Back to board washing for a moment

IT should be OK, but I'd not want to wash HV stuff, particularly not 'wound components' with water. It might cause leakage, and those parts are expensive and difficult to replace. On a 'classic' monitor PCB there's nothing that's static-sensitive (some modern monitors use a MOSFET for the HOT (line output transistor), which could be static-damaged). So that's one thing you don't have to worry about that you do worry about with logic boards. What I'd do is start by brushing off all the loose dust. And wiping round the flyback and related parts with 'kitchen paper'. Then desolder the flyback and other large componets and clean them, and the PCB, with propan-2-ol (available from Maplin, or at least it used to be. They call it isopropyl alcohol). Sometimes smoking can come from dry joints that are arcing. By removing the flyback and resoldering it, you've eliminated one possible cause... Annother cuase (which led me a merry dance once) is just dust burning off high power resistors that are _supposed_ to run hot. No fault, other than it needed cleaning... -tony