I cleaned my monitor screen with a damp sponge and dried it off. But it leaves lines all over it which I can't get off. They don't really show up that much when it's switched on thank goodness, nevertheless, it would be nice to get a completely clean screen. Also, at the top corners, there is quite a noticeable marking and separation from the edge. Any way of cleaning it up better? In the past, I had used furniture polish before I realised you're not meant to. I don't know if that has damaged the coating or not.
Also, this is a 19" phillips CRT, which I like because of the lightframe built in. Meaning, I can illuminate games. Are most people buying TFT's these days, is TFT the same as LCD, and do they mostly come with an equivalent lightframe system?
I don't really know anything cuz i'm a total n00b, but I just cleaned my screen with one of those soft rags that you clean glasses with and some lense cleaner spray cuz it's what I had on hand...worked pretty well...
What's left on the screen is oil & grease. Cleaning with a damp sponge won't remove oils and such, just like washing up pots and pans without washing up liquid.
If you don't have anything else to hand, furniture polish always worked fine for me on CRTs. Just be sure the monitor is turned off and unplugged before you start.
"Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that’s the best you can do."
― Terry A. Davis
Ok. But I always thought furniture polish was bad? Well, I have Johnson 'Pledge' and it does mention glass as being ok to use it on, so I'll try it. Plus it's amber lemon, so it'll smell nice
Needs to be turned off because of static you mean? What do you reckon to those monitor cleaning products/wipes you can buy from pc world? Any better than furniture polish?
Yeah, I've got a vial of proper monitor spray in my desk. It's okay, but the biggest factor I find is the cloths you use.
On CRTs it's not a big deal, the front panel is just glass and like you guessed, static is the big risk. I've heard tale of a few monitors giving off major shocks because the owner cleaned them with the power on. True or not, it's not worth the risk.
On LCDs the panel isn't glass, it's some kind of plastic sheet. Fairly easy to scratch and it looks worse damaged than an equivalent CRT panel.
"Maybe you have some bird ideas. Maybe that’s the best you can do."
― Terry A. Davis
Ok, I just unplugged it and cleaned it. It's sort of helped, although still has lots of horizontal streaks. Perhaps it'll take a few goes to get it better.
I use demineralized water and a microfibre cloth here. Works well if your monitor isn't covered in greasy fingerprints but just some minor stains. Cleaning alcohol works well too.
I have this nice LG Flatron F700P at my parent's house and my younger brother sometimes has friends over that play on my (2nd) pc (which i don't really mind), but i don't know how they do it, but they often manage to get the screen covered with big fat fingerprints and smudges. Somehow the coating get's damaged a bit more every time i have to clean it thoroughly. Some CRT's apparently have more tender coatings than others... (luckily the screen cost me only €90).
Somehow the coating get's damaged a bit more every time i have to clean it thoroughly. 
