Cleaning and testing your Games/Collection. When, and how?

[Tanooki | 4,936]

While I agree with Morbis entirely, the last part of sumez post I do too.  What things have morphed into, such toxic things in many tangents now, it really is best not to be a collector or considered one due to the utter baggage and problems involved.  Maybe a caring game owner fits, stupid name, but descriptively right.  You care enough to make things as presentable, sanitary, and working as possible because you want to enjoy it for what it is, a good game to use and keep.  Noting more, nothing less, no baggage other than the baggage of ownership without the social and financial snakery involved.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

If I get the random chance to show off my collection to someone, I want them to be able to grab whatever game they want to play throw it in, and be up and running. 
 

*shows collection*
”oh man I loved mighty bomb jack as a kid can I play that?”

”sure, let me dig it out of this rubbermaid full of filthy carts in my attic.”

——45 min later——

“I found it, but some 8 year old vomited mountain dew and pringles on the board. Stand by while I clean it. “

——still doesnt work——-

“hang on I need to take it apart”

 

By then the person is over it, and they missed their nostalgia high. That is what I want to avoid. 
 

 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

51 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

If I get the random chance to show off my collection to someone, I want them to be able to grab whatever game they want to play throw it in, and be up and running. 
 

*shows collection*
”oh man I loved mighty bomb jack as a kid can I play that?”

”sure, let me dig it out of this rubbermaid full of filthy carts in my attic.”

——45 min later——

“I found it, but some 8 year old vomited mountain dew and pringles on the board. Stand by while I clean it. “

——still doesnt work——-

“hang on I need to take it apart”

 

By then the person is over it, and they missed their nostalgia high. That is what I want to avoid. 
 

 

I used to fantasize about having friends that wanted to play my games but it turned out that person just ended up being me lol I'm the one that gets the nostalgia hit and want to go play a game quick. And you're right. If the game is hidden (none of mine are, all shelved) or gross/untested, I'll lose the interest in playing it and start focusing on cleaning instead. 

[phart010 | 1,707]

On 12/4/2022 at 6:35 PM, LeatherRebel5150 said:

For everyone saying they use brasso or other abrasive polishes on their games, don’t do that. It’s not necessary and not good for the contacts. They make contact cleaner specifically for this kind of thing

Sometimes you need Brasso. If you can get it working with alcohol alone and some patience, then that’s always preferred. But sometimes things are so messy that you need to advance to the next level of cleaning.

Brasso does wear away the finish on the pins more than alcohol, so should only be used as a last resort. Also, it is really tough to get the stuff off, it looks like it’s all gone but you have to do like 3-4 alcohol cleanings after using Brasso to make sure it’s all gone.

I would rather do Brasso than other dry abrasive cleaning methods like sandpaper. 

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

2 hours ago, phart010 said:

Sometimes you need Brasso. If you can get it working with alcohol alone and some patience, then that’s always preferred. But sometimes things are so messy that you need to advance to the next level of cleaning.

The next level of cleaning after alcohol should be contact cleaner, that was my point. 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

6 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Cleaning and maintaining 100% is difference between a curated collection, and a horde. 

And having several tubs of game cartridges in your game room versus 100,000 angry Mongols at your door is the difference between a hoard and a horde. 

[Ankos | 442]

If I get a game and it looks pretty dirty I will try and clean it, but if it already looks clean enough then I don't worry about it. (Unless it is junk I don't care about that I picked up in a lot or something, in which case I'll toss that stuff into a box and maybe clean it if I get bored). I test pretty much everything I get the first chance I get. I don't play games if my hands are dirty. If I feel like I'd need to clean them after playing, then I am just going to wash my hands beforehand.

In summary, I clean to the point that I am not embarrassed to own the game, but mostly focus on functionality. I keep my games in drawers to keep light and dust off of them, so they really aren't on display much of the time

[Renmauzo | 1,202]

I'm the 'clean them when I get them, then test' type. When I think about it, it's a matter of respect for the games, for the time and effort put into getting and playing them, and the legacy they represent. 

I'm sure many have had - or still have - that friend who'd leave their cartridges on the floor in a heap, leave loose game discs all over the coffee table to get scratched to hell, and it always bothered me for several reasons. Perhaps growing up poor instilled a sense of appreciation and respect for my things, as well as those of others, but there's also a certain reverence for everything that went into creating these things. From the conceptual phase to the programming phase, to manufacturing...it was a process created by many to bring to us these magical experiences in a way that everyone benefits, monetarily and/or experientially.

