A guy at the A&P shop showed me how to clean corrosion off a connector with a toothbrush

Last month I was stuck on a stubborn antenna connector that had some white crusty buildup on it. Couldn't get a good reading on the VSWR meter no matter what I tried. This older tech walked over from the next bench and said "use a dry toothbrush first, don't touch the contact spray yet." He had me scrub it gently for about 30 seconds and then blow it out with compressed air. The reading dropped right into spec after that, no chemicals needed. Has anyone else found a simple tool like that to fix a sticky connection?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan60425d ago

The eraser trick works but you have to be careful with the grit level. Did you use a plain pink eraser or one of those white plastic ones with the abrasive side? I've heard guys say the white ones can leave a residue that attracts more corrosion later on. The toothbrush trick is good because it's just mechanical scrubbing without adding any chemicals to the mix. My uncle used to swear by a brass brush for terminal posts but I always worried that would scratch the surface too much. What kind of eraser did you use exactly?

elizabethtaylor25d ago

Used a pencil eraser on my car's battery terminals last week and it worked great.