Car Wash Method on DK Electronics

phrenzy

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I'm going to be trying the Simple Green/Garden Hose Carwash method on my Donkey Kong electronics this weekend. It's supposed to be 89° and sunny on Saturday.

Anything I should know before proceeding?

I plan to do this for all of the following components. Please let me know if there's any part I should do differently.

1. Monitor Boards (currently removed from Chassis)
2. Monitor Chassis
3. Two-Stack PCB
4. Power Supply Assembly

My plan is to apply Simple Green, allow to set for 15 or so minutes, hose off, then allow them to set in the sun for the remainder of the day. I do not have access to an air compressor, but I do have a leaf blower for drying.

Will I need to do some scrubbing with a tooth brush or anything, or do you guys just spray on and rinse off?

Also, should I remove socketed ICs before doing this, or leave them in? If I take them out, how do I know where they go?

Thanks for any input. :)
 
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Will I need to do some scrubbing with a tooth brush or anything, or do you guys just spray on and rinse off?

That will depend on how dirty it is. Most cases, I've not had to resort to any scrubbing, but your condition could require some

Also, should I remove socketed ICs before doing this, or leave them in?
Probably best to remove them to be on the safe side but I've cleaned boards with them in with no problems.

If I take them out, how do I know where they go?
Take pictures and draw a diagram of the board to be sure. Chips should be labeled and the board will have a corresponding mark.
 
These cleaned up with just Simple Green and a hose. No scrubbing needed

IMG_7305.jpg
IMG_7310.jpg


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IMG_0518.jpg
 
I can't bring myself to do this.

It would feel so wrong to shoot electronics with a hose...

If theyre off and discharged youll be fine, water will do no harm if there isnt a charge to short things out with. I did this method with my former Space Duel monitor and the thing looked brand new.
 
The before and after pictures make me want to disassemble, discharge and spray down everything I own!!

What an amazing difference!
 
If you wash the tube make sure not to get water in the hv hole... Tape it up or just put the chassis back in it and put the cap on it.
 
If you wash the tube make sure not to get water in the hv hole... Tape it up or just put the chassis back in it and put the cap on it.

LOL! How did I know that AFTER I did this there would be a "Be sure not to" posted here.

What is an HV hole?
 
Don't worry.

punks suffers from a common misconception that water will enter the tube through the high voltage anode hole. Untrue. The tube is a sealed assembly, hence the vacuum inside it.

While it is important to fully dry that little divot on your tube quickly, since it contains metal that can rust (and obviously HV will be living there soon), it is not necessary to tape it over during cleaning.
 
Don't worry.

punks suffers from a common misconception that water will enter the tube through the high voltage anode hole. Untrue. The tube is a sealed assembly, hence the vacuum inside it.

While it is important to fully dry that little divot on your tube quickly, since it contains metal that can rust (and obviously HV will be living there soon), it is not necessary to tape it over during cleaning.

Oh... the anode point on the tube. *phew* ok, yeah, I specifically checked that to make sure that was dry when I was done just due to common sense.
 
I put some Galaga wiring harnesses in the dishwasher once. They made my dishwasher smell like a bowling alley's ass.

They did however come out looking new!
 
Yeah, dishwasher cleaning does make your dishes smell like a dirty ashtray so unless you have that dishwasher cleaning stuff that is made for cleaning a dishwasher of built up residues, don't do it.
 
I don't think you're supposed to wash Sanyo tubes though. The aquadag is water soluble.

Oh man, you guys are hilarious. Also untrue.

I work almost exclusively on Sanyo's, and I wash every one I own, sell, or service. Formula 409, hose, microfiber rag, sunlight and cigarettes :D

I've seen your thread Sectorseven, and you did not remove any of your dag either. First, let me illustrate where there is and is not dag on a Sanyo monitor - it's pretty obvious with these examples of my bench tube :

n4ipnt.jpg

2qckx2e.jpg


Note the light gray material that is obviously grounded by the dag wire, your dag coating. Also note where it is NOT present (and never was) ;)

Now, since some will want to get all "sciencey" :p ...
Aquadag is water BASED, this is different from SOLUBLE. It is a graphite coating that is suspended in water only during application. It is then BAKED onto your CRT.

Now I wouldn't recommend scrubbing with wire brushes or pressure-washing your monitors, but a simple wash and light scrub will not harm your (aqua)dag.
 
Oh man, you guys are hilarious. Also untrue.

I work almost exclusively on Sanyo's, and I wash every one I own, sell, or service. Formula 409, hose, microfiber rag, sunlight and cigarettes :D

I've seen your thread Sectorseven, and you did not remove any of your dag either. First, let me illustrate where there is and is not dag on a Sanyo monitor - it's pretty obvious with these examples of my bench tube :

Note the light gray material that is obviously grounded by the dag wire, your dag coating. Also note where it is NOT present (and never was) ;)

Now, since some will want to get all "sciencey" :p ...
Aquadag is water BASED, this is different from SOLUBLE. It is a graphite coating that is suspended in water only during application. It is then BAKED onto your CRT.

Now I wouldn't recommend scrubbing with wire brushes or pressure-washing your monitors, but a simple wash and light scrub will not harm your (aqua)dag.

Thanks for the reply. Mine only needed a few sprays of MeanGreen and a light spray down with the garden hose and it looks damn near new.
 
I wash monitor chassis and PCBs in my shower all the time. After I wash them I place them on thier side in front of a fan for about two days. And rotate them every so often. Never had any problems.
 
I wash monitor chassis and PCBs in my shower all the time. After I wash them I place them on thier side in front of a fan for about two days. And rotate them every so often. Never had any problems.

The last thing I want is the wife to walk in on me and a PCB naked in the shower!


;-)
 
Oh man, you guys are hilarious. Also untrue.

I work almost exclusively on Sanyo's, and I wash every one I own, sell, or service. Formula 409, hose, microfiber rag, sunlight and cigarettes :D

I've seen your thread Sectorseven, and you did not remove any of your dag either. First, let me illustrate where there is and is not dag on a Sanyo monitor - it's pretty obvious with these examples of my bench tube :

Man, that was a long time ago. Wish you had said something before I trashed that monitor :D
 
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