the water that it dispersed comes back - veg oil would do that fine, but it's not a useful lubricant for our purpose. (They did use castor oil in the early days of motor racing, I believe...)

Gerald Keller · Post by **Gerald Keller** » 17 Oct 2015 6:34 am

Jeff Newman recommended lighter fluid and in fact is on his video for Steel Guitar Maintenance which I have and watched.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 17 Oct 2015 11:35 am

If the pickup has tape around it, don't get any solvent on the tape!

Ron Pruter · Post by **Ron Pruter** » 18 Oct 2015 5:41 pm

BTW, Lighter fluid is Naphtha. It really takes a long soak in naphtha to do much. I'd recommend a blow out with an air compressor after you rinse it out while working all the pedals mucho. (Probably won't look much better) Then Tri-Flo lube it. RP

Jeff Harbour · Post by **Jeff Harbour** » 19 Oct 2015 6:12 am

As mentioned above, "WD" means "Water Displacement".

I find this to be true. I've only ever found one good use for WD-40... I had some worn-out spark plug wires once that would arc in high humidity and fog, not allowing the engine to ever start. Spraying them down with WD-40 corrected the problem until I could get new wires. (...and No, it's not conductive, despite its wet consistency.)

Fore lube purposes it is very deceiving since it will 'appear' to work great for a while. I would never touch a musical instrument with it.

Justin Mull · Post by **Justin Mull** » 23 Oct 2015 4:17 pm

Naphtha is what I have always used.!

Jim Palenscar · Post by **Jim Palenscar** » 23 Oct 2015 8:51 pm

Oil Eater Cleaner Degreaser is safe around plastics and works well. It does leave a titch of residue but is an alternative to explore and available from Amazon.

Kyd Brenner · Post by **Kyd Brenner** » 24 Oct 2015 1:59 pm

I had good luck w/naptha/lighter fluid method. Just be sure not to get it on finish. You can do this in two steps, one applying between fingers from the top side and work pedals/levers, and a second step putting guitar on blocks upside down and coming from the bottom side while working pedals/levers. I got a lot of gunk out that way. No substitute for disassembly, but I'm not there yet!