What cleaner do you use for cleaning the threads, contacts, electrical parts of your flashlight?

LED Flashlights – General Info
1

I have several Convoy S2 flashlights using a single 18650 battery.

What, if any maintenance do you do to the flashlight?

I an taking them apart every couple months and spraying the threads, electronics, contacts, etc with Deoxit.

I wipe down the threads to take off the dirt / oxidation., spray / wipe the ends of the battery, etc.

I am also finding that I have to tighten down the ring holding the circuit board / LED - from vibration, it comes loose?

Any recommendation on another cleaner to use? I haven’t bought a can in a while, but Deoxit is expensive.

THANKS!

2

I use alcohol.

3

I think maintenance is very important. You don’t see many people talk about it. After cleaning… Any problems with using vaseline as a lube on the threads? I have some Nightcore silicone… The little tiny container you go for $2 on AliExpress. I’ve obviously been using it since I have it… But it is getting low… and looking at it makes me wonder what the difference of it and some vaseline would be? Thoughts? Experience?

Today I cleaned with alcohol, as above stated, and applied vaseline to a work light… It’s a beater. I’ll come back and mention if I have any problems. I’m constantly swapping batteries out of it since it doesn’t have a charge port (my preference). So I’m opening it a lot. I want my O ring to stay nourished and not be dry rotting or cracking.

Cool thread to find after I’ve had this discussion in my head and going through something along the lines of this thread!

4

DeOxit d5 is wonderful stuff, for its intended application, which is removing oxidation from mating conductive surfaces inside connections.

I only liberally spray when I am in spray and pray mode, that it might somehow work its magic and revive some failed product, which has sometimes even worked.

I would worry it can eat glue, and getting it one ones skin, cannot be a good thing.

It might also swell or degrade rubber parts.

Deoxit has a 'Shield' product, intended to keep clean/cleaned ed pristine connections from oxidizing. I have found this product swells the silicone accordian style weatherproof boots on automotive connectors making them very difficult to reseat at a later date..

I also generally clean things with Isopropyl alcohol. Threads get a light coat of dielectric grease applied with with a normal Q-tip. This is also a great cleaning method on surfaces where future bonding is not a concern. Silicone grease should not hurt O rings.

Circuit boards exposed to the elements, such as computer fans in damp salt air environments, that I never intend to touch the components upon, get a coat of clear nail polish and perhaps Amazing goop to cover where the wires enter the hub's circuit board which has been the failure point of 80% of the failed fans in my experience.

I'd recommend against the Deoxit spray products in favor of their applicator products for most applications, They have other non aerosol products which come with a small brush or just a tube that one can put a drop on a precision swab, such as these:

https://www.amazon.com/Tamiya-Craft-Cotton-Round-Xsmall/dp/B0026IBC2O/ref=pb_allspark_dp_sims_pao_desktop_session_based_4/130-5392058-6324902?pd_rd_w=DfLXg&pf_rd_p=e896123b-6614-49c5-873e-d532e726c2f0&pf_rd_r=KW6ZKY5CPE73SBF7P189&pd_rd_r=ec70d1ec-f39c-40b9-a8f0-9a5e5cafbbd2&pd_rd_wg=mj9yb&pd_rd_i=B0026IBC2O&psc=1

These ^^ can fit inside USB-A and almost always come out gray or black on older USB connections never before cleaned, or inside 3.5mm stereo mini plugs which crackle when the plug is spun.

I also like the following for cleaning inside very small connectors with Deoxit, or applying Deoxit D5, d100, gold or shield, and I use them for applying paste flux as well.:

https://www.amazon.com/Dentek-Slim-Brush-Cleaners-each/dp/B00GD3BTG2/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=dentek+brushes&qid=1645676345&sr=8-9

The DeOxit D5 and the above application products on my 30 year old vehicle's sensor connectors, made the throttle pedal feel like I removed 500lbs of weight from the trunk.

5

1/ remove all rubber parts
2/ remove the majority of the dirt with a cloth
3/ remove the rest of it with a clean cloth with alcohol (denatured ethanol)
4/ rub the part down with a very clean cloth
5/ put back the rubber parts
6/ apply new stuf from my tiny yellow Nitecore container

This seems like a 9-to-5 task, but is limited to new lights and lights with gritty threads.

