WD40 Cleans Up T20!

[Highwayman]

I picked up a used T20 from E-bay a few weeks ago. It was a bare bones unit I bought for my daughter to use around the house (wireless internet). The thing was pretty rough looking, lots of sticker residue and misc stains covered the top lid. This was something Windex wasn't going to touch so I went and grabbed a can of WD40 from the garage and soaked a rag with the stuff and then began gently scrubbing the exterior of the lid. Each pass of the rag started to remove years of grime, until after 10-15 minutes the lid was clean. So clean, in fact, that I couldn't find a scratch on it! The WD40 really worked a miracle on it. I went over the rest of the laptop, and when I was finished, the T20 looked close to new. WD40 really did the trick! Has anybody else tried this?

[ambientscape]

I picked up a used T20 from E-bay a few weeks ago. It was a bare bones unit I bought for my daughter to use around the house (wireless internet). The thing was pretty rough looking, lots of sticker residue and misc stains covered the top lid. This was something Windex wasn't going to touch so I went and grabbed a can of WD40 from the garage and soaked a rag with the stuff and then began gently scrubbing the exterior of the lid. Each pass of the rag started to remove years of grime, until after 10-15 minutes the lid was clean. So clean, in fact, that I couldn't find a scratch on it! The WD40 really worked a miracle on it. I went over the rest of the laptop, and when I was finished, the T20 looked close to new. WD40 really did the trick! Has anybody else tried this?

You could always use some mild household detergent for that job. Well, I like the idea of WD-40...but not sure of the long term effect.

[dorronto]

Does sound interesting... I hope other members reply to this post. I'll be watching.

Ron

[Purcy]

I'm not saying this but this article may shed some light:

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

The only thing left is to take a moment to talk about the cleaning of the outside of the system. This would be a good time to tell you all about the customer that brought his laptop into the shop because it would not come on. I looked at the system and as soon as I pushed the power button, I knew I was going to have a problem controlling my laughter. There seemed to be somewhat of an oily residue on the side of the computer. I looked a little closer and found that the residue was on the keyboard and the top and bottom of the laptop. The next thing that came into my head was to smell this residue to see what it was. I could not place the smell for a minute and then it came to me. I looked at the customer and asked him why his computer smelled like WD40. He said that he used WD40 to clean everything because it did such a good job of taking the grime off. There was no hesitation when I told him I knew exactly what was wrong with his computer.

This is an example of what not to use to clean any part of your computer. If you must use any type of liquid, put a small amount of plain water on a soft cotton cloth to clean the grime off of the outside of the box and the monitor. You can also use the moist, but not wet cloth to clean the screen. Make sure never to spray anything into or onto any part of your computer. Always moisten the cloth if you must have a liquid to clean your system.

[Kaervak]

I use a general purpose cleaner made up of:

1 Cup water
1 Cup Isopropyl Alcohol (I use the highest percentage I can find)
1 Tablespoon Distilled white vinegar

Works quite well as a glass cleaner and I've never had a problem with it damaging LCD coatings. As for removing scuffs from Thinkpad casings, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is hands down it. The lid to my T23 was scuffed like crazy, someone on the forum suggest the magic eraser and it worked amazingly.

[Highwayman]

I'm not saying this but this article may shed some light:

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

The only thing left is to take a moment to talk about the cleaning of the outside of the system. This would be a good time to tell you all about the customer that brought his laptop into the shop because it would not come on. I looked at the system and as soon as I pushed the power button, I knew I was going to have a problem controlling my laughter. There seemed to be somewhat of an oily residue on the side of the computer. I looked a little closer and found that the residue was on the keyboard and the top and bottom of the laptop. The next thing that came into my head was to smell this residue to see what it was. I could not place the smell for a minute and then it came to me. I looked at the customer and asked him why his computer smelled like WD40. He said that he used WD40 to clean everything because it did such a good job of taking the grime off. There was no hesitation when I told him I knew exactly what was wrong with his computer.

This is an example of what not to use to clean any part of your computer. If you must use any type of liquid, put a small amount of plain water on a soft cotton cloth to clean the grime off of the outside of the box and the monitor. You can also use the moist, but not wet cloth to clean the screen. Make sure never to spray anything into or onto any part of your computer. Always moisten the cloth if you must have a liquid to clean your system.

Let me clarify. I cleaned only the exterior "rubberized" surface. The LCD, keyboard, etc were not touched.

[RealBlackStuff]

Still, why would you want such a 'smelly' laptop?
WD40 takes ages to evaporate.

[carbon_unit]

WD-40 is the best at removing sticker residue. You can clean off the WD-40 with "Simple Green" which will leave a minty smell. If you don't like that, water will remove "Simple Green".

I'm not sure about the long term effects of these chemicals but I have used them many times to clean up the exteriors of Thinkpads. Some of the Thinkpads I have bought on ebay have been absolutely disgusting but cleaned up nicely using WD-40 and Simple Green.

Just be careful use the liquids sparingly.

[Purcy]

Let me clarify. I cleaned only the exterior "rubberized" surface. The LCD, keyboard, etc were not touched.

That's good news, I posted that as I truly didn't know about using that lubricant and I thought better safe than sorry. Anyway, congratulations on your purchase, I am sure your daughter is thrilled.

[Paul Pennington]

I'm amazed at the scary chemicals people put on their ThinkPads. For sticky labels at least, the best thing I've found is a product called De-Solv-It. It's made from orange peels. See their web site at http://www.orange-sol.com/household/alaska.htm for an interesting story. Wal-mart sells it, among many others.

[losmeme]

For everything but the screen, I use Isopropyl Alcohol straight up on a cotton swab to clean my TP's. (Or, those little alcohol swabs at Wal-Mart, which I squeeze out the extra liquid before using)

It does a really good job of disolving the grime, and does a great job at deep cleaning the plastic parts. Sticker residue comes off as well, but not as easy as some other solutions.

Amazing what a good detailing job can do to a lappy. I have several TPs that looked hopeless, but once cleaned shined like new!

[ronbo613]

I spent some time using WD40 to clean M-16s, which is not a computer model number. WD40 is mostly solvent with a little oily lubricant mixed in. It is used on metal only. We don't even use it on our bicycles.
If you want to clean the plastic parts of a laptop, I might try an organic cleaner like Simple Green or one of the citrus-based cleaners, which can be diluted so you won't damage your stuff.

[bobgarty]

My wife is a nurse and she brought home some wipes from "work" they use to remove residue from sticking plasters from skin - man they are great for cleaning up the outer casing - removes dirt and sticker residue no problem - and evaporates in seconds.

[johnson]

I use naptha aka zippo lighter fluid to clean up adhesives.

[ambientscape]

I use naptha aka zippo lighter fluid to clean up adhesives.

Ouch! Becareful with that stuff,dude! That thing is too strong for your thinkpad I think...

[cmarti]

WD-40 is a great but i prefer to use baby wipes ( Chubs ).

[unrortit]

i use engine degreaser,low scent mineral turps to clean off sticky residue areas first,over the whole unit to kill off bacteria,then again with clean lint free cloth+glass cleaner(carefull not to let it run down the lcd).
no problems ever

[aviography]

WD-40, engine degreaser, turpentine? What's next? Acetone? laquer thinner? The longer term effect of these chemicals on the rubber coating of the ThinkPads will be quite interesting........

I've seen an appliance store salesman using WD-40 to clean stainless stell appliances, looks great, but stinks like hell.

Naptha is my preferred choice of cleaner, it is weak enough to not disovle any coating that I have tried on except BBQ paint that hadn't been heat cured, and evaporates quickly and completely.