Advice on CD player cleaning

[chris58]

Hi,
I've just bought a second hand SACD player on eBay. It works fine and sounds great, but it was covered in a thin layer of dust when it arrived, not only on the outside but over the CD loading tray as well. So I suspect there might be some dust inside the unit. What would you advise to do? Should I clean it with a CD lens disc? I am not sure if these, even the branded ones, are safe? Or open the unit and clean it with a little distilled water? Or just leave it... Generally, I am not sure if dust can affect the lens on CD players? I have never bothered with my other CD player as I always make sure my CDs are clean before playing them. Thank you for your help.

 

[Gray]

....I suspect there might be some dust inside the unit. What would you advise to do?

Take the lid off and see what it looks like Chris.
Dust can reach certain places inside but it's unlikely to be as bad as the outside of course.

If you've got easy access to it, you can visually check the laser lens.

Don't use water to clean within.

Unless you're confident of doing no harm, some would advise against whipping the lid off.
(Don't mind me though, I just like looking inside things).

I've found a massively powerful leaf blower to be a useful tool for clearing dust - making several old amps look like new inside.
But your CDP will have little (or no) casework holes for the dust to enter in the first place.

 

[Al ears]

Agree with @Gray.
Get that lid off and buy an aerosol of compressed air to blow dust out.
On no account use distilled water anywhere, if you need a liquid to clean lens, always assuming you can actually access it, use isopropyl alcohol on a cotton wool bud but a good lens cleaning disc will do no harm.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

a good lens cleaning disc will do no harm.

Indeed!

 

[chris58]

Thanks for the helpful advice!

 

[Nico69]

I'd prefer not to blow the dust but to vacuum it up. Get a soft makeup brush (borrow/steal is often a choice) and hold the vacuum head near but not on the components whilst gently brushing the dust away towards the nozzle.