Partially Historic + Partially Current Document
As of the fall 2026 revision of this page, Caig Labs has kept the names of their products mostly stable for the last decade or so. I’m leaving as-is the interesting name and developmental history of some interesting products.
I still use, benefit from, and appreciate the modern incarnations of these products. Apart from naming considerations, i may sometimes add (relatively) up-to-date usage information: lessons learned over decades of using these products.
The Ever-Changing Names of My Favorite Contact Cleaning Chemical(s): DeoxIT
Caig Laboratories makes/sells all kinds of chemicals. The few i have personally used, all contact cleaners, have all been excellent.
Mystery Name History
First, there was Cramolin®
For many years, the best general-purpose product of theirs, if a person were only going to choose one (which has never been recommended by Caig Labs), was Cramolin® R-5, a 5% concentration of the Cramolin® chemical in spray form (leftmost in the picture). Unfortunately, that excellent product used Freon® as its propellant.
Then came DeoxIT®
In the mid 1980s, Caig Labs introduced a replacement product with a more environmentally-friendly propellant, which they named De•Ox•It®, more recently DeoxIT®. The 1980s DeoxIT was good, yet had side-effects that Cramolin did not have, specifically making slide potentiometers mechanically sticky and rough, at least until the propellant fully evaporated. The can in the middle of the photo above dates from either the late 1980s or early 1990s… the last time i bought a can (until Dec. 2008… the stuff lasts seemingly forever in hobbyist/homeowner use, used properly). Apparently i missed that Caig Labs has long recommended DeoxIT® Fader Lube (formerly CaiLube MCL) for slide potentiometer applications, so likely the non-suffixed DeoxIT contact cleaner is still suboptimal for this purpose.
Then Cramolin® came back
At some point in the 1990s, Caig reintroduced Cramolin® as a spray, without Freon®. I do not have an illustrative can for this period, as i still had my can of Freon-laden early 1980s Cramolin. I seem to recall that Caig was selling both Cramolin and DeoxIT in this period, further confusing the issue.
Something Different: ProGold®
Also in the 1990s (i believe), Caig introduced a new contact cleaner, ProGold® (can on the right in the picture). This new, more expensive cleaner was (and is) primarily intended for gold and gold-plated contacts, though Caig claims it may also be used with non-gold contacts, as for DeoxIT/Cramolin, with excellent results.
Because i had been using Cramolin and/or DeoxIT on gold contacts for years with great success, only more recently (early new millennium) did i obtain an actual can of ProGold and start using it. To date, i have not noticed a difference, however i am in no way doing any sort of scientific study: each application of either chemical is usually a new use with no prior track record. As of early 2009, Caig Labs has somewhat clarified their intended usage of these two products, discussed further below.
Full Circle
Wonder how long one can go with these products? After an initial order in the mid-1980s, i finally had to re-order in December 2008. With a 20+ year life span, one can readily understand why i at least do not mind the at-first seemingly high prices for these products.
To my amusement and surprise, in addition to the usual name changes, i discovered that we have now come full circle. To understand this, i need to explain some history not discussed above.
Back to the Very Beginning
Before the Cramolin sprays, there was Cramolin in liquid form. Most memorable to me are Cramolin Red (which took me about 25 years to use up the R-100L 2 oz. bottle) and Cramolin Blue 100% concentrations. These were also available in reduced concentration liquids and the 5% concentration sprays.
The idea was that Cramolin Red (in whatever form) was for initial treatment of contacts, especially if there was any residue to be removed. Cramolin Blue was a follow-on treatment for dirty contacts to further clean and preserve them, or a single treatment for newly-manufactured electrical contacts to keep them working at their best from the get-go. Because i only dealt with dirty contacts and because these chemicals struck me as expensive, i only ever purchased the Red products (as did the shop where i worked, where i initially learned about Caig products). Caig made the case for Blue, yet not strongly enough for people like me, i guess.
December 2008: What Is Old Is New
During my December 2008 re-ordering research, i learned that Caig is now telling us that DeoxIT is the treatment of choice for all contact materials which may be dirty, contaminated, or otherwise not really clean (taking the place of the old Cramolin Red). The apparently recently re-named DeoxIT Gold (formerly ProGold) is now being marketed as the follow-on treatment of choice to best preserve any contacts after a DeoxIT treatment (taking the place of the old Cramolin Blue). My friends, we have come full circle!
For anyone wondering what this long-time Caig user chose to reorder, i purchased:
- DeoxIT D100L 25 mL (part No. D100L-25C)
- DeoxIT Gold G100L 25 mL (part No. G100L-25C)
- DeoxIT D5 5% spray, 5 oz. (part No. D5S-6)
I did not need to purchase DeoxIT Gold G5 spray as i still have a good bit of ProGold G5 spray. The first time around (circa 1983), i purchased the 2 oz. bottle of R-100L because it was the best value per measure. After some spills and lots of liquid loss to cotton swab applicators over the years, i learned that i might as well get the needle drip applicators and not lose so much in the storage and transfer process. Indeed, this may prove to be the better value, and will surely be less wasteful.
