Cleaning paint off of a SMARTBoard

[AngryTechnician]

Long version: Paint - The Angry Technician

 

Short version: Anyone have recommendations for what I can use to remove emulsion paint from a SMARTBoard without destroying it?

[timbo343]

isnt emultion water based? surely a damp cloth should remove it? Its not like it is a gloss paint, which can be a twat to remove.

[grumpy_git]

Would Turps or similar cause damage to the surface?

 

Why wasn't it covered with a dust sheet?! I would hope the site manager deducts cleaning costs from the bill...

[AngryTechnician]

I was already thinking water should take it off, but interested to know what else I can safely use if I need something with more clout.

 

Why wasn't it covered? Who knows. The rest of the room had been emptied (including the carpets as they are being replaced) and I guess the painters thought they were being careful? Ironically, it was they who eventually tracked down the caretaker and asked how to remove the boards so they could paint behind them! The caretaker had a go at removing them himself before he finally realised to ask the person who had just started 4 weeks ago to deal with these sorts of problems.

[timbo343]

Where abouts on the board is the paint?

[Michael]

You could try nail varnish remover and see if this helps.

[AngryTechnician]

Fine droplets across the entire board. Basically, the spatter from using a paint roller.

[john]

Green Scourer pad, they are not that harsh really that should shift it, or a fairly blunt paint scraper carefully used on it that will probably do it, but obviously in the future kick the site team up the bottom and say tell me and I will remove them

[kearton]

We've got some orange "Mr Muscle" cleaner in a spray bottle at work. It shifts everything (including permanant marker) we've needed to shift off IWBs so far...

[Busybub]

I'd phone somebody at Steljes and ask

[kearton]

Did you have any luck sorting this out, AT?

[AngryTechnician]

Not yet. I was told the painters had been instructed to clean it off and had left instructions about what not to use, and was waiting to see if they actually did it.

 

Of course, they didn't. I'll be sorting them out next week (the boards, not the painters).

[s123]

I used to use Ethanol when teachers wrote on the board with permanant markers rather than dry wipe ones, never did any harm at all. That should work for the paint too, any alcohol based cleaner would in fact, the boards are pretty resilient things.

[mac_shinobi]

I'd phone somebody at Steljes and ask

 

I would call the tech support and ask them that way if it does go pear shaped you may at least have some sort of come back but am guessing if you try with water first and if that does not work then an alcohol based product as above ( ethanol or isopropyl ) but am guessing when you call support they should be able to advise you better.

[Batman]

I'd agree with the scourer recommendation.

 

When emulsion dries (before it really dries on) you can often just peel it off... so gently using a scourer should do the trick. You might even get it off by picking at it with your thumbnail... but if there's a lot of spots that's going to get very boring indeed.

[dhicks]

We've got some orange "Mr Muscle" cleaner in a spray bottle at work.

 

I used Windowlene the other day to clean up a printer with ink plastered all over it from a leaked cartridge. The ink cleaned away okay, but so did a couple of serial numbers printed on the case, so be careful. I've also just found Brasso (try the pre-impregnated wadding stuff) to be very useful for cleaning sticky gunk off plastic, you could give that a try.

 

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David Hicks

[mac_shinobi]

I used Windowlene the other day to clean up a printer with ink plastered all over it from a leaked cartridge. The ink cleaned away okay, but so did a couple of serial numbers printed on the case, so be careful. I've also just found Brasso (try the pre-impregnated wadding stuff) to be very useful for cleaning sticky gunk off plastic, you could give that a try.

 

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David Hicks

 

A configuration page should give you the serial number - that or if its a network printer then you should be able to get some sort of web interface which again should give you the serial number and other info.

 

Copy and paste onto a label type document and print off onto a label and stick it back on - jobs a good un ( providing you dont get the labels stuck on the drum lol )

[dhicks]

A configuration page should give you the serial number

 

Thanks. I'm not worried about the serial number - we buy second-hand printers off eBay for £50, if one goes wrong we throw it out and get a new one. Actually, that's where the problem started - an ink cartridge in an eBay printer had decided to leak all over the inside of the printer and needed cleaning up. I was just suitably impressed by Windowlene's ability to dissolve both leaked ink and factory-printed text. I'm tempted to see just what else it will dissolve...

 

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David Hicks

[AngryTechnician]

AF Foamclene is quite good a removing older 'security' marking if it's just paint/ink rather than chemical etching...

[exim]

I used to use Ethanol when teachers wrote on the board with permanant markers rather than dry wipe ones, never did any harm at all. That should work for the paint too, any alcohol based cleaner would in fact, the boards are pretty resilient things.

 

Hi there. I notice you allow teachers to use dry wipe marker on your boards.

We have had smartboard 680i's installed recently in rooms where there is no room for regular whiteboards.

How have you found the dry wipe marker usage? Does it wipe off OK?

Although our installers, sales rep and even Smart say that the surface is dry wipe compatible, I've heard horror stories.