Buy large lint free cloth in U.K (keyboard touching screen)

Having the issue many others have had, where the keyboard is touching the screen and leaving marks (which for now are wiping free. But if my 3DS is anything to go by, wiping them clean doesn't last long before they become permanent)

I know this problem has been covered in the various Alienware forums here, but usually the solution comes from someone based in the U.S - and as usual, shipping costs from the U.S are prohibitive for something that should be cheap.

I don't want a micro fiber cloth as some suggest, as micro fibre tends to be the toweling style cloth which is actually fairly thick. I literally want a huge glasses style cleaning cloth, as they are lint free and extremely thin.

Hopefully someone here from the U.K has had to buy something similar and can help out. Ebay and Amazon haven't got anything that comes close size wise.

For now I'm just leaving it open and draping a large pillow case over it to prevent dust from getting everywhere. But that isn't ideal :/ Thanks


EDIT:

Well to answer my own question, I managed to find a nice big sized 0.1 denier cloth. It is super fine (much like the small one I got with my plasma TV) after a few more hours googling today.

At less than £4 it looks like it will do the job of protecting my screen once the lid is closed.

Just Ltd - Microfibre Cleaning Cloth Large (380x320mm)

 

just my 2 cents here.

for my R2 i took a white fruit of the loom t-shirt, cut it and it works perfectly

 

I'm using the plastic "placemat" that shipped with the laptop and no marks so far.

 

My suggestion falls into the plastic placemat scenario. The problem with the cloths is they can bunch up or slide out when traveling which is why most builders use the plastic or foam sheets because they are rigid enough to be easily kept in place and not bunch up. If you want one that looks more professional than a piece of shipping wrap then I suggest buying a removable screen protector as you can quickly and easily slap it onto the screen or slap it onto the keyboard and it's already going to be the correct size to cover the entire screen without sticking out around the edges or moving around.

 

Mine was from the outlet so sadly didn't come with any kind of shipping protective plastic, otherwise I'd have kept it for just such a purpose as this

I did cut up a nice soft pillow case, but like many cotton items, once you cut them you always get little bits that come off the frayed edges

Meanwhile I've actually done the same as I did on my 3DS - and that many 3DS owners have done. I have grabbed the little rubber feet off an old Xbox 360 I had, and have put the little feet each top corner of the screen with double backed sticky tape. It stops the lids fully closing and seems to be doing the job. I wouldn't trust it if I was carrying it around, as it would flex near the centre, but for it just sitting at home, it does the job
I did look at those silicon keyboard protectors, but figured silicon would probably attract stuff to stick to it. Frankly I'm annoyed I have to do this at all. My cheap little Asus Netbook manages to have the correct tolerances so that the screen and keyboard haven't ever touched!

 

I had the issue with my R2 so I cut a square the size of the screen out of an old thermal T shirt I had and I use this every time I put my computer into a backpack. I have never had an issue with the material bunching up and it is thin enough that the magnetic lid closes naturally and the problem has not reoccurred on subsequent computers and I have no lint problems. I guess the problem is caused by the large full size screen I love

 

I brought screen guard from Amazon. Costs me around £30. it's 3M made guard and easy to attach without bubbles.

 

I would just be careful and use a mildly moist cloth to remove any smudges with the microfibre to polish it up.

 

Well the cloth turned up today and it is really nice quality. It is fine material, thin, and wiped off any finger prints (from where I open and close the lid) really easily. Plus it is the perfect width to cover the keyboard. All in all I think it is worth the £4 I paid for it.

I got a very similar quality cloth with my Pansonic plasma, and nothing has worked better than that for lifting dust off my TV screen

Just curious, as obviously damp cloths don't always lift grease properly, I have a screen cleaner I bought ages ago and use on my netbook (mainly because my netbook cost a couple of hundred quid so I'm not too fussed about what I clean it with) but anyway, it is called Vivanco Screen cleaner and it is alcohol free. I'm guessing it would be fine to use on my Alienware screen.

It cleans greasy finger marks beautifully and evaporates very quickly. I use it on my glasses as well. Am I safe using that? I'm guessing yes? Thanks

 

I'm sure it will be fine but if you want to be overcautious then just test it out on the lower black part of the panel, then shine a torch on it to see if there is any effect.

Nice find :thumbsup:

 

I got one of these: Laptop Screen Protector for PC and it works fine in my M17XR4. Just make sure the dimensions match your lappy and you'll be fine. I think Amazon also resells those, and they themselves claim to ship to some non-North American countries. Good luck!

(I'm not affiliated with that company besides being a satisfied customer.)

 

Your alienware screen is covered with a plastic sheet. You would likely be fine using windex on it without any issues since it's a simply plastic bezel cover over the actual lcd screen that you're seeing and touching. If you were cleaning the actual screen I would say be very careful what you use and check with the manufacturer as most manufacturers either suggest isopropyl alcohol, water, or some random percentage mixture of the 2 (often 50/50 but varies wildly by manufacturer).

 

.. which is further complicated by rubbing alcohol itself being sold in different concentrations.

 

One of those was my first choice when I first started looking around. But as with so many things, you can't buy them here in the U.K as far as I can tell. And if I were to buy from the U.S website, postage nearly doubles the price sadly.

 

Dont put rubbish all over your screen :/ just take moderate care of it.

 

That laptop protector mentioned above is just a sheet that you lay over the keyboard - not something you stick on the machine. If that is what you were referring to of course. All sorted now anyway....as I say, I received a nice soft cloth to lay between the keyboard and screen. Does the job nicely Appreciate everybody's input!