Printable View
I have a spare Amiga 1200 motherboard rev 1b that is very dirty :sick: (dust and smoke that are stick to the pcb and chips, board works fine, but is very unpleasent to the eye) and i was wondering if its safe to put it on a dishwashing machine to make it shine. If its possible and non dangerous to the motherboard someone have tried this? If so what was the result and the steps to drie-it, or cautions to take :dry:. Thanks.
Water and PCB's do not mix well at all. if you want to clean the PCB use some artists brushes and isopropyl mixed with a little water and allow to evaporate. NEVER Ever Ever Ever stick PCB's in a dishwasher unless you want to kill them.
@JLPedro
as our dear Buleste suggests - hot water and PCB's are a no no... one of the quickest ways to kill capcitors I can promise you..
I would start off with compressed air, blast the hell out of the board. then with a damp cloth (of window / lens cleaner or 50/50 isopro/water solution) gently clean the undeside of the motherboard... for the top side, a big artist brush will surfice, infact i would run the brus over it first dry and then use either of the above solutions on it.
allow it to dry for a couple of hours, depending on how much you drowned it LOL.
good luck, and remember
ALL RESTORATION PROJECTS ARE SUBJECT TO HIRESOLUTION HARDWARE PRON
*ahem
:D
The motherboard or the A1200's case? I'm sure you would destroy the actual motherboard if you put that in the dishwasher. However it is OK to put the casing from an A1200 into the dishwasher. Some here have done this. And then after washing it many have sprayed their case and then applied a layer of lacquer.
Have a look at Stu's thread here, as he has documented the whole process of restoring an A1200 case.
damn you double posters! *ahem
Just the one!? LOL the Amiga ABS plastic on all models will handle a nice hot wash at 60c this not only gets rid of the grime, grease and sheer filth that Amiga's manage to get into but also opens up the plastic for perfect spraying!Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrison_the_Double_Poster
I have done this to... A500 / A600 and atleast 4x 1200 chassis.
for the love of anything one could consider holy, please dont put you pcb motherboard in there, as it will destroy any electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard (including SMD ones)
The double post was a strange forum anomaly. Posted the reply and two copies appeared. :blink:
Now if that doesn't smack home of a Star Trek: Transporter Malfunction I don't know what does!:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrison
Now that would be cool. Two of me. I could stay at home and work on site content all day, while the other me went to work. ;)
lol, then theres the bed sharing :blink::owned::blink:
But where would you send the one from the mirror universe?Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrison
The one from the mirror universe could be an evil version and so destroy all our hard work. He would have to be killed just to be safe!
Why not send him to work then?
Good point. Or send him to work on certain other Amiga sites. ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Buleste
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harrison
Hmmmmmm how do we know this hasn't happened already eh?:hmmm:
I can just see it now....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Police
Quote:
Originally Posted by Missues_Harrison
Quote:
Originally Posted by Police
oh dear oh dear.... not looking good for our guy is it....Quote:
Originally Posted by Misses_Harrison
Does Harrison have a beard at work?
OMG I've just realised why Submeg has a nomination in POTM if you look at the photo he posted of himself in the "Sad Day" thread he has a beard (albeit a poor one)!!!
So the dishwasher is a NO GO... :hmmm: don't really know were i got the idea in the first place (by the way i was refearing to the motherboard and not the case). So i will use the brush type of cleaning :thumbs: , Or maybe i ill start the job on my CBM 1084s D1, it is waiting for some really in dept cleaning and painting mayking it look like new (been dreaming to do this for some time now) it will pair perfectly my recently painted A600!
A can of compressed air is always good for cleaning motherboards and expansion cards. You can often blow most of the dirt and dust from them without harming anything.
And also as already mentioned, some Isopropyl alcohol and a small brush, or cotton buds are OK as the alcohol evaporates very quickly and won't damage anything. I tend to use a can of car carburettor cleaner as it is basically the same thing, and a big can of that is quite inexpensive and lasts a very long time. I've had a can for a couple of years now and it is still nearly full. Very useful for cleaning old thermal paste from CPUs, the lenses of CD/DVD players, electrical components and PCBs, floppy disk drive heads, the contact pins in game cartridges or PCI cards etc.
I've had my A500+ case in the dishwasher. Made it a bit cleaner but didn't remove any yellowing.
Usually for cleaning the insides of computers I just use the hoover. Speaking of dust, I know my PC is very dusty (again).
Yellowing is due to the photosensitive nature of the plastic used. No amount of cleaning will ever get rid of it as it's the plastic itself that has changed its chemical composition slightly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen Coates
You guys said Dishwasher...
That explains why I need to buy a new washing machine!!!
The only REAL way to get rid of the yellowing is to use an Acetone Bath.
Place chassis in dish washer (gets rid of grime, grease and opens the plastic up)
make a shallow bath (enough to cover the item) of Acetone then gently dip the component a couple of times in it.... then rinse in a shallow bath of water again gently dipping it..... repeat as nessasary :)
DO THIS SLOWLY
will say.... acetone disolves plasitc... so if you do use this method, for the love of god DONT rub the plastic in anyway... just submerg and retract a couple of times, then rinse in a bath of water, all this in gentle movement. (no side to side motion just in then out...
eventually the yellow will be removed.... once thats done allow a final wash of water then place in dish washer on a cool 30/40c wash. (NOT INTENSIVE)
once complete... use a matt acrylic laqure / varnish, spray gently, each coat in long arcs repeat only when its dry.. around 3 coats is more than enough... (make sure you leave enough time for each coat to FULLY dry) sometimes its best to just leave it a day if one has to!
Sorry guys :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Buleste
I did have to chuckle to myself here :)
Not so silly as it sounds. I did 'wash' a PS2 keyboard that was dirty from my old Linux days... Dried it out on the hot towel rail - works fine now and I once accidently dropped my mobile in a glass of water!! dried that out, worked fine... :)
I think the thing here is to use a little common sense!!
Now where did I put that motherboard ?? :)
Btw, no joke but I have an A1200 motherboard with 3.0 roms that I will be putting in the recycle bin on Amibay now that Harrison has given me access to it :)
That will make some fellow AmiBayers very happy, its very generious of you! :D