So I purchased a korg emx1 for pretty cheap and it arrived today. It smells like it’s been stored in an ash tray and been played with pretty hard - scratches, dents, yellow buttons, grime everywhere. Some of the pots are a bit stiff, the crossfader is a bit scratchy and the odd button needs a bit of a hard press, but it it all seems to work fine (surprisingly). Obviously I’d like to clean it up a bit. Could anyone give me some advice on how to do this? I have no experience with electronics but I’m confident enough to follow instructions and consider myself dexterous enough not to break stuff 
Syntaur has a few helpful tips for cleaning, including for scratchy pots:
https://syntaur.com/DIYdocs/DIY_Contents.html
It’s probably best to start with cotton swabs and water and see how far that gets you with the surface grime. For the stinkiness, if you have a plastic bin with a lid that’s large enough, you could put the synth in there with a bowl full of baking soda and seal it up. Leave it for a couple of days if you can and the soda may absorb at least some of the smell.
I don’t have that particular unit but it looks like you might be able to pop off the knobs and remove the top via those hex bolts in the corners - that might give you access to the inside where you can use compressed air to blow out any gunk, and get electrical cleaner into the pots. As long as you have a clean surface to work on and can keep track of all the screws, nuts, washers etc you’ll have to remove, it shouldn’t be too difficult to give it at least a basic clean-out. Taking pictures as you go is a good way to remind yourself of how to put things back together. Good luck and keep us posted!
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Thanks. In terms of cleaning the face plate and the knobs, do I just use water, soapy water, baby wipes?
Hi, it is very easy to remove the individual knobs and disassemble the plate, just loosen the hex screws. I have a Korg Electribe SX and lent it a short time ago. When testing it I found that there was an electronic problem, the display was going crazy and the unit was jumping around randomly between different sections. I then treated the circuit board with Anti Dust Spray and that was enough to solve the problem. So before you reassemble your Electribe, clean the circuit board and you’ll have a few years of peace again 
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Do you feel confident enough for some disassembly? It’s much easier to clean cases and buttons etc if you can work on them in isolation. Personally id start with taking the knobs off, taking the pcb out ( you’re gonna want to get access to clean and lube the pots anyway), remove the rubbery button sheet from the pcb if it’s easily done, then start the cleaning process. A mild detergent and warm water should be fine for the case and the buttons. Same for the knobs. If you need to take plenty of pics fir reference and if you hit a snag let us know.
I’ve done plenty of deep cleans and services like this over the years but I appreciate it might not be fir everyone
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wow it looks like its in great condition. good luck and have fun. may this emx1 shine and smell nice again!
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I used Caikote 44 to repair buttons on a rough emx, it worked great. At first I though the contacts were dirty and just kept making it worse by cleaning them.
Agreed. Imo it’s the best way to do a thorough job. It’s might look a bit daunting but you’ll end up spending more time cleaning than disassembling/reassembling in total.
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I am pretty conservative with this stuff, so I would start with water and paper towel or cotton T-shirt material at first. That may be enough. If that doesn’t work, a super mild detergent would probably be OK, but as the containers for these things often say, start in an inconspicuous area to make sure it isn’t going to damage the paint/finish. Something like diluted simple green might be good.
Sorry to be vague, but I’ve had bad luck in the past trying to clean stuff where I’ve ended up damaging the finish in some way. That’s why these days I always start with water and work my way up from there.
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Smoke residue is tar, tar is oil. Oil cannot be removed like this.
for op:
At a minimum dish soap will be required for hard finishes. Silicone pads are a nightmare. Google “removing odors from silicone kitchen utensils” and see if you’re willing to do any of the things suggested for the pads. I will not lie, It can be risky. It also depends on how badly the pads have absorbed the odor. I found several days immersed in baking soda, dish soap, and even water and white vinegar to be fully ineffective.
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This is good advice especially with plastics. I’ve found common or garden washing up liquid can do most jobs and my last resort is a bottle of isopropyl alcohol for some stuff but yeah, make sure whatever you use doesn’t cause issues.
For IPA it used to be available at larger chemist shops here in the UK for a lot less that some of the over the counter cleaners that contain it. You had to ask for it and have a genuine reason (I used to use it to clean my vinyl) and sometimes they have to order it in. It used to be a few quid for a 500mm bottle. Just make sure you put the lid back on or else it’ll evaporate pretty quickly!
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I cleaned my esx with cotton swabs cue tips and rubbing alcohol.
The basecoat of the paint is unlikely to be damaged by isopropyl but the letter print might smear, I would try to avoid rubbing alcohol on painted surfaces. Rubbing alcohol is perfectly safe to clean the circuit board but I would be careful around the pots. Also beware of using contact cleaner on pots or faders. You can get rid of scratchiness but they need thorough lubrication afterwards.
It is much easier to clean the old lubrication out of captive potentiometers than it is to put new lubrication back in. It may require creativity.
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Solid advice again. Don’t be tempted to just use something like WD40 as it’ll work in th short term to clean the track but al, that happens is that it congeals the muck and provides a sticky gloop for more dust and crap to stick to. Clean with a proper cleaner, make sure you get rid of all the cleaner residue and muck (as it’s a solvent) ideally with an air line or air duster then lubricate. It’ll save you doing the same cleaning job again in a few months/years
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I would also add to this the 2 products I posted a picture of are different in that grease is thicker than liquid lubricant. Both will offer some protection against the movement of plastics against metal bushings, but mostly we are accustomed to factory feel of pots and faders which have noticeable tactile feeling resistance. A lubricant will not replace that feeling, that’s where a grease comes in but it is much easier to grease a pot from the inside than the outside.
Your pots may feel loose or wobbly if cleaned and only lubed. But that’s better than leaving it to die a slow or quick death due to friction. Faders will be particularly noticeable if not greased. Zero resistance and loose but hesitant movement is unpleasant.
One more thing is tubes are fragile, be careful with that area in particular even if you don’t unsocket them. I don’t know the way this machine is put together but I would assume the tubes are in a standard socket like in a guitar amp and can probably be removed just by a slight wiggle and a little pressure against the mount.
I’ve broken a LOT of stuff over the years, so I’m very cautious. I’d photograph everything for documentation first. Then if I were to disassemble, I’d get some good tools (Bondhus gold hex keys in the US) and carefully take it apart and keep fasteners, etc… separated into phases in which they were disassembled. I’d clean exterior with microfiber as it’s less likely to scratch than cotton, along with distilled water. If you need more cleaning power, the posts above can help guide you. Don’t rush it, and you’ll be fine. Please post updates!
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Thanks everyone. I’m off to the hardware shop later to get some compressed air and I’ll have a look for the DeoxIt stuff. I’ll start by removing the front panel and knobs etc and giving those a clean with soap and water and then cleaning out the inside with the air. Then I’ll see how it’s looking and maybe give the pots and knobs a spray of the DeoxIt.
Quick question - is there something special about DeoxIt or will any electronic lubricant and cleaner work? I live in Switzerland these days and I’m not sure they will have DeoxIt here.
It’s just a proven brand to work safe/effective. There is more than one kind, only one variety is both cleaner and lubricant. Usually cleaner is a separate product.
This has both properties but I can’t say it’s the best way:
You can research some other option, but to be made for electronics is important. I don’t know your local brand availability but I bought mine by mail. Worth a few days wait to do it correctly, you can start with cleaning other parts while you wait.
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