Internal dust

[gearhead]

What's the best way to clean dust out of the insides of old gear?
Dust, and stuck on crud that accumulates on circuit boards, etc.

 

[bully]

I've used a couple of sizes of fresh paint brushes and a vacuum to get most of the dust and stuff, then you can use that duster canned air to blow the remainder out.

 

[gonzothegreat]

Depends how anal you are about dirt. Compressed air and paintbrushes will only go so far. Then you need to get wet. When I'm feeling retentive, its time to break out the Qtips and the 409 degreaser.

If the board is easily removed from the chassis (and isn't the tuner board), I often soak the board in foaming bathroom cleaner, let it soak in, swish it around with a small paintbrush then hose it off with hot water in the bathtub. Then it gets a 12/24 hour drying period in front of a furnace vent next to my stinky socks. Watch out because water can sneak into gaps between heatsinks and semis. One wet spot and you'll regret not waiting the full 24 hours to dry.

I always wondered if using one of the Water-Pik ultrasonic tooth cleaners would make an effective cleaning tool.

 

[stereofisher]

Works well!!

I've used a couple of sizes of fresh paint brushes and a vacuum to get most of the dust and stuff, then you can use that duster canned air to blow the remainder out.

Agree, this works well.GENTLY work the cleaned unused brush through the chassis so you don't bend any components on the circuit boards. If the tuner is receiving FM ( in my case ) I work the brush gently through the variable tuner capacitor and then turn the turn up and down the FM dial. Got my FM back on my everyday player

 

[stereofisher]

Works well!!

I've used a couple of sizes of fresh paint brushes and a vacuum to get most of the dust and stuff, then you can use that duster canned air to blow the remainder out.

Agree, this works well.GENTLY work the cleaned unused brush through the chassis so you don't bend any components on the circuit boards. If the tuner is receiving FM ( in my case ) I work the brush gently through the variable tuner capacitor and then turn the turn up and down the FM dial. Got my FM back on my everyday player.

Eric

 

[cabinover]

Just a caution note, I once took out an IC in a nice Denon integrated from the vacuum and it's brush attachment. I think that the static electricity probably hit it. The only thing I could figure is that between the dust and the high speed of the air, a bit of that static just happened to hit and cause me heartburn!! Bob