Remote Keypad Restorer

[Chris F.]

Has anyone ever used this Circuitworks Remote Keypad Restorer? I ordered a
couple units of it, as I had a large pile of valuable OEM remotes that I
wanted to refurbish and sell. The stuff seems to work great, well worth the
money, but it says I can only use it for 72 hours after mixing. Trouble is,
the stuff is going a lot further than I expected (done 100+ keys so far and
still have 75% or more left), and there's no way I'm going to use it up
within 72 hours. I wondered if there's anyway to make it last longer. Is it
as simple as sealing the cover with tape, to prevent evaporation? Or is
there some solvent I could add to the mixture to keep it moist? According to
the label, the main solvent is Methyl Alcohol. I have some 70% Methanol
here, but of course that's 30% water. Then I have some 99.9% Isopropanol,
but I'm not sure if that's chemically compatible.
Or maybe there's no point in trying, maybe I should be satisfied to fix
20-30 remotes with the one kit, and not worry about wasted product......
Thanks for any advice.

 

[[email protected]]

Is the chemical supposed to clean the surface so the conductive rubber
is exposed from under the dirt, or is it supposed to deposit a new
conductive material on the surface???
IF it is only cleaning, then you wasted moneyu buying something that
is readily available at any hardware store, so don't worry about saving
it.

H. R. Hofmann

 

[Chris F.]

It doesn't do any cleaning, it just creates a new conductive surface. Any
required cleaning must be done manually before applying. The stuff is
basically a carbon-based goo with some added silver, and a couple of
solvents to keep it in liquid form. In theory, adding some more solvent
should keep it wet almost indefinately. But I'm not a chemist, and I didn't
design this product, so I can't say for sure.

 

[Ray L. Volts]

Is the chemical supposed to clean the surface so the conductive rubber
is exposed from under the dirt, or is it supposed to deposit a new
conductive material on the surface???

http://www.chemtronics.com/products/product.asp?id=32

"forms a tough, flexible, wear-resistant surface"

I assume this is the same product as the OP's "restorer".

 

[Ray L. Volts]

http://www.chemtronics.com/products/product.asp?id=32

"forms a tough, flexible, wear-resistant surface"

I assume this is the same product as the OP's "restorer".

oops, that link defaults to their front page.. owell, u can easily find the
product after u enter your region specs...

 

[Ray L. Volts]

It doesn't do any cleaning, it just creates a new conductive surface. Any
required cleaning must be done manually before applying. The stuff is
basically a carbon-based goo with some added silver, and a couple of
solvents to keep it in liquid form. In theory, adding some more solvent
should keep it wet almost indefinately. But I'm not a chemist, and I
didn't design this product, so I can't say for sure.

Depends on the binders used. Sometimes u can simply add the solvent, other
times u can't, at least not very effectively w/o knowing the precise
original formula and then calculating the required amount of additives for
the exact amount of product remaining.
Of course, if you've gotten your money's worth already out of 20+ remote
repairs, it's not gonna waste a lot of money to experiment. Just remember
to use adequate ventilation when experimenting with unknown reactions.

I haven't used any of this product personally, but if the stuff is anything
like GC's Nickel Print, et al, I think you're gonna be fighting a losing
battle trying to make it last long after the designed-in shelf life.

Good luck.

 

[Arfa Daily]

Has anyone ever used this Circuitworks Remote Keypad Restorer? I ordered
a couple units of it, as I had a large pile of valuable OEM remotes that I
wanted to refurbish and sell. The stuff seems to work great, well worth
the money, but it says I can only use it for 72 hours after mixing.
Trouble is, the stuff is going a lot further than I expected (done 100+
keys so far and still have 75% or more left), and there's no way I'm going
to use it up within 72 hours. I wondered if there's anyway to make it last
longer. Is it as simple as sealing the cover with tape, to prevent
evaporation? Or is there some solvent I could add to the mixture to keep
it moist? According to the label, the main solvent is Methyl Alcohol. I
have some 70% Methanol here, but of course that's 30% water. Then I have
some 99.9% Isopropanol, but I'm not sure if that's chemically compatible.
Or maybe there's no point in trying, maybe I should be satisfied to fix
20-30 remotes with the one kit, and not worry about wasted product......
Thanks for any advice.

--

May be just a bum steer, but you could try keeping it in the fridge. Seems
to slow down or suspend many slow chemical reactions. Worth a try.

Arfa

 

[Chris F.]

I tried adding some MG Safety Wash (a blend of alcohols), it seems to keep
it moist and do the job. The only thing is that the applied product dries a
bit faster, so it may not bond as well to the keypads, only time will tell.
The repairs are rated to 500,000 keystrokes, so if this trick cuts the life
by half, it wouldn't really matter anyway. Chances are the consumer won't
keep the appliance long enough to wear out the repaired keys........

 

[Ray L. Volts]

I tried adding some MG Safety Wash (a blend of alcohols), it seems to keep
it moist and do the job. The only thing is that the applied product dries a
bit faster, so it may not bond as well to the keypads, only time will tell.
The repairs are rated to 500,000 keystrokes, so if this trick cuts the life
by half, it wouldn't really matter anyway. Chances are the consumer won't
keep the appliance long enough to wear out the repaired keys........

The biggest prob with these rubber keypads seems to be dirty/oily contacts.
I see this much more often than actual worn out contact surfaces. Has
anyone figured out exactly what this oily substance is that leaches out of
the rubber onto the carbon pad and traces? I wonder if it could be residual
mold release being squeezed out of the rubber when pressure is applied. Or
perhaps finger oils somehow filtered thru the soft rubber. Whatever it is,
it takes time and apparently usage to appear. Open up a new remote that's
been on the department store shelf for 2 years and u won't find this. Open
up a 2-year old (or younger) remote that's been used everyday and u likely
will see it.

 

[Chris F.]

The biggest prob with these rubber keypads seems to be dirty/oily

contacts. I see this much more often than actual worn out contact
surfaces. Has anyone figured out exactly what this oily substance is that
leaches out of the rubber onto the carbon pad and traces? I wonder if it
could be residual mold release being squeezed out of the rubber when
pressure is applied. Or perhaps finger oils somehow filtered thru the
soft rubber. Whatever it is, it takes time and apparently usage to
appear. Open up a new remote that's been on the department store shelf
for 2 years and u won't find this. Open up a 2-year old (or younger)
remote that's been used everyday and u likely will see it.

Could be oils soaking through the rubber. Most of my remotes have had things
spilled inside, and when I attempt to clean them the ultra-thin coating
comes off with the grime. And the worn-out buttons are usually the most-used
ones: power, vol +/-, and channel +/-.
It's amazing how dirty remote controls can get. You'd think people never
washed their hands at all.