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Isopropylalcohol for cleaning

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Manbearpig
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Manbearpig Posted: Tue, Jan 7 2014 3:33 PM

Dear members,

can one use Ispropylalcohol for cleaning the outside of a Beosystem 7000 or the stainless steel of Beolab Pentas? If so, is 70% or 99% recommended?

Thanks!

Rgds,

Kai

aymeric
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aymeric replied on Tue, Jan 7 2014 3:35 PM

Penta's should be cleaned with a mild detergent on a soft cloth and polished with coconut oil (from the user manual)

MediaBobNY
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On the Beosystem I'd stick with water-based cleaning, using either a mild cleanser (dish soap, Windex) or a stronger one (e.g. Mr. Clean) depending on how grimy it is.   An alcohol-based solvent might remove the lettering.

joeyboygolf
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MediaBobNY:

On the Beosystem I'd stick with water-based cleaning, using either a mild cleanser (dish soap, Windex) or a stronger one (e.g. Mr. Clean) depending on how grimy it is.   An alcohol-based solvent might remove the lettering.

I use isopropanol on a routine basis and it has not removed any lettering as yet. I buy the 99% stuff.. I only use it if Astonish Tile and Window cleaner doesn't do the business.

I would not put any solvent near the lettering on Beovox 3000/4500/5000 flat panel speakers as they are only transfers and will rub off easilly .

The best that I found for Pentas is Mer car polish.

Regards Graham

Dillen
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Dillen replied on Tue, Jan 7 2014 4:48 PM

The alcohol may not do permanent damage to anything (though I haven't tried it on decals etc.) but it dries out the
Penta metalpanels, leaving them difficult to keep nice.
A mild detergent, dishwasher liquid or similar, and then coconut oil sounds about right.
Try it and then polish with a soft lint-free cloth and you'll see.

On exteriors I only use IPA for very stubborn or particularly sticky stuff.

Martin

Søren Mexico
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Dillen:

The alcohol may not do permanent damage to anything (though I haven't tried it on decals etc.) but it dries out the
Penta metalpanels, leaving them difficult to keep nice.
A mild detergent, dishwasher liquid or similar, and then coconut oil sounds about right.
Try it and then polish with a soft lint-free cloth and you'll see.

On exteriors I only use IPA for very stubborn or particularly sticky stuff.

Martin

I have a System Big Smile, starting to clean, nearly anything, I use mild detergent, if that does not work I go to Windex or similar, then Mr Clean, then IPA, then paint thinner, then acetone. Always very carefully testing that it does no harm. I never use thinner or acetone on painted or plastic surfaces.

Hot water and mild detergent is a good solution for most cleaning, the problem is, after cleaning, to protect and conserve the cleaned surfaces. That includes instructions to the persons doing the daily cleaning.

Chemicals in spray cans are to be avoided, you never know whats in there, I tend to use natural and neutral oils for protection, like coconut oil for chrome and aluminum and boiled linseed oil for wood. These oils dries out and harden and daily cleaning is easy done with a moist rag. The most important is the first ground cleaning, the items has to be absolutely CLEAN, before adding protection.

 

Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.

Leslie
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Leslie replied on Tue, Jan 7 2014 5:24 PM

Yes you can use 70%!

Brengen & Ophalen

Jonathan
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Eucalyptus Oil is an alternative, especially for adhesives

x:________________________

Manbearpig
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Thanks everybody. I was always using a poarticular cleaner for stainless surfaces on the Pentas. Works great. But: it's oil based and the oil really binds the dirt. So - everbody who is using coconut oil: do you just put it on and leave as is or do you use a cloth to remove (most of) the oil after you've put it on?

Cheers!

MediaBobNY
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From the Beomaster 7000 User Manual:

"Do not use alcohol or other solvents to clean any part of the Beomaster 7000 or other units in your Beosystem 7000"

Leslie
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Leslie replied on Tue, Jan 7 2014 10:27 PM

No probs using 70% to clean dirt from the shiny surfaces of your pizza systems or Penta's or BC9500's. After you could make it shiny with the proper stainless steel cleaner.

Brengen & Ophalen

John Francis
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I did learn the hard way on a Beogram 8000 platter that alcohol will dissolve the finish. Start as Soren suggested with the mildest cleaner,  and maybe never go to the extreme of acetone or something harsh unless you don't care if you are permanently damaging the finish.

John

Leslie
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Leslie replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 3:57 AM

Discussion was not about cleaning a platter right?

Brengen & Ophalen

aymeric
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aymeric replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 4:50 AM

I polish the coconut oil on my penta's until they shine again. You can read the manual for instructions. They seem to come with a layer of oil from the factory to polish yourself at home.

John Francis
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Pardon me for getting off topic, the mention of using alcohol as a cleaner for stainless steel was mentioned however. So I thought it might be relevant as a cautionary tale about using alcohol on all what appear to be metal sufaces.

John

Manbearpig
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And what makes alcohol problematic on the platter? So I'm sort of confused. Which metal parts can you apply the alcohol to and which will be problematic? Is there any general rule for that?

Rgds,

Kai

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Dillen replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 9:34 AM

Manbearpig:

And what makes alcohol problematic on the platter? So I'm sort of confused. Which metal parts can you apply the alcohol to and which will be problematic? Is there any general rule for that?

Rgds,

Kai

Some metal (and other) surfaces have an antistatic coating that will be damaged/removed if you use alcohol.
Turntables (playing the good old vinyl discs) can build up a lot of static electricity on the disc being played, so a
discharge to ground potential is essential and this takes place through the platter.
The platters are a little dull from factory and it's very tempting to wash and rub if dusty or dirty. This typically leaves the platter nice
and shiny (some people tend to prefer shiny stuff)  but that's only because you now see the bare metal without the factory coating.
The cleaning of platters has been discussed a couple of times before in these quarters.

