Monitor Chassis Cleaning

charmer37

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Hello,

I need to change my flyback tranformer and wanted to know do you guys wash your monitor chassis? My chassis is really dusty and dirty and i have a can of ultra dust spray i can use to blow off some of the dust but can i wash it or just leave it as is? I was looking at a youtube video and a guy used simple green, a paint brush and a garden hose... Thanks.
 
wash away just allow time to dry before power up. i use the dishwasher most of the time because it gets every spec of old flux off and its quick but follow my direction on my thread from several years ago.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=311506

BTW: your going to hear many opinions but i have run close to 1500 pcbs, power supplies, monitor chassis, etc. without removing ANYTHING and i have never had a problem. the only pcb i wouldn't run in a dishwasher is old midway stuff around the pacman era boards because 30-35% of them will loose alot of the green mask off the pcb. this being said only applies if you follow my directions on the thread of do's and don't's. Dishwasher is throw it in and walk away which i like because i can always be working on something else while its doing the cleaning.
 
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wash away just allow time to dry before power up. i use the dishwasher most of the time because it gets every spec of old flux off and its quick but follow my direction on my thread from several years ago.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=311506

BTW: your going to hear many opinions but i have run close to 1500 pcbs, power supplies, monitor chassis, etc. without removing ANYTHING and i have never had a problem. the only pcb i wouldn't run in a dishwasher is old midway stuff around the pacman era boards because 30-35% of them will loose alot of the green mask off the pcb. this being said only applies if you follow my directions on the thread of do's and don't's. Dishwasher is throw it in and walk away which i like because i can always be working on something else while its doing the cleaning.
The dishwasher method seems faster, Do i use any detergents and what temperature is good to use, hot,warm? Thanks.
 
The dishwasher method seems faster, Do i use any detergents and what temperature is good to use, hot,warm? Thanks.

i use no extra heat and no heat dry. just the quickest regular cycle and i add alot of liquid detergent and about a cup of simple green HD to each load. (when i do a load its 8 chassis per load so i fill the detergent up as full as it will go and alittle more because that filth just kills the suds. if you catch the cycle right when its done you can spray some simple green on the solder side and using a stiff nylon brush you can easily scrub that super thick flux off that may have been left behind and then give the whole chassis a good rinse)

BTW: when doing that close the dishwasher to keep the heat in while doing one chassis at a time because the flux turns gooey and is super easy to get off while warm. you can eat off them when done they are so clean. i personally use a dishwasher that never sees my dishes but that is my OCD.;)
 
Simple green , paint brush for light scrubbing, water hose with no sprayer just a good dousing. Sunlight for a few hours, air conditioning/fan for a few days.
 
There was a long thread about this recently. I don't have the link handy but I'm sure you can find it.

I use Greased Lightning (or your favorite spray cleaner), and a medium bristle paintbrush. Soak with cleaner in sink, scrub all nooks and crannies, rinse with hot water, and stick in front of a fan overnight.

My concern with the dishwasher method is that I doubt it will get any hard to get dirt off, the way a physical brush will. I'm sure it works fine for most boards, but I've had a few that I've had to scrub a couple of times to get really clean. But just about any method will work as long as you dry it well after.
 
Simple green , paint brush for light scrubbing, water hose with no sprayer just a good dousing. Sunlight for a few hours, air conditioning/fan for a few days.

I've found you can speed the drying process by dousing the board in rubbing alcohol.
 
Rubbing alcohol + tooth brush to remove the flux. Degreaser + dye brush to clean the chassis and warm water in the sink to wash it all away. If I thought a dish washer would do a better job I'd use that but I don't. And it's quicker too.

The important thing is to dry the chassis quickly. Don't leave it soaking wet to dry up by itself for days. Use an air compressor to blow away most water and then a hair dryer to finish the job (or hot sun if it's available). The chassis needs to be dry within 30-60 minutes.

