How do you get pecan tree sap off of the laptop?

Okay-

I was very excited to show my friend this documentary that I had, so I ignored the little droplets of moisture that turned out to be pecan tree sap. I was in Texas at the time. How can I safely clean the sap off of my G4 1.67 Powerbook (its the metal one) the keypad area and the screen?

I hate to be flip about such a serious situation, but I can safely say:

This is NOT a Frequently Asked Question. You are the first.


But I would think one of those citrus-based solvents would be a good choice, applied very sparingly and carefully. A little bit, rub a little, a little more, rub some more. If it got inside the keyboard, I would advise a new keyboard. If it wasn't a Powerbook, which it is. Actually, an external keyboard is a very good addition to a PB (I use one all the time), and that might be what it comes down to.

Scott

A little follow-up to this, in case it gets this far. The best solvent for tree sap, believe it or not, is butter. And second best is margarine. A good slab of fat. Oil is a great solvent for oil, which both of them are. Way better then usual hand cleaners. And maybe, if all else fails, you can find a way to apply this idea to your keyboard.

Scott

I'd take it(keyboard) out ( Carefully ) and run it through the dishwasher make sure it dries completely.
I take no responsibility if any problems happen after.
So don't do what I say. And send it to a great repair shop.

I use Goof Off for stuff like that. Since it's on metal, it shouldn't mess with your finish. Try a small section first, though.

Goof Off is in every good grip's toolkit.

Kevin Monahan
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or Goo Gone. It's natural and citrus as Scott mentioned before.

-CHL

Chi-Ho Lee
Film & Television Editor
Apple Certified Final Cut Pro Instructor

...I guess you'd call this thread "Technical SAP-port"

budum-bum. Tip your waitresses. I'll be here all week.

- Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Would butter or any of the above be ok for the screen as well?

Make sure you don't use too much butter... you'll ruin the Pecan flavor.

Incidentally... it's very seldom that I can read the title to a thread, and say out-loud... "Oh, @#$%&."

A friend once spilled coke on his keyboard and thought all was lost. He then read that someone who did same thing brought the keyboard to an ant hill and let the ants have at it. They did and cleaned the board, inside and out. He then took the board home and all was well after a bit of dusting off.

Actually makes a bit of sense.

Michael Horton
-------------------

You know...one time I spilled a Starbuck's Mocha Java on my keyboard and brought it to a BMW owner's convention and they sucked it clean. It smelled like patchouli afterwards, but it's worked perfectly ever since

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I use WD40 to get duct tape gack off almost anything. It is a penatrant not a lubricant so it cuts thru just about anything. You then must clean IT off with Glass Plus or something. I soak a corner of a rag with it so I can control where it goes and then rub gently till it dissolves. I cleaned a Mackie SR24-4 audio board that was covered in Dymo lable stuff the other night. Now it looks like new. I also had problems shooting a clear acrylic award once. Every scratch, finger print and speck of dust showed up no matter how I cleaned it. I shot some WD40 on a cloth, wiped it down till it looked wet and looked thru the camera. Voila, looked great.

rb