On Tue, 31 May 2016 15:37:53 -0700, (Dave
Platt) wrote:

Light dusting won't touch it, and I don't think isopropyl alcohol will
dissolve it. Consumer Reports uses it as their "difficult to remove"
surface contaminant when testing things such as window-cleaning
fluids. I'm not sure it's possible to get it off of CD-player lenses
without the use of damaging detergents and/or scrubbing.

I've successfully cleaned tobacco tar off of electronics, including CD
and DVD lenses. A few years ago, I given an 24" LCD monitor that was
previously owned by a major producer of tobacco smog. It was free and
all I had to do was make it work. It lit up, but almost every control
and feature had something odd about the way it worked. Some of the
connectors were intermittent. Initially, I didn't know that tobacco
tar was the problem because the outside of the case was totally clean.
However, when I tore it apart, the problem was obvious. The paper
towels I was using to wash off the brown scum were gross, disgusting,
and smelled really bad. I had to move the project outside for fear of
contaminating the office.

After several half hearted attempts to clean it with 91% alcohol and
an assortment of stiff paint brushes, I decided that I needed to do
something more drastic. I removed the LCD panel assembly and cleaned
it separately with alcohol, brush, sponge, and more paper towels. The
rest of the monitor was immersion baptized in a mixture of 2 gallons
of alcohol (at $15/gallon from the local cleaning supply house), some
water, some Simple Green, a few drops of Photo-Flo, and about 10ml of
paint thinner. I put the cleaning solution in a plastic washing
basin, dumped various pieces of the monitor into the basin, and
watched it turn slowly brown. Yech. Afterwards, I parts another
rinse, this time in 91% alcohol without the other stuff, and blew off
the excess solvent with compressed air. I was later able to recover
about half the alcohol through distillation.

I would normally not spend that much time and money fixing a $350 (at
the time) monitor, but I wanted it for myself, so profit was not an
issue. At todays prices, I don't think I would do all that again. The
good news is that it worked the first time when reassembled, and I'm
still using it today.

Years ago I loaned a prized LP to a college acquaintance, who played
it a couple of times at a party where people were smoking (various
substances). The LP was ruined - the surface noise level went through
the roof and I was never able to get it clean again.

Alcohol should have worked. I've had some of mine cleaned in an
ultrasonic cleaner, which worked well.
http://klaudio.com/kd-cln-lp200-lp-vinyl-record-ultrasonic-cleaner-dryer
or do it thyself:
Ultrasonic Record Cleaner - Vinyl Clean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WgVL5lhHYU
Note that the cleaning solution is mostly soap and water (for
producing the required cavitation) and a little alcohol to break loose
the tobacco tar. Try not to get the label wet as the hard glue used
(and the solvent) will break loose the glue. I'm sure there are more
tricks, but since I didn't do the work, I'm not familiar with the
details.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558