Cleaning the changer

[Nick Bidmade]

Love the banter, but we seem to have gone slightly 'off topic'. I still haven't tried lighter fluid on the changer - I was advised to remove all the hex nuts beforehand - which makes 'leaving old strings on and bashing the pedals and levers a bit' somewhat redundant...
Can't wait for a photo story-line so I know what to do (and not to do).
BTW, if I do set fire to my guitar while spraying the lighter fluid about, what's the best way of extinguishing? I'm led to believe a hose pipe doesn't do a steel much good (mind you, neither will a fire!)

[Ken Byng]

If you set fire to your guitar Nick, a damp cloth draped over it will soon extinguish the flames.

If Malcolm sets fire to his MSA, a nice drop of ethanol will keep it alight for a good while. Super unleaded petrol will also do the job at a push.

[Jif]

Hi Malcolm,

The GFI student model I used to have used teflon strips between the changer fingers, I guess this is the same sort of principle only in liquid form. Haven't had a chance to play it in earnest yet but initially it feels much more responsive, probably a combination of cleaning out years of accumulated oil & dirt and the re-lube. The guitar is about 20 years old.

@Ken

I'm more of a diesel man myself

Nick, I'll get the pictures up as soon as I get a chance. I left the strings on and obviously the hex nuts as well, didn't seem to damage them at all, in fact they are now really clean! Don't know the reason for taking them off, unless some plastics are damaged by lighter fuel? TBH there wasn't much fluid went in the direction of the hex nuts as it was more or less going straight through the changer. I had to flush the changer multiple times to get all the muck out, I also used an air canister to blow it all through. Leaving the strings on was really useful for both cleaning and lubing.

I'll put up a recording on Youtube so you can all hear how it sounds.

Schedule of pictures and recordings subject to approval form being signed in triplicate and authorised by my wife

[Nick Bidmade]

Thanks Jif - I'll keep an eye out for any posts/links. I'm pretty useless when it comes to anything mechanical and have, by necessity, had to overcome my fear of using tools in order to keep my old Franken-Bud in the best shape I can (with a lot of help and advice from Ron Mawn - Mr Sho-Bud UK).
Cleaning the changer (and getting excess oil off various moving parts) is the next job and then re-lubing. Maybe I'll invest in some of this Teflon stuff. can you advise exactly when it's called and where it's available from?

[Jif]

Hi Nick,

I'll try and get something done tonight if I can get a chance. Heres' a link to the Teflon spray I used,

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006UCJ4Z4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3DBADJMGX2T1W&coliid=IUE1N0FTINM84

As pointed out earlier in this thread, the spray from the can is not good for doing exact placing of the solution although I did use the spray in certain instances such as the cross member bushes and some on the rods where there was some contact. For the more precise work I sprayed a quantity of the solution into a plastic top and pulled the solution into a hypodermic needle and used this to place the solution on the contact points.

[Nick Bidmade]

Hi Geoff
Thanks for this. I hadn't realised it was available in the UK - thought I'd have to send off to the States for it.
Doesn't the thin straw thingy (that is certainly on the 'normal' WD40 cans) do the job? I'd have thought you could get it almost anywhere on psg...
I'm going to wait for the photos (although I might just have to go ahead as I'm having some problems with set-up that seems to be a changer problem).

[Jif]

Hi Nick,

It tends to spray a bit wide from the straw, it was OK for doing stuff like the bushes etc but a bit all over the place for the changer. I've edited the pictures, so I'll get them up over the next few days

[dave hepworth]

When you think about it a PSG it is no more complicated than a sewing machine ,in fact LESS so .I was told lubricate the parts with Singer sewing machine oil.It is a very very light oil and doesn't clog.Think of all the sewing factories around the world that must use this on a regular basis and have no problems.The cylical movement of a sewing machine is far greater in terms of movement of parts and revolutions per minute so has potentially far more chance of wear.A PSG is not even on this scale.So therefore use sewing machine oil.

[Jif]

Hey Dave, I've used singer sewing machine oil up until now, I thought I'd give the Teflon a try and see how it goes. It's always an option to use sewing machine oil again if this doesn't pan out over time.