Best way to clean an old amp?

[slt]

Hey all. I've got an old zx500 that I bought back in 1996 that I'm still using. You have me scared to death about the caps so I'm in the process of replacing those. The first thing I did was crack the amp open to take a look and it is fairly grimy in there. Especially under the heat sinks and around the fan. The controls on the crossover board could use some cleaning as well. So whats the best way to go about this? I think its a bit too grimy to just be blown off with a can of air. Is there a good cleaner I can spray on this? Any tips or suggestions would be much appreciated

[wooferdog]

a can of elbow grease does wonders,lots of q-tips too

[ttocs]

compressed air and q-tips and time.

[slt]

Theres all these circuit board cleaners online, any of those any good? Some are expensive. Or are you just just saying use rubbing alcohol and q-tips...

[ttocs]

I just used isopropyl myself and had good results but that was on a MQ430 with a gold board. Stick around for a few and I am sure eric or another regular will have some good info.

[slt]

FYI, found some "Precision Electronics Cleaner" at Radio Shack, seems to have done the trick.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2102649

[ttocs]

they can shine up so nice it almost hurts to put the cover back on....

[poljana]

they can shine up so nice it almost hurts to put the cover back on....

agreed 100%!! It's like hiding a work of art that was meant to be some serious eye candy!

[nutxo]

If there's a ton of dust I usually start with a 1.5 inch paintbrush then a dry toothbrush. Then get busy with qtips.