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Cleaning iMac Screen
- Thread starter thechris69
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I'll throw my two cents worth in here too.
I have (i say again) have developed my own glass cleaner in the past (oh; ok, a team of three of us developed a glass cleaner and then there's the company behind the team but you get the drift) that did go into commercial production and was widely adopted by the higher end of the vehicle manufactures and dealerships out there (those based in the uk and london at least) for there cars which had been fitted with smash containment film for the side windows. It ended up costing nearly £5 per 500ml so it wasn't cheap (compared to off the shelf cleaners) but that's not the point. And it was requested by Leica to be submitted for appraisal and potential approval. but thats not for discussion here either.
Needles to say, many of these specialist screen cleaners are nothing more than diluted professional camera and telescope lens cleaners, they're built to a budget after all and normally with the addition of some kind of dye to colour the formulation or bulking solution. Most are alcohol based and perfectly suited for a glass screen monitors, house windows, car windows and pretty much anything made of glass. It's the ones with added silicon that should be avoided.
The production of rubbing alcohol is even formulated and regulated, more so for tax reason's than anything else and a quick search on wikipedia will give you the quantities and process.
Probably a good way to find a nice reliable cleaner is to pop into a good camera shop, ask a few questions and then buy a 5L container of lens cleaner suitable for coated glass and keep it for your screen. You can then decant it into small 100ml sprayers and live happy ever after. It will certainly last long enough. I'd guess......... probably at least a couple of years. As for cloths, lint free cotton cloths are a good starting point. Or mechanics blue roll.
The last time I purchased 50L in 2x20L + 2x5L containers it was about £120. Can't give a price for the 5L container but I'd guess anywhere from £15 to £35. depending upon markup and branding.
Going the camera shop route is worth a try. If only to give piece of mind.
I have (i say again) have developed my own glass cleaner in the past (oh; ok, a team of three of us developed a glass cleaner and then there's the company behind the team but you get the drift) that did go into commercial production and was widely adopted by the higher end of the vehicle manufactures and dealerships out there (those based in the uk and london at least) for there cars which had been fitted with smash containment film for the side windows. It ended up costing nearly £5 per 500ml so it wasn't cheap (compared to off the shelf cleaners) but that's not the point. And it was requested by Leica to be submitted for appraisal and potential approval. but thats not for discussion here either.
Needles to say, many of these specialist screen cleaners are nothing more than diluted professional camera and telescope lens cleaners, they're built to a budget after all and normally with the addition of some kind of dye to colour the formulation or bulking solution. Most are alcohol based and perfectly suited for a glass screen monitors, house windows, car windows and pretty much anything made of glass. It's the ones with added silicon that should be avoided.
The production of rubbing alcohol is even formulated and regulated, more so for tax reason's than anything else and a quick search on wikipedia will give you the quantities and process.
Probably a good way to find a nice reliable cleaner is to pop into a good camera shop, ask a few questions and then buy a 5L container of lens cleaner suitable for coated glass and keep it for your screen. You can then decant it into small 100ml sprayers and live happy ever after. It will certainly last long enough. I'd guess......... probably at least a couple of years. As for cloths, lint free cotton cloths are a good starting point. Or mechanics blue roll.
The last time I purchased 50L in 2x20L + 2x5L containers it was about £120. Can't give a price for the 5L container but I'd guess anywhere from £15 to £35. depending upon markup and branding.
Going the camera shop route is worth a try. If only to give piece of mind.
Sanus Screen Cleaning Gel
Okay gang, I think things are getting confused (I don't know, I stopped reading before hitting the bottom of page 1)... There are 2 different items, the outer plastic that we put our fingerprints on all of the time, and the LCD panel that sits behind the outer plastic.
I had to clean the LCD panel and grabbed the cleaner for my glasses. BAD IDEA. Didn't seriously hurt it, but it was all fogged up and wouldn't easily come clean. Not even with lens cleaner for my camera (tried it in a corner to test). I attempted to buy iKlear, but it is only sold in one store in St. Louis, and they are only open M-F 8:30am-5pm, of course. It is currently Saturday night and this was at 9pm. I remembered I had some cleaner for my LCD TV screens and tried it. Works great! I picked it up at Best Buy a while back, if you go looking for it.
Okay gang, I think things are getting confused (I don't know, I stopped reading before hitting the bottom of page 1)... There are 2 different items, the outer plastic that we put our fingerprints on all of the time, and the LCD panel that sits behind the outer plastic.
I had to clean the LCD panel and grabbed the cleaner for my glasses. BAD IDEA. Didn't seriously hurt it, but it was all fogged up and wouldn't easily come clean. Not even with lens cleaner for my camera (tried it in a corner to test). I attempted to buy iKlear, but it is only sold in one store in St. Louis, and they are only open M-F 8:30am-5pm, of course. It is currently Saturday night and this was at 9pm. I remembered I had some cleaner for my LCD TV screens and tried it. Works great! I picked it up at Best Buy a while back, if you go looking for it.
I do not see any need to use a dedicated cleaner for cleaning LCD screens. I find that these are a waste of money and do no better job that the method I will describe below.
All I use (and have used it for many years with great results) is this:
Get 2 micro fibre cloths. Ensure that these have not been used before with other cleaning solutions. Basically you want 2 new micro fibre cloths that will be solely used for cleaning the iMac's screen.
1: Dampen one and wring out as much water as you can out of it.
2: Wipe the screen with it (but obviously do not press on too hard).
3: Use the other micro fibre cloth to wipe the screen dry. Thats all you need to give you a clean and shiny screen.
I've used Sprayway Glass Cleaner for ANYTHING with glass or a screen in the house for year and year and year. Used on every iMac since my '01 G4 as far as I can remember.
Damp/Moist Magic Eraser for the metal of MacBooks, iMacs, etc to clean any smudges or dirty areas. Works great.
Damp/Moist Magic Eraser for the metal of MacBooks, iMacs, etc to clean any smudges or dirty areas. Works great.
