Projector cleaning

[signal55]

Hi guys i'm servicing the projectors @ work i've managed to clean the block, but the lens component is two fiddily to dismantle my fellow engineer reckons you have too immerse the whole lens carrier, anyone know which chemical i should use, its just for removing a film of smoke fluid from the inside, the smoke fluid is glycerin based.
Someone has also reccomended that i get an enviroment box to keep the projector protected from the enviroment, i have googled this but it keeps coming up with zilch! anyone?

cheers guys

xxmossy

[unjulation]

Someone has also reccomended that i get an enviroment box to keep the projector protected from the enviroment, i have googled this but it keeps coming up with zilch! anyone?
any big a/v company should know about enviroment box's saville's should at least point you in the right direction if they aint got them them selves - carnt remember - http://www.saville.co.uk/ but i seem to remember them being nearly as costly as the projector but could be wrong - but if you dont clean the enviromental box fillter regualy then it stops the projector from working - basickly doing its job - or at least the one at the wharehouse leeds was like that as we found out early this year :rolleyes:

[phunkyguy]

Tom @ Introspective Lasers, NC said that the purest Acetone you can find (lab grade) is the safest thing to clean optics with.

Or you can opt for the ball-peen hammer.

[cat]

Acetone will melt any plasic it comes into contact with though, so I'd beware If I were you. Especially if the lcds screens are still attached. Len's arnt that hard to do, but you need some white gloves and a digital camera to make sure all the lens go in the same way as they came out (or make detailed notes) and makr the edges for forward. I've been recommended meths in the past, I use that or isopropanal(?) (tape head cleaner) for lens.

Environment boxes can be built yourself if your hand with a saw.
They're just airtight boxes with pull and push fans on to keep the air circulating (with filters of course!) and a sheet of acetate on the front.

[homing]

We clens optics with just hot water, and sometimes a little bit of dishsoap. And then rinse it.

And yes the environement box, is an home made one.

[visualove]

Check with your projector manufacturer. You don't want to wash the antireflective coatings off the optics with the wrong solvent!

For the box, somehow I'm imagining a vacuum hose running out the club window to suck in fresh air from outside for the projector!!

[Exavior]

For cleaning most electronics and gear I use isopropyl alcohol. (At least 90% isopropyl, the idea is to help keep water away from circuits)

Heed the warnings on Acetone, it?s some harsh stuff and can quickly reduce your gear into an expensive puddle, but if you are looking to create ?modern art? go right ahead. ;)

You may want to ask the manufacturer of the projectors for advice, since different companies use different types of lens coatings, and some react differently to various chemical baths.

Some projector cleaning ?how to? docs with step-by-step photos may be nice. Gear maintenance is a good yet rarely touched upon topic.

[SlinkyTrips]

this is a post i put in another thread

had a job a couple of years back servicing projectors, basically here is what we did.
Open up the top of the unit and remove the bulb
Blow out any dust or debris using an air compresor.
Use a small paint brush and flick out any stubborn dust, there is usually heaps stuck on the fans.
Take a vacume cleaner with a small attachment and suck up any left over dust.
Use a cotton bud with isopropal alcohol on it and use it to clean the optical path (all the glass services), always hold it from the other end so you do not put too much preasure and move pieces out of alignment. The iso will break up most of the gunk and wont damage the glass, but if it is really thick it will take a while to remove it all.
Clean all the filters in hot soapy water, dry them and then reassemble the whole thing.

Now if you are still having trouble with the colour try running it with the cover off, you should be able to see some direct light from the bulb, it should be white, if not it may be time to get a new bulb. You can also check the LCD panels by placing card infront of 2 panels so you are only getting the output from one. See how far the colour is off the ideal red , blue or green. The panel may be worn out and not going 100% off, this will give it a bias.

hope this helps

as for the box, it is usually a square woodern box with a perpex window, an air vent hole butted up to the air exhust outlet and the round tinfoil tubing feeding from the roof of the club. Basically just a box to protect it from the harsh install environment.
________
BMW K1100LT (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/BMW_K1100LT)

[Amukidi]

Mossy - just ditch the smoke machine!:)
Common sense will go a long way - have to concur that water and washing up liquid is really good for cleaning lenses, and its very unlikely that it'll damage any coating - just make sure they're well drained and let them air-dry.

Are we talking smoke machine deposits here? (feels rant coming on;) )

[ristuuk]

ahh smoke machines!!!!

The bane of my life!!!

anyway the club i have problems in with excessive smoke will not change...it is always going to smoke out at the beginning of the night.

so if you cant beat them join them.....ive just bought a small laser!!

and the projectors can stay off for an hour or so!!

[devonmiles]

these are installed in subway stations in severall cities allover germany. they were run by www.infoscreen.de, you might ask them for the manufacterer and maybe they sell some old ones which were replaced by new models. (probabably still ridiculously expensive...)

[VGA]

I did a gig last month where the beamer was in an "environment box".
sadly out of reach of even the tallest ladder, the glass front had what appeared to be tomato ketchup splattered on it.
Very fitting with the generally dilappidated feel of the place (it was the Hanbury Ballrooms, for you Brighton people).

[deepvisual]

the best way to clean projectors is to dip them in an ultrasound tank.

where you'll find one I dont know, but the vibrations get rid of everything, including the grease on the moving parts, which you have to re apply.

maybe you can just dip the optical assembly.