How to Clean Arcade 25" Monitor?

[Analog-X]

I'm in the process of starting my Mame Cab Project and I'm doing some cleaning on the cab.  Mainly dusting and Cleaning.

Using my fingers I wiped off the thick dust at the back of the monitors tube to reveal the nice red color.

I have been able to use Compressed Air to remove the grime and dust from the Yoke and Electronic Components.  But compressed air wont remove the grime from the back of the monitor.

I would like to hear some suggestions on how to clean this, or if I should just leave it as it is?

[Thenasty]

I don't about you but some people like to be authentic as possible. People like to have an 80's Cab and Leaf Style Joysticks for the 80's feel and gameplay. I guess if you are one of this guys, you could also leae those dirt in there. Hey thats really Authentic....hehe  (just for laugh)...
I guess to clean it off, use warm water and be carefull from that BIG --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- CAPACITOR (that hole under the rubber cap) or you are gonna play games in Heaven or Hell...But check out my sig....hehe...

[Analog-X]

My Cab has been sitting Unplugged for 8 Months, while I was renovating my house.

I followed procedure to discharge the monitor, but I didnt hear any Poping sounds.  I know monitors can hold a charge for very long time, but is it possible that after 8 months it lost its charge?

[Anonymously]

is it possible that after 8 months it lost its charge?

I wouldn't bet on it!!!

[Thenasty]

maybe this will be the first time I say "Stay away formt he HOLE"  I know, I know it is hard to stay from the HOLE but in your case, you better stay away. Hehe..
Just be carefull really, treat it like it always has a charge, evn tho you have discharged it. Just don't clean around the HOLE . Good luck

[rampy]

I'm no monitor expert... but I wouldn't use water... I'd bet that Radio Shack has a spray cleaner that is NOT conductive... (I also know they have spray cleaner that is intentionally conductive... for cleaning out brushes on motors and residue in switches and the like)....  

There might not be such an animal... I was thinking some sort of degreaser that evaporates quickly like brake cleaner - but I have NO idea if that's conductive... I'd bet that it is... YMMV ... be careful man...

I'd just leave the dirt that wasn't blown off by the canned air... unless it stunk or something... it's not going anywhere =)

rampy

[MameFan]

Okay, as stupid as this is, whenever I got used Commodore/Atari monitors or TV's from garage sales when I was collecting that stuff, if it was working, I wasn't too "fearful" of doing a complete cleaning inside.. I never wanted the dust/smoke/pet particles in my house whenever I used the set, so I always cleaned them.

I basically just took windex or 409 glass+surface cleaner (purple stuff) and soaked rags or paper towells and washed all around the tube, but never "touching" the rubber cap around the anode wire.  I also got the first round off with the brush nozzle and a vacuum cleaner.

This got rid of 90% of the gunk.

Note: MOST TV's/Monitors, *IF* they are working correctly, DO disappate ALL of their built up charge backwards through the flyback transformer when turned off.  if you hear a "cracking" sound when you turn the TV / Monitor off, then it's doing it's job.

You run the most risk with a) really old sets without this circuitry, b) broken sets where a fuse or other component is blown, that prevents the auto-discharge from happening.

Therefore when you're actually "handling" it, it's ALWAYS to be better safe than sorry, but my experience has been there is nothing to discharge because everything was working properly. BUT DONT TAKE CHANCES.

Also, I never remove the anode cap unless I have to--e.g. to do a cap kit or swap a tube.  Otherwise, simple cleaning, leave it on and sealed, and you're (relatively) safe.


Note: Be careful being "too" vigourous in cleaning the tube (besides the normal warnings about breaking the neck) .  Some people think it should be "clear glass" all around the tube just like the neck.... That is wrong.  You see there is a special electrically conductive paint applied to the outside (as well as inside) of the tube glass.  It *****NEEDS***** to be there to work!!!   The tube is basically a huge capacitor, and the 2 layers of conduction, one outside, one inside, is how the tube works with the glass between them.   Scrape off the outside paint, and you've just ruined the tube.  So get the dust off it, but don't try to remove the paint itself, even if your rags "keep getting black" after you continue to rub it.

But it is always okay to remove the horrible "black dust" that the anode wire and outside of the tube attract. It's because it's a charged item that it attracts that type of dust more than anything else in a set.  

[JMDickson]

BE CAREFULL!
 The outer surface of the tube is coated with a conductive material (paint) to give the tube it's capacitance.  If this material is 'cleaned off' the tube will no longer work.   I would avoid any liquid cleaner that may disolve the coating or scrubbing with any thing that may scratch it off.
 I don't believe it is water soluable.  You could probably test a small spot near the edge of the 'paint'.

[Analog-X]

Thanks for all the info, I have since used Air to clean as much of the dust as I can, and used a Damp paper towel an cleaned the rest.

I'm still here typing this so I guess I did everyting right