My general advice would be to go with whats stated in the owners manual for the given product.

Martin

Mark
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Mark replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 9:53 PM

I bought some Coconut Oil today for my Penta's. The women in the shop said how nice I was buying my wife this as it's great for the skin and hair, I was then going to tell her but decided it best I smiled and said nothing. 

we tend to forget there is more to design than designing.

tournedos
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tournedos replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 10:21 PM

Mark:

I bought some Coconut Oil today for my Penta's. The women in the shop said how nice I was buying my wife this as it's great for the skin and hair, I was then going to tell her but decided it best I smiled and said nothing. 

Finally, a cleaning / finishing product that doesn't actually peel off your skin (and is available at the groceries store!). I'll probably dig my Pentas out of storage in near future and I*m certainly going to try this.

--mika

Jeff
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Jeff replied on Wed, Jan 8 2014 10:25 PM

Mark:

I bought some Coconut Oil today for my Penta's. The women in the shop said how nice I was buying my wife this as it's great for the skin and hair, I was then going to tell her but decided it best I smiled and said nothing. 

Good call, if you told them you were going to stroke your speakers with it they'd probably have called the law on you. Big Smile

Jeff

I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus. Sad

Manbearpig
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Just to make sure: you can apply the alcohol to everything except for the platter? Is that correct? What about the surrounding (casing?) around the platter - I mean the brushed aluminum part of the Beogram? This part of the Beogram is particularly prone to dirt and hard to clean...

Thanks for all of the advices...

Rgds,

Kai

Dillen
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Dillen replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 10:17 AM

Manbearpig:

Just to make sure: you can apply the alcohol to everything except for the platter? Is that correct? What about the surrounding (casing?) around the platter - I mean the brushed aluminum part of the Beogram? This part of the Beogram is particularly prone to dirt and hard to clean...

Thanks for all of the advices...

Rgds,

Kai

The producer says no alcohol.
I say use alcohol ONLY to remove stubborn dirt.
I've found that foam cleaner is good for the difficult metal parts (and almost everything else).

Martin

joeyboygolf
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My main cleaner is Astonish Tile and Mirror cleaner which comes in a spray bottle. It is water based but has detergent and alcohol additives to remove some greasy marks as well as ordinary dirt. If that doesn't work to my satisfaction then my next step is isopropanol.

Remove the platter and put it out of the way somewhere. Push the arm carriage towards the centre of the turntable to avoid catching it with your cleaning cloth.

Use the isopropanol on the body of the deck but work WITH the grain of aluminium and dry with a clean cloth before the solvent evaporates. Failure to use this system will result in the dirt being dumped in the bottom of the grain.

Don't replace the platter until you have completed cleaning the rest of the deck. Your platter is what your platter is, you will not improve it's appearance if you want to maintain the antistatic coating.

Regards Graham

tournedos
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tournedos replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 10:46 AM

joeyboygolf:
Failure to use this system will result in the dirt being dumped in the bottom of the grain.

...which is exactly the problem where the product suggested by Dillen ("Magic Sponge" and whatever trade names you have for melamine foam) shines, so to speak. That and very little water, wipe off with a soft cloth. There's very rarely need for anything more aggressive.

No, I won't use that for the platter either.

--mika

joeyboygolf
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Dillen:

Manbearpig:

Just to make sure: you can apply the alcohol to everything except for the platter? Is that correct? What about the surrounding (casing?) around the platter - I mean the brushed aluminum part of the Beogram? This part of the Beogram is particularly prone to dirt and hard to clean...

Thanks for all of the advices...

Rgds,

Kai

 

The producer says no alcohol.
I say use alcohol ONLY to remove stubborn dirt.
I've found that foam cleaner is good for the difficult metal parts (and almost everything else).

Martin

Judging by the room settings used by the producer in their advertising blurb, I suspect that the marketing department at B&O would be astonished if they were taken into a "normal" household environment anywhere outside Struer.

The dry duster or damp cloth is totally useless when cleaning a 25+ year old turntable which has lived it's life in an environment where the odd fried meal is consumed and/or the user smokes 20 a day!

Remember that all this equipment that we are discussing here was consigned to the skip years ago, as far as B&O development, marketing or service departments are concerned.

Come on down B&O, live in the real world.

Regards Graham

Leslie
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Leslie replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 11:12 AM

Poster started with cleaning the outside shiny parts of a Beoystem 7000 and it ended with cleaning platter?

Brengen & Ophalen

BO
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BO replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 11:21 AM

Hasn't ended yetSmile

//Bo.
A long list...

Christian Christensen
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I am dealing with some BM900s that has been stored badly, several of the aluminum knobs was black of oxid.
none of  chemicals i have worked, not even aceton,  no matter how hard i rubbed, Autosol made them almost new.

But of course this refers to things in really bad condition 

My re-capped M75 are my precious diamonds.

Manbearpig
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How do you remove the platter by the way? Just pull it of, or is there a screw that keeps it in place?

Dillen
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Dillen replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 4:28 PM

The platter lifts right up and off.

Leslie; You're right, the discussion was initially not about cleaning the platter but the Beosystem in general.
The discussion took a turn to the effect of further advicing the original poster against the use of alcohol to clean the platter.
Fair warning from John, based on his own experience and good advice, if you ask me.

Martin

Mark
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Mark replied on Thu, Jan 9 2014 10:51 PM
Just cleaned my Penta's. I started with a specialised cloth and spray from e-cloth and finished off with coconut oil, good tip with the oil is to warm it up in the palms of your hand and use your hand to spread before rubbing/polishing.

we tend to forget there is more to design than designing.

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