After joining the team here at TechWeb (which includes InformationWeek, Interop, etc.), I was outfitted with a beautiful MacBook Pro with a 17-inch LCD panel. But after three months of usage, the LCD's surface is covered with fingerprints (plainly visible when the display is off). Fearful that I could ruin the display if I cleaned it the wrong way, I hunted down the solution (double entendre intended).My search started by Googling (or is that "Googleing"?) "LCD Cleaner," which lead me to a pretty vibrant discussion on Jeremy Zawodny's blog that was provoked by his own curiosity on the matter.

Wrote Zawodny back in 2003:

What you use to clean off your LCD screen(s)? I have a few notebooks of varying age and some external LCD monitors. Being the slob I am, I haven't cleaned them in a long, long time. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to clean them without leaving streaks and without damaging them.

So, on this Easter Sunday, I ask... what do you use? Water? Windex? CRT wipes? Other?

The subsequent discussion thread is great (whatever you do, don't use Windex) if not a bit confusing because of how the majority of posts refer to a 50/50 solution of Isopropyl alcohol and water (turn your display off first) but then, eventually, one comment mentions that Sony's documentation says:

WARNING: There is a risk of hardware damage. Do not scratch or exert pressure on the LCD. Do not use any type of window cleaner, abrasive pad, scouring powder or solvents (such as alcohol or benzine). Do not leave the LCD facing the sun. Doing any of these things could cause the LCD to become damaged or to malfunction.

Isopropyl is apparently a "secondary alcohol." A lot of people responded to the thread saying that the 50/50 solution worked beautifully for them. But one comment points specifically to Apple's advice on the issue. According to Apple's Web site that echoes the warning about alchohol:

You may also use a mild glass cleaner that contains no alcohol or ammonia. Most office supply stores sell cleaning kits specifically designed for this purpose.

While there are many commercial products available that will work without damaging the plastics, Apple has tested a product called Klear Screen made by Meridrew Enterprises (http://www.klearscreen.com) and found it does not cause any harm to the plastics.

That's about all I needed to make my decision. Further probing of the Klear Screen Material Saftey Data Sheet (Acrobat required) reveals that 83% of the solution is water, with the remainder being "proprietary." In other words, at bare minimum, the solution that Apple recommends has substantially more water than the 50/50 isopropyl/water solution that some people are recommending. The kit I purchased comes with some pre-soaked towlettes to keep with you while traveling, too (cool).

Finally, if you want a good laugh, check out some of the comments near the end of the thread on Zawodny's blog. It reads like a script for a hysterical What-To-Do and What-Not-To-Do video about cleaning an LCD panel (any takers? I'll publish it here). For example:

Theres only one way to clean off [an LCD] screen, use a wire brush and a bucket of petrol. Its the best believe me. Also if you have some old tatoos you're fed up with you can scrub them off at the same time and it works a treat on bird poo if you have any on the car.

LOL. Happy LCD cleaning.