cleaning cpcs

arnoldemu · 09:34, 27 October 10

Can i use "white spirit" (turpentine substitute) (petroleum based; transparent liquid used for cleaning oil/gloss based paints from paint brushes) for cleaning electronics contacts especially edge connectors?
I decided that the edge connector on my cpcs needed a bit of a clean after the amram 2 didn't want to work reliably.

This morning I actually used a baby wipe to clean the top and the top of the keys, and even soaked some of the stuff into a cotton wool bud by holding it against the sheet. it definitely managed to clean it up. But would any of these do any damage to the actual tracks?

(I thought I had some inkjet head cleaning solution, which I am sure would be perfect, but I can't find it now)

Could I use the white spirit or similar to clean the heads of a disc drive?

I'm gonna start cleaning my other amstrad bits now (a couple of disc drives and interfaces).

redbox · 09:45, 27 October 10

Quote from: arnoldemu on 09:34, 27 October 10
Can i use "white spirit" (turpentine substitute) (petroleum based; transparent liquid used for cleaning oil/gloss based paints from paint brushes) for cleaning electronics contacts especially edge connectors?

CPC Rulez recommends using 90% alcohol solution for doing this and some fine sandpaper to remove what's left.

Haven't tried it myself yet though, but will do once I've opened my cartridge (am waiting for a solder pump and small plyers to turn up).

Bryce · 10:08, 27 October 10

It should be ok to use on the edge connectors, but don't use it on a Disc Drive head! Some plastics react very badly to spirits of that strength. I clean disk heads with Vodka

(Yes, really) But don't leave any chemical on plastic for more than a few seconds.

I prefer to clean contacts without any chemicals. As far as I know, you're in the UK, so I'm sure you'll remember those erasers we used in school, the ones with a white end for pencil and a grey end for ink? If so, get one. The grey end is the best "tool" around for cleaning edge connectors.

Bryce.

Edit: They seem to have changed colour since 1984, they're now Red/Blue. The blue (ink) end works best:
http://www.erasersworld.com/img/pel5.jpg

Sykobee (Briggsy) · 12:22, 27 October 10

Does Retr0Brite work on CPC's? I imagine it will work on the pluses, as it works on Amigas.

Bryce · 12:28, 27 October 10

It should work fine on pluses, but I wouldn't try it classic CPCs, it'll probably discolour them.

Bryce.

arnoldemu · 20:10, 27 October 10

I got one of those blue/red erasers.

I went to WH Smith (news and stationary shop here in the UK), I had a choice between one on it's own for £1.50 or so, or one just the same size but with other white erasers for 94p. Guess which I chose

Yes it does work well.

I did also clean the edge connector with it and also a dab of baby wipe stuff (on a cotton bud), because it was also dusty, waited for it to dry and now the Amram2 starts up every time when it's connected

(I've finally worked out the decoding of it's I/O port)

Disc drives: I'm not sure I want to waste Vodka on a disc drive

I'd rather drink that. So I'll look for the other stuff another day and give all the drives a clean.
The baby wipe also does a good job of cleaning the top of the keyboard itself.

Now, back to coding

redbox · 22:36, 27 October 10

Quote from: arnoldemu on 20:10, 27 October 10
The baby wipe also does a good job of cleaning the top of the keyboard itself.

You can always tell people who have children because their first choice to clean pretty much anything is to use baby wipes

arnoldemu · 09:29, 28 October 10

Quote from: redbox on 22:36, 27 October 10
You can always tell people who have children because their first choice to clean pretty much anything is to use baby wipes

if they can clean a baby's bottom they can clean a leather sofa and also cpc cases and floors and ...

betpet · 11:46, 28 October 10

My only gripe with baby wipes is that they seem to contain some kind of solution that leaves a residue once it dries.

Bryce · 12:08, 28 October 10

Are you having Nappy-Rash / Chaff problems?

Or do you mean on the edge connector contacts?

Bryce.

arnoldemu · 12:33, 28 October 10

Quote from: Bryce on 12:08, 28 October 10
Are you having Nappy-Rash / Chaff problems? Or do you mean on the edge connector contacts?

Bryce.

On the edge connector contacts. Clean them with that to remove general dirt and grime (some of the connectors were just dirty). Then a second pass with the eraser.

I'm not using the wipe direct btw. I'm soaking a cotton bud in it, then rubbing that onto the contacts. then drying it off with a clean dry cotton bud.

This worked great for me.

For the keyboard and the case, I just gave it a quick go over with just the wipe.

In a few years I'll probably say "how can I stop the corrosion on my edge connectors

"..

I will not use the wipe direct onto any electronics, or keyboard membranes.
I'm not completely crazy!

arnoldemu · 10:44, 01 November 10

On friday I went to our local "Home Bargains" shop. They were selling a camera cleaning kit for 95p.
It has a small brush, cotton buds and some other bits, but the most interesting bit was a bottle of "isopropyl alcholol".
So now I've got the bits I need to clean those and drives and cassette.

Question, what size belt do I need for CPC464 cassette players? On one cpc464, the drive is not reliable (doesn't record), a bit slow on playback. So I guess it may need a new belt?

Gryzor · 20:20, 02 November 10

Heheh

Isopropyl alcohol is nothing special, really; you could use pure alcohol, and it'd be much the same (and you could also use it for your wounds, too).

When I was little my dad used to bring me big bottles of isopropyl alcohol to clean stuff, from the pharma factory he used to work in. Just a solvent, the only 'great' thing about it was (as you've seen) that it's cheap...

arnoldemu · 12:08, 25 November 10

Quote from: Gryzor on 20:20, 02 November 10
Heheh Isopropyl alcohol is nothing special, really; you could use pure alcohol, and it'd be much the same (and you could also use it for your wounds, too).

When I was little my dad used to bring me big bottles of isopropyl alcohol to clean stuff, from the pharma factory he used to work in. Just a solvent, the only 'great' thing about it was (as you've seen) that it's cheap...

yeah it's not special, but it's becoming harder to find over here, especially in "pure" form.

and also buying pure alcohol is also difficult to get - and I'm not going to waste j.d. or vodka on some drives

arnoldemu · 12:12, 25 November 10

I'm going to service some drives.

I'll put some grease on the worm drive "spindle".

What about the rails for the heads, and also for the spindles of the motor for the belt and the spindle for the wheel that spins the disc, should I add the same grease here?

I was going to clean out the drive with a clean brush, clean the heads with some isopropyl alchohol, then put some of that grease stuff onto various bits.

I was going to do the same for the tape drive in one of my cpc464s (the dodgy one that doesn't seem to want to record, give it a clean and see if that helps it).

On the subject of tapes, can I use the isopropyl alcohol on the rubber wheel things (that control the tension of the tape) to clean any gunk of them or would it effect the rubber?

I'm asking before I do the wrong thing and break a load of things

Gryzor · 23:12, 27 November 10

Alcohol does tend to dry things up, but it's the standard substance everyone recommends for tape recorders... I don't thing you could find anything better.

If I may suggest (never done this myself, just an idea), you could try putting a tiny amount of glycerin on the rubber wheels and all that afterward?

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cleaning cpcs