Now that i am experimenting with the 2-step approach Caig has been recommending for decades (since before i knew they existed), it will be interesting to find if there are any noticeable changes in the results: i have had to go back and re-clean many items treated only with R5, D5, or R100L. Allegedly, this should be less necessary with the 2-step treatment. Nothing to report so far.
As of Fall 2026, the two-step process has generally worked well. I discuss this more further below.
Can It Get More Confusing?: Original Cramolin Red Liquid Not Made by Caig Labs
News flash in my world, April 2010: Greg Szekeres, who also appears to have extensive experience with contact cleaning chemicals, contacted me with some name-game-changing information: Caig Labs marketed the original Cramolin® Red (and i guess Blue)… they did not create it. It appears that the original creator was R. Schafer & Co.
My reading of the information (especially the letter from Mark Lohkemper) is that the sprays were Caig derivations of the pure liquids, which would not have existed without R. Schafer & Co.… nor without Caig Labs. Since apparently R. Schafer & Co. apparently did not sell Cramolin in spray form, i consider the sprays to be Caig-original products.
So… it seems that in addition to dealing with name changes, we’re dealing with different products.
Readers interested in more information on this controversy and/or information on a wide spectrum of different electrical contact cleaners/preservatives/enhancers will find a solid chunk of information at Greg S.’s site on his Contact Cleaners, Protectors & Enhancers for Electronics page.
What About Now?
“Now” is usually as of the last modified date of this pageCaig’s Recommendations
I am pleased that over the years now decades, Caig’s online documentation has been improved, and that their site has been improved such that i can provide some links to particularly pertinent information. As of this revision of this article, they have a HELP / LEARN page, which includes:
- Why DeoxIT®, DeoxIT® GOLD & DeoxIT® SHIELD are Different? PDF, which includes a product selection guide and spray selection guide
- Directions for Use PDF
Current Products
I used to try and list which then-current products are (were) most comparable to Cramolin® R5. It’s been long enough now that few will have any need to know this information. So, no links, but basically it would be one of the DeoxIT D5 sprays.
Caig has long had a wide range of products well beyond what this article ever covered, with a few more coming along every few years. The easiest path to find out what’s available and what it costs is to go to the Caig website’s main page, then select Products in the navigation bar, then a specific product from the list. You may well want to spend some time on various areas of their site and decide for yourself which of their many products best suits your needs.
Usage Notes
Leave It On Awhile
In reading the Directions for Use document linked in the last section on 11 October 2026, it struck me that i found no mention of the “leave it on for 2 minutes then wipe off the excess” instruction. I recall reading that information in 2025, but am not finding it now. I’ve been doing that with the D100L and G100L 100% liquids, and i think it’s been working better. The DeoxIT chemicals operate quickly, but not instantly!
Shelf Life
I used to be under the delusion that Cramolin® and DeoxIT® were forever: invest in a container that would last a lifetime, making the high price less painful. Nope.
As testament to the fact that the Caig site still needs better organization, in August 2025 i was able to find a document Caig products Shelf Life and Warranty SB-SLP.pdf (likely the actual name on the site was only SB-SLP.pdf). Tried to find it on Caig’s site again today (11 Oct. 2026), and cannot find it. Do better, Caig!
My favorite 100% liquids D100L and G100L are listed with Storage Life/Shelf Life of 4-5 years. The D5 and G5 sprays are listed at 10 years. This document does have a double asterisk footnote for the Storage Life/Shelf Life which says:
** Storage Life/Shelf Life: If storage directions are adhered to, products will last considerably longer. Values are conservative. If coloration or separation of products occur, we recommend discarding and purchasing new product.
I did my best with storage, and nevertheless, my container of D100L started getting gummy some 8+ years ago (as of 2026)—to the point where the applicator tip kept plugging up. Had to dip cotton swabs into the container near the end of things.
I used to like to have sets of DeoxIT products stored at various family members’ homes etc. for convenience, before i realized these products have a shelf life. Going forward, i’ll carry one set along with me wherever i go, which likely will be used up before it goes bad.
Note: I have no affiliation with Caig Laboratories, other than as a satisfied customer. If i did, i would let them know that their website, while better than it used to be since the last revision of this article (which at that time was better than prior to that), could still use some clearer organization. As of October 2026, seems to me there’s a fair amount of overlap between Help/Learn and Info/Data, making it difficult to determine under which section information will be filed.
The technical implementation of the site (HTML, CSS, scripting, etc.) has improved over the last decade or so since the last prior revision of this article, yet there are still unnecessary HTML syntax violations (according to the W3C Nu checker and my own site making experience). Thankfully i’m not seeing the server errors and other problems of a decade or so ago, so there is progress. If you find any broken links to their site, which is likely, search on one or more of the product names or document names above, and consider letting them know that they still have work to do to hook up folks like you with their good products.
World O’ Electronics
The Sonically Pure Pages
