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Chemical Cleaning of Blackened Copper Wires.

Zoomup
After seeing the blackened C.P.C. in the metal back box in another post, I researched this matter and found this video clip showing the cleaning of blackened copper wires chemically, which should not remove too much copper as a mechanical abrasion might.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEIEVrmzVw


Z.
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    You need to be very confident you have removed/ neutralised all residue however, or things slowly carry on dissolving, yes weak acid takes the oxide first, over the bare metal, in the sense that the reaction rate for bare copper in weak acid is 1000s of times slower than for the oxide, however it is not a dead stop.
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    I would just loosen/tighten the screw connections at the termination, this should abrade where it's most important; the superficial "blackness" is probably just oxidation.


    Jaymack
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    Wot about cleaning, neutralising, drying then applying some synthetic grease like Superlube for long life protection?


    Z.
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    You could just pick up an extra sachet of brown sauce with your morning bacon sandwich and use the sauce to clean the cable.


    Probably best to clean it off with a wipe rather than licking it off.


    Andy B.
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    Zoomup:

    Wot about cleaning, neutralising, drying then applying some synthetic grease like Superlube for long life protection?


    Z.




    That's how I used to treat my used FL's. ?  



    Jaymack
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    Zoomup:

    Wot about cleaning, neutralising, drying then applying some synthetic grease like Superlube for long life protection?




    From Super Lube’s website, “Super LubeRegistered Greases and Oils have good electrical insulating properties and will protect electrical and electronic equipment“. So now we are introducing a grease to the terminal that has “good electrical insulating properties”. . . 


    Regards,


    Alan.  

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    So, we've been discussing cleaning the copper at its termination.


    Does oxidation of the cores along the length of a multistrand cable affect its properties?
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    Alan Capon:




    Zoomup:

    Wot about cleaning, neutralising, drying then applying some synthetic grease like Superlube for long life protection?




    From Super Lube’s website, “Super LubeRegistered Greases and Oils have good electrical insulating properties and will protect electrical and electronic equipment“. So now we are introducing a grease to the terminal that has “good electrical insulating properties”. . . 


    Regards,


    Alan.  


     




    Yes, but the high points on the metal easily penetrate through any thin film of protecting grease and still make good electrical contact. Also the grease can be applied AFTER the bare metal parts are mated if you wish, to exclude air and moisture, like applying Vaseline onto car battery terminals to reduce corrosion.


    Try this....

    https://bondis.com/en/shop/super-lube-anti-corrosion-gel.html


    Z.

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    Does oxidation of the cores along the length of a multistrand cable affect its properties?




    Copper oxide generally becomes impervious to water and oxygen beyond a certain thickness, so once a patina has developed, corrosion is stopped by the oxide layer.

    (so plumbing pipes start bright, and then go dark, slowly reaching an equilibrium  with the environment.)

    It is a problem for very thin wires, as they may corrode right through or for applications with flexing, where the oxide layerr will keep being re-opened. In the case of this sort of wire, if you can get decent joints at the ends, I'd not be too worried about darkening in the bulk, so long as it is just oxide, and not aided by something more corrosive, like brown sauce.


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    This method looks effective. So just what is going on here?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI2O0tY-Bq0


    Z.

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