Spilled cider on my SZ - Can I take it apart and fix it??

Yeah, I know I'm stupid, but somehow I managed to spill apple cider on my beautiful SZ. Luckily there isn't much damage. It didn't ruin the keyboard or anything. Basically the left mouse clicker sticks pretty bad most of the time, the fingerprint sensor only works about 50% of the time, and when I press down on the palmrests I hear sticky noises. So the spill is mostly centered under the aluminum palm rests.

Is there any safe way I can remove the aluminum palm rest part of the laptop and carefully clean the sticky stuff under there? I really don't want to send it in to Sony because I'd probably have to pay too much (warranty is expired) and I'd be better off just buying a new computer. But I really love my SZ and it would be great if anyone that has taken apart an SZ could help. Thanks in advance!

 

Sticky stuff is really hard to clean out...the tips I'm about to give you should help, but I'm not responsible when things go wrong.

1) Take the notebook completely apart (yup)
2) Bathe sticky non-PCB parts in a mild soap wash...mildly scrub the non-electonic parts.
3) Let them dry for about a week...and use a hair dryer to aid in the process.

I'm honestly not too sure what to do if any of the actual electonics (like the motherboard) are sticky.

As far as the fingerprint reader is concerned, you can probably soap up and clean just the part of it that is visible to the outside world...that 'lens' is probably very sticky and very muddles right now.

 

Thanks for the response. However, isn't there any way that I could just remove the palm rest cover and clean the parts without taking the computer completely apart? They don't have to be 100% clean, just as long as my computer stops making these creeking sticky noises when I pick it up and use the mouse clicker.

 

I did the same thing last week to my FE680G. I spilled coffee all over my keyboard and touchpad. I immediately flipped the notebook over so that the excess coffee would come out. Basically, I ruined the keyboard and had to by a new one - the sugar in the coffee made the keys sticky. My touchpad buttons were acting up to, but I held the notebook in front of my spaceheater for a while - continually checking to make sure it wasn't too hot - and the touchpad works like new now. Good luck.

 

I have a SZ that an employee spilled a can of Mountain Dew on. Needless to say it was really stick and wet. I was able to completely disassemble the notebook, clean all parts with 100% Iso. Alcohol, and I have to tell you I have had no problems with her since. Sony wanted $1700 to fix this same notebook. I think not.

If you are technically inclined, go for it. Make sure you label your screws and take pics of where things are in case you forget. Good luck.

-Jason