But before doing all this the most important thing is to remove the components that don't like water: coils and transformers absorb water in their turns and take forever to dry. You think they're dry but inside they're still wet after a lot of time and that water may cause damage in the long run. The flyback isn't completely sealed: water can go in the hole where the HV lead comes out and the lead isn't soldered so you don't want water to stay on that connection for a long time. Same goes for the screen/focus pot block. And the PTC isn't sealed either and you can't blow water off since it's enclosed so water stays in between the resistors and leads for long time which isn't good. Same goes for the CRT socket.
 
Rubbing alcohol + tooth brush to remove the flux. Degreaser + dye brush to clean the chassis and warm water in the sink to wash it all away. If I thought a dish washer would do a better job I'd use that but I don't. And it's quicker too.

The important thing is to dry the chassis quickly. Don't leave it soaking wet to dry up by itself for days. Use an air compressor to blow away most water and then a hair dryer to finish the job (or hot sun if it's available). The chassis needs to be dry within 30-60 minutes.

But before doing all this the most important thing is to remove the components that don't like water: coils and transformers absorb water in their turns and take forever to dry. You think they're dry but inside they're still wet after a lot of time and that water may cause damage in the long run. The flyback isn't completely sealed: water can go in the hole where the HV lead comes out and the lead isn't soldered so you don't want water to stay on that connection for a long time. Same goes for the screen/focus pot block. And the PTC isn't sealed either and you can't blow water off since it's enclosed so water stays in between the resistors and leads for long time which isn't good. Same goes for the CRT socket.

I would not hairdry a chassis. I just cover the thing in rubbing alcohol put in on a towel in a well ventilated room for a day and they're dry as a bone. To wash i use the tub and sink with dish washer soap and a tooth brush. Wash the soap off with water than cover the thing in alcohol
 
This thread is all talk and no pics. Let's see some solder side shots of the chassis you cleaned with your methods. Here's one that I'm currently rebuilding:

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after a simple green bath with a brush,
i hang mine a couple inches above my dehumidifier exhaust fan.

gets them nice and dry no prob.

Peace
Buffett
 
So a related question -- I bought a bulk lot of monitor chassis and boards. I had always cleaned by hand but wanted to try this. I pulled the stuff out and had all kinds of hard water residue. It might be usable but I sure don't like the appearance and am concerned that those deposits will inevitably end up contaminating solder joints.

For the guys running boards in the dishwasher what do you guys do about that?
 
So a related question -- I bought a bulk lot of monitor chassis and boards. I had always cleaned by hand but wanted to try this. I pulled the stuff out and had all kinds of hard water residue. It might be usable but I sure don't like the appearance and am concerned that those deposits will inevitably end up contaminating solder joints.

For the guys running boards in the dishwasher what do you guys do about that?

immediately when removed from the dishwasher you spray both sides of the pcb let sit only 1-2 minutes and scrub the solder side with a stiff nylon brush and i use a 1 1/2" paint brush for the component side and do less scrubbing back and forth and more dabbing and that will get most of that off.
 
I do simple green followed by hosing off, taking care of some components that hold water a lot (relays should be disassembled so they can be dried properly!), then after using compressed air and letting it bask in the sun for about an hour I hook it up and run it.
 
immediately when removed from the dishwasher you spray both sides of the pcb let sit only 1-2 minutes and scrub the solder side with a stiff nylon brush and i use a 1 1/2" paint brush for the component side and do less scrubbing back and forth and more dabbing and that will get most of that off.

Spray with what, simple green? If there are hard water deposits now how do I remove those? Maybe a short bath in diluted white vinegar followed by water then alcohol? Any other suggestions?
 
I've got a pee and poo covered 6100 that I'm going to clean soon. Should be fun. And gross.
 
Spray with what, simple green? If there are hard water deposits now how do I remove those? Maybe a short bath in diluted white vinegar followed by water then alcohol? Any other suggestions?

yes spray with simple green.
 
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