23 Jun
1997
23 Jun
'97
4:42 p.m.
On Mon, 23 Jun 1997, Sam Ismail wrote:
My girlfriend is a professional sculptress, I don't know why I
didn't ask her to begin with. She recommended plain amonia, which I was
sceptical of. I wanted to use Formula 405 basically because you had
recommended it. Well, the amonia worked great and the case looks nearly
brand new - it sure took several hours though. ;-) Never doubt a woman
competent with Dremel tools - for many reasons....
I was able to clean between the keys with a few tiny paint
brushes. However, as nice as it looks, it seams as though it's toast. A
few keys stick, several send multiple key bursts, and it doesn't seem as
though the keys are removeable - at least not like as I remember the old
TRS-80 Model 1 keyboard. You could remove the keys and actually clean the
contacts with alchohol. Is this possible, or am I just going to be able
to get dust bunnies between the keys?
[snip]
Thanks for your insight!
J. Maynard Gelinas
On Mon, 23 Jun 1997, J. Maynard Gelinas wrote:
[snip]
How do I go about cleaning this without destroying the case? Does
anyone know of some good solvents or cleaners for plastic?
Get yourself a stiff-bristled plastic brush and a good cleaner like
perhaps Formula 405. Again, I use an organic cleaner called L.O.C. (an
Amway product). Flood the case with the cleaner and brush it with the
brush. It may not take off all the goop, but it will do a good job
(depending on your cleaner, mine works fantastic).
Can I pull a
keytop off the keyboard without destroying the key?
If it's really bad I guess I could change keyboards - but I'd really like
to attempt to get this guy working, as it was the original.
Spray your cleaner on the keyboard and scrub with the brush. It'll work
very well. When you're done, lift each key off (yes you can, they come
right off and you pop them right back on) and clean each individual one
around the sides as needed, but the brushing should have done the trick.
Clean all the hair, fuzzballs, food and other misceallny from the bottom
of the keys. Replace all the keycaps. Of course rememberto note down
where they all go.