Cleaning inside of A4000

[motorollin]

My A4000 is a bit dusty inside. I want to clean it to help it to live as long as possible, but I'm not sure of the best way to do it. If I use a can of compressed air, could conductive particles actually be blown on to components and potentially cause short circuits? If I use a dust buster to suck up the dust, could that suck components off the boards? Is there a better way than either of these to minimise the risk of causing damage?

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moto

[Tahoe]

I usually use a very soft paintbrush. Be very carefull with anything electrical.

I have seen servers die by people using a vacuumcleaner on the mainboard. Static discharge kills... (servers in this case).

[pan1k]

Yeah! Brushes work well, make sure the paint brushes have nylon based bristles. I use compressed air to get in tight spots or to just clean the boards off where there is a lot of build up (i.e. fans or vents) Under no circumstances should you use a vaccum in reverse or a blow dryer (i've seen it happen!) While you have the cards out why not use contact cleaner and make sure your boards are getting the best electrical contacts they can have?  I personally use deoxit.

[motorollin]

Thanks for all the advice! I'll get some soft nylon paint brushes, some compressed air and some contact cleaner at the weekend. Do you think it's worth removing the motherboard and dusting underneath it? AFAIK this has never been done with this Amiga.

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moto

[Lemonty]

I know it sound odd but I've had good experiences with a standard foot operated camping pump. It delivers about a liter or so of air with each squeeze through a tapered nozzle. Works for me. Gets rid of dust like nothing else and is cheap as chips.

[sir_inferno]

motorollin wrote:
If I use a can of compressed air, could conductive particles actually be blown on to components and potentially cause short circuits?

nah, they say (and i hope they do) that they filter the air...it's fine...

they're quite hilarious when inverted and you get the freezing stuff onto somebody/something....freezing coke cans with them is fun...don't spray it in your mouth though...not good...

[Dr_Righteous]

Personally, I use a leaf blower on my stuff. Take it outside and let 95MPH of wind do the rest. Soft paint brush to the chips after, then blow it again. All clean!