Posted July 12, 2024 at 11:09 GMT
Took me a while to get around to this task but I've done it! I used 99.9% isopropyl and some very strong kitchen paper towel. I did need to go over it a few times - basically when the paper came up clean, I knew I was done with that area.
I did the front and edges but not the back. I didn't do the bevelled bits around the screen as I was worried that the isopropyl could damage the screen, so I did not want it coming into contact. Beneath the screen where the plastic above the speaker is flat and goes directly beneath the screen, I put a length of narrow tape along there before I cleaned that bit and removed it when I was done. It means there is a narrow strip of the original rubbery surface directly below the screen, but it's a neat line so looks okay.
Once the 'rubber' was all gone the plastic underneath did look little patchy from all the rubbing, but I read somewhere that plastic can be cleaned with WD-40 oil. I put a tiny amount of WD-40 onto kitchen paper and wiped it over the whole surface, and it really did help to even it out. It looked a bit shiny at first but once it had dried it ended up with more a matt finish, and much more even than it was before.
Since starring this thread I have also bought a Beosound 4 which is in the same room as the BV8 - that suffers from the same problem with the rubbery material, so I did that too. On that however I only cleaned the sides, and the edges of the ridges on the back, top and bottom. The surface beneath the glass door has not gone sticky, and I didn't want to risk damaging anything.
Thanks for the tips - it looks so much better. It took a good few hours but it was worth it and I would recommend it.
Old enough to have gazed at classic B&O HiFi in Plumbs shop windows in the 80s...