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Cincinnati, OH

So I finished backlighting a DMG today:

(It's the one in the middle)

There was some sticker residue left on it, however, and I decided to clean it off. NEVER have I once had this occur...

SO BE CAUTIOUS!
Always use the right cleaning equipment! This just might happen to you!

Offline
Brisbane, Australia
DMGer wrote:

SO BE CAUTIOUS!
Always use the right cleaning equipment! This just might happen to you!

That looks like a plastic defect to me if anything. I use Isopropyl for cleaning of actual electronics (solder points / contacts .etc)
When it comes to sticky residue, use Eucalyptus oil. It works a charm! It's by far the best thing i've found for removing stickers!

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Cincinnati, OH

That looks like a plastic defect to me if anything. I use Isopropyl for cleaning of actual electronics (solder points / contacts .etc)
When it comes to sticky residue, use Eucalyptus oil. It works a charm! It's by far the best thing i've found for removing stickers!

I was researching it. It looks like some plastics are more immune than others. There was already a small crack there so it must of got in... I don't know. I'm never chancing the stuff on Game Boys again. And thanks for the tip too. That will be Plan A for now on!

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Taichung, Taiwan

I use rubbing alcohol to clean off sticker residue and that has never happened to me. Did you try cleaning your DMG with a hammer???

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Cincinnati, OH
katsumbhong wrote:

I use rubbing alcohol to clean off sticker residue and that has never happened to me. Did you try cleaning your DMG with a hammer???

No. XD
It may have been the strength of the alcohol I was using. That and, as I said, it may have just been from getting inside of a crack. That's probably the case since the LCDs in people's game boys are fine. Cleaning the LCD with rubbing alcohol is always recommended.

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Taichung, Taiwan
DMGer wrote:
katsumbhong wrote:

I use rubbing alcohol to clean off sticker residue and that has never happened to me. Did you try cleaning your DMG with a hammer???

No. XD
It may have been the strength of the alcohol I was using. That and, as I said, it may have just been from getting inside of a crack. That's probably the case since the LCDs in people's game boys are fine. Cleaning the LCD with rubbing alcohol is always recommended.

Then you should say never to clean clear case cracks with rubbing alcohol... the title of your thread is extremely misleading.

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Michigan

I use ipa everyday on any surface. It has a rather low acidity level, evaporates in seconds and dissolves very few materials. Of these materials we have most residues and something called polyvinyl butyral. polyvinyl butyral is a material used as a bonding agent for glass. If in fact that it was used in the plastics of clear game boys, it would probably not be high enough quantity to elisist anything more than a cloudy after effect on the surface of your bay, then again there is no proof that it was used at all.
Ipa may damage nothing else. That is a crack son, not a result of dissolving or burning.

Last edited by Jazzmarazz (Oct 7, 2013 4:14 am)

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Michigan

I mostly suspect your back light created extra pressure at that point and when you closed it up, the crack may have appeared slowly.

Offline
Cincinnati, OH
Jazzmarazz wrote:

I mostly suspect your back light created extra pressure at that point and when you closed it up, the crack may have appeared slowly.

It may have been the case, but it appeared minutes after cleaning it. That may have just been enough to crack it. I'm going to experiment with this odd occurrence to see whether it was pressure, or sensitive plastic. Thank you for your input!

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Minneapolis

It is true that rubbing alcohol can cause crazing in plastics, but so can ordinary tap water, if you leave it soaking long enough. EDIT: looked closer at picture. This is a fracture. No solvent would do that.

Last edited by arfink (Oct 7, 2013 9:13 pm)

Offline
TSSBAY01

try amyl nitrate in the future. dunno how it'll work on plastics tho, it should be fine tho. maybe try with a tester first. it could be awful, no clue. amyl nitrate is arguably better to use on components, i guess its also good for recreational use as well.

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Cincinnati, OH
arfink wrote:

It is true that rubbing alcohol can cause crazing in plastics, but so can ordinary tap water, if you leave it soaking long enough. EDIT: looked closer at picture. This is a fracture. No solvent would do that.

The diagonal crack was mostly already there, so it was fractured before hand, but it branched off in other directions. Only the inside of the layer of plastic is like that though... It's kind of like a bubble...

I'm just going to say
pressure + Alcohol = Crack

Last edited by DMGer (Oct 7, 2013 10:31 pm)

Offline
Cincinnati, OH

http://www.head-fi.org/t/87779/isopropy … h-plastics

The second post here seems to have the answer:

"What you seem to be doing is leaching the plasticiser out of the plastic piece and what you see as film are residual solids. I would recommend a less aggressive cleaner.

Ever notice the foggy film you see on the inside of your car windows? That is plasticizer evaporating from the dash and other plastic pieces. When I lived in the desert this was so bad that the dash would harden and ultimately crack. The only way to slow this down was liberal applications of Armoral type products and towels to keep the sun away."

It definitely looks like film. And I looked up the percentage of the alcohol I used...

91%!!

I usually use 60% - 75% alcohol so mine was very strong. There might be something in clear boys that make them crack more easily. The plastic definitely feels harder. I'm not sure if that's because it's glossy or not, but it does...

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Taichung, Taiwan

Pressure = crack

Offline
Michigan

I always use 91 or 99% depending on the availability at the time. I would never purchase less than that, else it will not evaporate as quickly as the higher percentages. 60% IPA means 40% water, water oxidizes metals.

katsumbhong wrote:

Pressure = crack

lol

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Sweeeeeeden

IPA does not dissolve plastic. The bets explanation I can come up for is that there was a crack halfway through the plastic. Then the IPA leaked into that crack and expanded as it evaporated, which together with the constant pressure made the crack go all the way through rapidly and create a shockwave.

I would very much like to say a proper sharp close-up. (Macro picture taken on a good camera.)