I use washed T-shirts I cut in pieces. Some go back into the drawer, some are just lucky.
The piece used for 4/ next time gets used for 3/ and the time after that for 2/.
To prevent smearing old dirt back into cleaned threads. And then I throw it away.
In NL denatured ethanol is also known as “spiritus”, and is sold in household stores. Have lots of bottles filled with magic stuff, but in the end almost always use the alcohol from the cupboard under the sink in the kitchen.

6

I clean with Iso

.

I lube with Nano Oil

another good lube is Nyogel 760G, available at oveready
.

for half the price, you can buy Amazon.com which is the same Nyogel 760G, packaged for Ford.
.

7

Petroleum based lubricants (Vaseline) may destroy rubber o-rings. Other kinds of o-rings will fare better. I think I would just avoid it as there are plenty of other lubricants out there that will be fine on all o-rings.

8

Vaseline is petroleum-based and will ruin your o-rings, just like WD40. Use silicone grease instead.

9

Thank you for the replies, Perception and Jack Kellar. Sticking, (not speaking literally) with silicone grease!

10

Depends what you cleaning up, if oil, grease, dirt, alcohol would take care of it. When battery leaked out, hydrogen peroxide works the best.

11

I use Servisol Super 10 switch cleaner, for the simple reason it’s a contact cleaner and I have a big spray can of it that blasts out crud from threads and crevices. I’m not getting into general maintenance and o-ring cleaning.

12

The Nyogel OEM’d for Ford, is also available for GM & Chrysler.

13

Denatured alcohol to clean and silicone grease to lube. Only use the DA because I have it on hand for camping stoves. If I didn’t I would use just plain rubbing alcohol.

My s2+ the ring has never came loose. I don’t clean it but every few months and it’s my EDC so it gets bumped, dropped, and banged around daily.

14

Synthetic grease hasn’t ruined any o rings for me yet. It’s all fine, except for vaseline, it’s full of silica rocks.
Does get grey though, which means Super Lube synthetic probably doesn’t do a good job. Hornady One Shot is one of the best

Soap works fine on tubes, alcohol for electronic parts

15

I wipe down the threads with a rag (usually an old sock turned inside out) when they start looking greyish. Then I apply new lube with a toothpick vs a Q-tip which can leave behind cotton fibers.

Silicone lube will ruin silicone O-rings. It will cause them to swell. Same with using petroleum lube with rubber O-rings.

I believe most O-rings used in flashlights are either silicone or nitrile rubber.

I use a version of SuperLube synthetic grease which is compatible with both silicone and nitrile rubber and available at Harbor Freight: SuperLube

Here’s the compatibility chart in case you’re interested: SuperLube Multi-Purpose Synthetic Grease with Syncolon (PTFE)

16

i don;t do maintenance unless there are problems

i wouldn;t use thick grease on threads - current usually has to flow across the joints for the light to work

maybe a silicone spray

not someting that might actually separate the threads… or insulate…

17

@ NeutralFan:

Thanks for that ‘SuperLube Compatibility’ chart. Seems compatible with Buna N ’O’rings (NBR) which would be the common material The O-Ring Store (not to be confused with Buna S).

Was using in the past and only had problems with some of the thinner / slacker ‘O’ rings, which I attributed to oversized rings. Now realize they may have been silicone-based. Currently using Echlin ML-2 which is also a silicone-based grease with amorphous fumed silica (thickener and binder). A find in a flea market as the original Nyogel is very expensive.

AFAIK, silicone type ’O’rings are stretchier (when black). Any other method of recognizing?

18

I rarely do “maintenance” on lights. Only really on new lights, and that’s limited to how far I can go (things glued, etc.).

19

Good question! Seems correct that the silicone O-rings would be stretchier than the others.

I assume the O-rings in my Convoy flashlights are silicone based on the replacements that you can buy from Simon since they state “silicone” in the descriptions: Convoy O-rings

I have some cheapo flashlights that have O-rings that are way less stretchy which are probably nitrile rubber.

20

Some common oring materials by color, typically, but it can be difficult to exactly identify, e.g. Nitrile vs Buna-N

Silicone orings are usually red;
Viton is brown;
FKM used in A/C systems with freon is green;
Teflon is usually white;
Nitrile rubber is black;
EPDM Buna-N is black.

Consult a compatibility chart (Parker handbook) before using lube or exposure to chemicals, for best results.