PSA: I just realized I was cleaning my CRT monitor with Windex for 15 years

My dad handed down his old Sony Trinitron from 1998 and I used glass cleaner on it like a fool. Last week a buddy who restores arcade cabinets saw me doing it and freaked out. He told me the ammonia in Windex eats the anti-glare coating off these old tubes over time. I checked my screen and sure enough there are these cloudy patches near the edges where the coating is gone. Now I'm stuck using distilled water and a microfiber cloth like he showed me. Has anyone else wrecked a vintage screen by accident?

2 comments

2 Comments

butler.shane3d ago

My buddy runs a retro game shop and swears by a mix of dish soap and warm water for old CRTs. He's got over 30 working monitors in his back room and that's all he uses. The whole "ammonia eats the coating" thing is real but it depends on how old the tube is and what kind of coating it has. Some of those late 90s Trinitrons have a hard glass screen that barely has any coating to begin with. I've used Windex on my 2001 Dell monitor for years and it still looks crystal clear with zero cloudiness.

sullivan.elliot2d ago

My buddy ruined a rare PVN monitor using Windex once, @butler.shane's friend knows what's up.