Contact cleaning

This is one of my fav OD pedals (Ogre's Tubeholic OD) & it was acting up today- crackling, mostly. I half expected this to happen because the pedal wasn't in use for a while. Ladies & gents, the first thing to do if this happens to you is to apply some contact cleaner. Metal parts are notorious for oxidizing over time & that was definitely the case with this one. The input/output access was given a quick spray of that contact cleaner & it's good to go thereafter. 

The benevolent cleaner

Finally, something to put this issue to rest- Is WD-40 suitable for curing stuck pots/ cleaning the guitar's electronic contacts?

The malignant WD-40 that we know is the blue/ yellow can that lazy techs resort to when cleaning dirty contacts. Personally, I had negative experiences with that version but now we have the appropriate WD-40 for our guitar needs.This one is especially for contact cleaning so it won't treat your pots & switches like dead industrial parts that need to be dealt with. It's available at hardware stores for $15+/- & it's on my to-buy list.