Thinkpads Forum

Hello,
I recently bought a Thinkpad t23 which evidently did not come from a smoke free environment.
As a result, all colours on the screen have to struggle to get through a yellowish nicotine filter...

Does anybody have experience in dealing with this particular kind of problem?

Thanks

Have you tried wiping it with 50% ethanol and 50% water? If that doesn't do it, this page may be helpful.

Thanks pianowizard, I'll give it a try...

That link pianowizard provided looks good. If you use vinegar, be sure and dilute it 50-50 with water. See other cleaning links in my post here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 333#242333

GomJabbar wrote:That link pianowizard provided looks good. If you use vinegar, be sure and dilute it 50-50 with water. See other cleaning links in my post here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 333#242333

Thanks, I tried with the vinegar/water mixture, but now I'm beginning to think the screen may have been cleaned wrongly by the previous owner, like in this quote from one of your links:

Using alcohol or ammonia - based cleaners repeatedly may cause permanent damage to the LCD. Over time, using these types of cleaners could cause the surface of the screen to yellow.

This would fit in the pattern of other signs of maltreatment it has, such as strange wear on only certain keys, an uneven keyboard, cracked palmrest and dents (!) in the screen...

So the screen will also be replaced.

RfromR wrote:Using alcohol or ammonia - based cleaners repeatedly may cause permanent damage to the LCD.

Strange, because I have been told numerous times that 50% ethanol is the best way to clean the LCD.

RfromR wrote:strange wear on only certain keys

If the "F" and the "J" keys are the most worn, it probably just indicates that the previous owner used the keyboard a lot.

Anyway, before you purchased this T23, did the seller warn you about these blemishes? If not, you should complain in a diplomatic way and ask for a partial refund. I have had problems with several laptops (wrong HDD size, a key that didn't work, etc.) that I bought through eBay and in all but one case, the sellers gave me some money back. Make sure you leave him/her a feedback only after getting things sorted out.

pianowizard wrote:Strange, because I have been told numerous times that 50% ethanol is the best way to clean the LCD.

Rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) OK. Everclear or Vodka (Ethanol or Ethyl Alcohol), not OK. See links that I posted.

@pianowizard: yes some things were mentioned, and I knew it would probably have more issues by the low price and the 'as-is' qualification.
(BTW, the worn keys are E, A, S and C)
Anyway, a new keyboard and palmrest are already underway and since I like repairing neglected things, that's added "value".

GomJabbar wrote:Rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) OK. Everclear or Vodka (Ethanol or Ethyl Alcohol), not OK. See links that I posted.

Thanks for the correction. In the lab, we wash pretty much everything with ethanol, so I am used to assuming that it's safe for everything.