Best way to clean paper/cardboard.

YeastLord

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I just got a Moon Cresta which is my grail! It's a wreck but the guts are all there. The paper monitor shroud is solid but super dirty. If you look at the pictures you can see that where the two ships are isn't too bad, but the part that's actually around the monitor is filthy. Is there a preferred way to clean it? I've looked around on the threads but haven't found anything definitive. Let me know what methods you've had luck with.

Thanks for the help!
 

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Vacuum with a fine horsehair brush (or something similar). Then see how it looks.

I don't claim to have a silver bullet for these, but if they're still dirty, I've wiped them down with window cleaner, sprayed on some paper towels (not on the cardboard itself).

The trick is to use something wet, but that will evaporate as quickly as possible, not leave any residue, and to use as little as possible (and put it in front of a fan after you wipe it down, to dry it as fast as possible).
 
Vacuum with a fine horsehair brush (or something similar). Then see how it looks.

I don't claim to have a silver bullet for these, but if they're still dirty, I've wiped them down with window cleaner, sprayed on some paper towels (not on the cardboard itself).

The trick is to use something wet, but that will evaporate as quickly as possible, not leave any residue, and to use as little as possible (and put it in front of a fan after you wipe it down, to dry it as fast as possible).

I hadn't thought of the vacuum idea. I'll give that a try. Thanks!
 
Maybe a light wipe down with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, since it will evaporate quickly?

be careful - I just wiped color off a bezel I was wiping down that way - thankfully it was black and easily corrected

and for the record that what I've always done - this was my first color malfunction
 
There's the old Clay Harrell trick of using a wadded up piece of bread. He shows it used on a paper-covered EM score reel. I've tried it on other paper things and it works pretty good. Sounds weird, but it's the perfect consistency/abrasiveness to clean delicate stuff. Not sure how well it would do on a glossy bezel though.
 
I've used a little Simple Green/water mixture on a paper towel with decent results.

This was the winner. It took hours to get the cardboard cleaned but it came out pretty good. I used simple green/water and cue-tips. Like three of those big ass boxes of em.
 
Glad you found a solution - but I just wanted to second the caution against Rubbing alcohol - I tried that on my centipede bezel and it did some damage.

Alternatively - If you know anyone that works at an art museum ask them for their help - I worked at a campus art museum in college and we had a dry ice "sand blaster" for cleaning prints on paper and old books. It was an amazing thing to see in use - it would perfectly erase years of dirt and even water damage from delicate paper. I wish I still had access to it.
 
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