Sticky buttons, lubricants?

[anumber1]

How to say this without coming off as an .........

Dielectric grease is an electric insulator. Not the ideal substance for an electric switch.

For something like a Nemesis-clone switch, some TLC with sandpaper on any sharp-ish/hard edges will accomplish more than any lube, without affecting conductivity. Damn... think I just did the ...... thing again...

Also not trying to sound too asshatty...

Many of the crunchy switch issues are a loose tolerance machining problem.

Polishing the sliding/moving surfaces may help but if the switch is just plain too loose in the bore, it is kind of a lost cause.

Machining a closer tolerance pin or knurling the bore may help but is probably out of reach for someone without access to machine tools.

 

[Vaslovik]

Also not trying to sound too asshatty...

Many of the crunchy switch issues are a loose tolerance machining problem.

Polishing the sliding/moving surfaces may help but if the switch is just plain too loose in the bore, it is kind of a lost cause.

Machining a closer tolerance pin or knurling the bore may help but is probably out of reach for someone without access to machine tools.

I'm afraid I don't have a machine shop available in my older doublewide in my HOA, nor would the office allow it here, and I'm quite sure it would cost far more than I paid for the mech to have that work done... so to refer to the first line of your post....

 

[epicdoom]

Also For threads try Nyogel 760B this stuff is a godsend, it also makes an electrical connection corrosion proof water proof and makes bad connections very good. I use this stuff everyday for my work. It could be used as just straight lube on a button but I prefer dry film lubes there. I use this in weather pack connections to make sure they stay water and corrosion proof. I have also turned many bad connections into good ones using this directly in the contact pins so I would trust it on contacts if I had to. IMO having any kind of greasy lubes in non high speed mechanical moving parts is an open invitation for grit and dirt and it will attract these mediums. Dry film is the answer. This is JMO after many years of mechanical exp.

 

[daviedog]

Do not use any spray or lubricant that has organic compounds on electrical circuits. Will create unintended bridging & shorts. Tuner cleaner or dOxit as stated earlier are safe. Not knowing what device you have, I feel it's more machining than lubricants .
On my k100(ugh) I used 4 o steel wool on miserable threads & cupped insulator. Used a spring from old c cell powered radio to soften spring tension. Very smooth now. Was it worth it? Hell no..

 

[Bunnykiller]

spot on.only use what is specifically made for general electronic parts cleaning.copper anti seize has copper in it.
not good as copper is a conductor and could cause shorts. noalox contains zinc a metal and is conductive.graphite is also conductive and will leech every where.
regards
mike

seems that since the bottom button switches are usually made in 2 parts ( the body and the actual push button) you would want a good electrical connection from the neg post of battery to the button contact which then contacts the switch body which is part of the battery tube... if you use "insulative" grease/lube between the button and switch body, you create a high resistance point there reducing the flow of our beloved friends the electrons...

 

[ForeverDiving]

Got my Nemesis today and retrofitted a pair of magnets. Beats any spring. The first thing I noticed was the sticky switch unless pushed dead center so I disassembled it, put a small bevel on the upper magnet inner surface and polished it. Also polished the button post on the part that travels upward to a high gloss and after reading this thread did the same to the black plastic (nylamid?) ring. As an afterthought I went to my dive gear bag and got some silicon lube that was applied very sparingly (as if it were an oring) to all the sliding surfaces. Voilà!