Wacom Cleaning, Help please Options

[CheeseMoose]

My wacom tablet has been covered in some unidentified sticky glue-like stuff by someone and I need help getting it off. the stuff is clear but has formed dark blobs where there is higher concentration of it. Any help identifying it or just telling me what I can and cannot use to clean my wacom would be appreciated. Thanks

[moop]

First off, is it one of the models with a clear plastic layer which clips on (for tracing photos)?

I'm guessing you shouldn't use anything solvent based. In 99% of cases if you just use a damp cloth or something (rub hard if it's sticky) and make sure it dries before using it you won't do any damage, though whether that'll have enough cleaning power is another matter.

Most graphics tablets use a magenetic field to detect the stylus so (although not a good thing) minor damage to its surface won't break it.

[CheeseMoose]

It does have a lift-up clear plactic layer, but no clips It's only a small one that I use as with a mouse all the time, and with the stylus occasionally.

I'll try with a damp cloth, cheers moop

[Greeneyes]

...You have a Wacom and you only use it as a mouse? Forgive my ignorance, but aren't Wacoms the best damn graphics tablets there are?

[Mata]

I never use the tracing thing on mine. I use my right hand for the mouse and the pen, but I don't have a lot of space, so the tablet has to double up as the mousepad. The optical mouse won't read through the plastic cover so I've stuck paper over it. Just look at all the grime that's built up!

[artist.unknown]

Mata...you know we love you, but that's...icky.

I have a wacom tablet, but the worst it's ever gotten is very dusty. Unfortunately I have Windows 98 on a Toshiba laptop, and it kicks and screams bloody murder every time I try to use the USB port . Sometimes I plug it in and use it quickly before my comp knows what's hit it, but usually it ends up huddled crying in a corner afterwards and won't shut off properly for days.

I swear the damn thing's sentient.

Anyhoot, my user's manuel recommends cleaning "with a soft, damp cloth on the tablet surface" and maybe "a very mild soap diluted with water". It strongly recommends not to use "volatile liquids, such as paint thinner and benzene, because they may damage the plastic case". So there you have it.

[Pab]

artist.unknown speaks the truth regardng plastic and corrosive cleaning fluids.

But ...

Did you say it has a removable plastic skin/surface? ... Like, one you can remove? Does this mean that the cleaning problem is "How do I clean a piece of plastic?", cos if thats it, go for your life mate, and try not to screw it up too much. If it doesnt change shape you should be fine ... Paint solvents like turps and stuff might actually melt it, otherwise I'd say the worst that could happen is a scratchy matt plastic surface intead of shiny ... Try window cleaner.

Example: Matas technique of rubbing the plastic mat against his armpit after trying to prove the theory that a swan, if set in the water head down, cannot right itself, is NOT, I repeat, NOT the best way to get the mat clean.

This post has been edited by Pab: May 23 2005, 09:39 AM

[CheeseMoose]

Thanks people, having taken all of your advice (even the contridictory bits) I have cleaned my Wacom tablet and it is back to lovely shinyness again.

And I do use it as a mouse because I don't have a mouse attached to this computer and I have a mouse taht you use with it instead of a pen. I also use it with the pen for drawing