Advanced Cleaning Tips for Inside of Blast City

[tDRG]

I've been slowly disassembling and cleaning my Blast City. The inside of the front and back smell pretty strongly, and when I first left it on for about two hours, it made the room stink for a week. I'd really like to get it as clean as possible while I have it apart.

So far, I've sprayed Krud Kutter on the back half, let it sit for ~30 seconds, and washed it down with a hose. It got the more visible stains out, but it still smells, and I can still see the grime when I spray more Krud Kutter. I've been spraying and wiping with a paper towel that keeps coming back brown, but I think I'll switch to Krud Kutter and a cleaning brush from top to bottom.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for getting the smell out, or making it unnoticeable after I clean it as best I can? I could throw a car air freshener or dryer sheets inside, but I'd like to do all I can to get it clean. I've seen people on klov talk about an ozone generator for wooden cabs but it sounds like they damage plastic and generally aren't the right solution.

 

[rewrite]

Get those automotive blue shop towels, lay them on a surface of it, soak the towels in Mean Green, wait 60-90 minutes, pull them off, spray lightly with more Mean Green and wipe clean. Letting it sit and soak pulls a ton of that up out of it. Both yellowing and smell.

Just layer, spray, wait, cleanup after.

 

[tDRG]

Perfect, sounds great, thanks. These work?

 

[rewrite]

Perfect, sounds great, thanks. These work?

Them's the ones! Just push them into the crevicesm edges and stuff when they're wet and let it sit.

 

[kikaso]

After a thorough cleaning, you can put some activated charcoal or baking soda inside the cabinet to get the rest of the smell out. This works well with “softer” materials like rubber and wiring that’s harder to scrub than hard plastics.

 

[tDRG]

Soak round one is underway. I'll put the pieces on their sides later, and put it in the shade. Thanks @rewrite !

After a thorough cleaning, you can put some activated charcoal or baking soda inside the cabinet to get the rest of the smell out. This works well with “softer” materials like rubber and wiring that’s harder to scrub than hard plastics.

Good call! I had baking soda in there for a few months before cleaning, I'll leave some in there for a while afterwards too.

 

[advans14]

After cleaning tons of traditional woodies. Do not use dryer sheets or any fragrance mess. You will end up replacing one nasty smell with another.

 

[tDRG]

I did the sides of the front and back halves today, seems to be working well.

Spoiler: Gunk

I'm planning to do each section again, maybe doing the front half twice more since I didn't Krud Kutter it. Then maybe go in with a brush and Krud Kutter for a final scrub.

Some of the white stuff on the inside came off on the front, pretty much just up in the marquee area. Is that anything to be concerned about?

Spoiler: Before

Spoiler: After

 

[advans14]

I wouldn’t personally be concerned. Like most games, the inside is just overspray.

 

[BlinG]

Imma put money on it and say the monitor probably disgusting too. When that thing heats up does it start to smell like shit?

Probably needs a good cleaning too. You already got it out, might as well wash it up.

 

[TodoRojo]

Imma put money on it and say the monitor probably disgusting too. When that thing heats up does it start to smell like shit?

Probably needs a good cleaning too. You already got it out, might as well wash it up.

Do you recommend the ol' garden hose method?

 

[tDRG]

Imma put money on it and say the monitor probably disgusting too. When that thing heats up does it start to smell like shit?

Probably needs a good cleaning too. You already got it out, might as well wash it up.

Sounds good, thanks! Yeah the smell's not noticeable with it out and off, but I might as well clean it while it's out.

 

[KaPH33n]

Do you recommend the ol' garden hose method?

Garden Hose or sink work as long as you give them ample time to dry out. I've had monitors sitting outside for years that work fine after.

 

[advans14]

If you live in an area with hard water, make sure you follow up with distilled water or 91%+ ipa. Otherwise your boards are gonna have waterspots.

 

[tDRG]

Making progress, but things are still pretty dirty. I think Krud Kutter and the garden hose helped the back half a lot. I soaked its three internal sides with Mean Green and towels once, and it seems pretty clean now. The front half is still pretty gross though. I soaked the two main sides with towels and Mean Green three times, then tried a couple soaks with Krud Kutter. I've also sprayed Krud Kutter, let it soak for a while, and scrubbed it with a brush.

Spoiler: Here's the first Krud Kutter spray on the top edge of the front half

Spoiler: And here's after scrubbing. That got it pretty clean.

Spoiler: First Mean Green soak

Spoiler: During latest Krud Kutter scrubbing.

It's definitely getting there, but it'll take some more time. I'm thinking I should just try to undo all the wire straps and remove the monitor frame from the front, then hit it with Krud Kutter and the hose.

And I should do the monitor soon too. I'm thinking of getting one of these or these carts to keep it on and shuffle it outside with. Are there any good guides or videos on monitor cleaning? What should I disconnect? I haven't detached the neck board/chassis from anything besides the 3 connectors on the front when I took it out. I'm a bit apprehensive about necking it so I've tried to stay away since I took it out of the cab. I assume I should cover the anode cap hole with some kind of tape, any suggestions on something that won't damage it? I'll spray Simple Green and follow up with water, but no wiping. Maybe I'll fill a spray bottle with water rather than use the hose. Should one round be enough to get it clean? I have an air blower I can dry it all with, and I'll leave it out in the sun, and I'll let it sit for at least a few weeks.

 

[tDRG]

I'm getting ready to wrap this up, just wanted to check in to see if anyone had any other suggestions before I start to reassemble. I ended up stripping the front down completely last fall and did a few rounds of krud kutter and the hose. I've probably done 20-30 rounds of Mean Green towel soaks, and the amount of brown in the towels is getting pretty low. I don't think there's much more I can do. I don't want to sand fiberglass. Anyone ever seal it with clearcoat or anything? It's been airing out in my house for the past year, and the smell isn't nearly as bad.
Monitor cleaning is next, but I think I'm ready to reassemble the cab.