Cleaning the M3

[Athena Music Studio]

Hi folks !

My M3 becomes dirty over the time, and i can't find a satisfying way to clean it...

Especially the aluminium parts.

Any tips ?

I already tried white vinegar, but it doesn't work enough.

Thanks !

[voip]

What is likely to be the main component of the "dirt"? Is the M3 kept in a smoking environment, or near where hot oil style cooking is performed?

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[Athena Music Studio]

No, i don't smoke, and my keyboard is stored in my bedroom.

The main problem is fingers print on the aluminium, and the white plastic parts becoming yellow.

[voip]

So it might well be that salt from the fingerprints has caused corrosion of the aluminium surfaces. If that is the case, then there is no easy solution to get rid of them. Keeping fingerprints off the metal in order to prevent further corrosion, or at least wiping them off as soon as possible is one precaution, plus a silicone-based furniture polish, applied by spraying the polish onto a cloth, should help to seal the aluminium. The aluminium surfaces are anodised, providing some protection, but this is only limited, and salt spray and the like will find their way through it in time. The polish trick will help to at least slow the process.

The yellowing is going to happen to a lot of plastics, with age and UV exposure. I kept an M50 in the dark and the keys went quite yellow. Bringing it back out into the light, but away from direct sunlight seems to have faded the yellowness slightly. Makes the keys look more like real ivory, I keep telling myself.

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