On Jul 29, 12:32 pm, wrote:
I unwisely forgot the radio, with alkaline cells in it, in one of the
the worse places: my car's glove compartment, in high summer, in
southern Europe.

When I found it I feared the worst. The new batteries were dead, and
it took a while to get them out. Dried remains of leaked battery fluid
were all over the battery compartment.

- Are there any good directions on how to open this tiny and fragile
radio?

If you haven't opened tiny and fragile radios before I would entrust
it to someone who has. The Sony service center is one possibility or
someone who specializes in the repair of radios.


- What's the best way of removing the dry and powdery crust?


Brushing it out of the battery compartment. Don't use compressed
air. The unknown is whether the leakage has dissolved battery
contacts and damaged electronics. Once it is cleaned up the smoke
test will tell whether it works.


- is the circuitry static sensitive enough to risk being zapped of I
use a brush to clean it? Should I use a slightly wet brush, or would
it make matters worse?

You will create a nasty paste, so no do it dry.