Home › Forum › Ask A Member › Here’s a question almost as provacative as what brand of 2-stroke oil is best….. › Re: Here’s a question almost as provacative as what brand of 2-stroke oil is best…..
Years ago I worked for a company that manufactured electrical contacts. Silver alloys, platinum alloys, tungsten alloys….for wall switches, snap switches, contactors & starters…..as small as a pinhead, as big as your fist: we made all of them. Fantastic science that delved into physics, chemistry, electricity & metallurgy.
The one takeaway that has stuck with me to this date: never, ever, ever use sandpaper on electrical contacts. "Sandpaper" is silica, and silica is an insulator. By using sandpaper, you are embedding insulating material into the surface of a conductor. That’s bad…just don’t.
In an application like this where carbon buildup is usually not an issue, the "cleaning" is more of a mechanical leveling…..and a fine-cut stainless steel fingernail file works great.