Leaking DEC VR201 monochrome monitor?

[Ethan Dicks]

On Wed, Jun 22, 2016 at 10:49 AM, william degnan <billdegnan at gmail.com> wrote:
> I picked up a DEC VR201 display today, it was leaking a highly corrosive
> brown liquid.  So corrosive it burned my skin painfully /  immediately and
> I had to wash hands thoroughly.  Anyone come across a display that leaked a
> corrosive liquid like that?  The display was stored in its original box, so
> I don't think the brown liquid was from something stored on top of it, but
> I don't know for sure.

I've had brown liquid emit from a VT220 - I think it was the goo
between the CRT and the implosion shield decomposing.  I tore it all
apart and cleaned it and put it back in service (it was my first VT220
from 1984...)  It's a messy job.  I happen to have working guts of a
VR201 from when I dropped one and busted the CRT 20 years ago... if
you don't want to deal with the cleanup/refurb, I can always use
another VR201 (to replace the broken one!).  PM me.  If you want to do
it yourself, it can be done, but it's a multi-night project, I'd say
(one tip: I used a silicone-based double-stick gel-like "tape" to
remount the implosion protector (with an air gap) because the naked
CRT didn't fit the VT220 housing well enough to make me happy - I'd
approach the VR201 restoration with the same expectation).

-ethan