In the end, I like to keep things clean and orderly because that's an outlet that helps me find balance, and it just feels right for me.

 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

3 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

The next level of cleaning after alcohol should be contact cleaner, that was my point. 

I disagree 100%, but people can do whatever they want with their stuff. 
 

The boards inside of older cartridges were designed in the 80s and 90s as children’s toys., sturdy, and made to last.

Kids spit in them, threw them in their backpacks, and left them strewn about the floor. It’s not highly sensitive electronic equipment.

 

I still stand by that if alcohol does not work, then just hit it with your metal polishing compound of choice, lightly and move on. 

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

First hit on Google search for “what chemical is in contact cleaner”:

https://labproinc.com/blogs/chemicals-and-solvents/ethyl-alcohol-vs-isopropyl-alcohol-for-cleaning-electronics-in-the-lab
 

It looks like it’s just Ethyl alcohol instead of isopropyl. According to this article, it also looks like that’s a less effective cleaner than isopropyl as well.  To each their own. 

[RH | 4,915]

Sorry, I've not read through this entire thread, but I will mention that iso alcohol is getting to be a chemical I'd never use.  For anything.  For every case you might use it, there's something better.  Stickers? Bestine/n-Heptine.  Cleaning game pins, use an eraser or ethyl.  Sharpie marker?  Use brake fluid.  Never use ISO on grey or black plastic.  Iso works by breaking down many types of carbon molecules and it does this in plastic.  You're probably fine on white plastics if it's all you have, but if the item is clear, black or a mid-tone color, it will give it a hazy tone.  In fact, if you ever find an NES/SNES/N64 game with some "whitish" substance you can't clean off, well someone cleaned the cart with iso.  That's what it does!

I've not spot tested a console like the Dreamcast.  Since it makes it more whitish in tone, it might not be a problem.  I don't really feel a texture difference.  Regardless, most issues you find on games and items, there's usually a better solvent to clean it with.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

3 minutes ago, RH said:

Sorry, I've not read through this entire thread, but I will mention that iso alcohol is getting to be a chemical I'd never use.  For anything.  For every case you might use it, there's something better.  Stickers? Bestine/n-Heptine.  Cleaning game pins, use an eraser or ethyl.  Sharpie marker?  Use brake fluid.  Never use ISO on grey or black plastic.  Iso works by breaking down many types of carbon molecules and it does this in plastic.  You're probably fine on white plastics if it's all you have, but if the item is clear, black or a mid-tone color, it will give it a hazy tone.  In fact, if you ever find an NES/SNES/N64 game with some "whitish" substance you can't clean off, well someone cleaned the cart with iso.  That's what it does!

I've not spot tested a console like the Dreamcast.  Since it makes it more whitish in tone, it might not be a problem.  I don't really feel a texture difference.  Regardless, most issues you find on games and items, there's usually a better solvent to clean it with.

Dude you had me until brake fluid. It might work, but its hydroscopic and absolutely destroys any type of paint.  You do you, but as a former mechanic I would NEVER recommend that.  
 

For the record, I have cleaned carts for YEARS with iso (on plastic) and never once experienced that. I don’t use an excessive amount by any means, but literally have used it for 25 years and the white cloudiness you are referring has never happened to me personally. 
 

I have seen that cloudiness on games, always thought it was brake/carb cleaner or something else. If they use iso in labs on sensitive equipment, its good enough for me. 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

47 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Dude you had me until brake fluid. It might work, but its hydroscopic and absolutely destroys any type of paint.  You do you, but as a former mechanic I would NEVER recommend that. 

He's talking about using it on carts with Sharpie on them, and you're talking about it eating paint, so what's the issue here?  It's great at removing permanent marker (as well as paint) from non-painted plastics that need to be cleaned up.  I've seen enough videos of people using it on all sorts of toys to know that it won't melt or dissolve them, so I'm not really sure what's up about applying it to a cartridge that's suffering from some kid's name having been permanently written on it decades ago.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

9 minutes ago, darkchylde28 said:

He's talking about using it on carts with Sharpie on them, and you're talking about it eating paint, so what's the issue here?  It's great at removing permanent marker (as well as paint) from non-painted plastics that need to be cleaned up.  I've seen enough videos of people using it on all sorts of toys to know that it won't melt or dissolve them, so I'm not really sure what's up about applying it to a cartridge that's suffering from some kid's name having been permanently written on it decades ago.

I thought sharpie was ink (not paint) maybe im wrong. As far as it being widespread in use, I Probably just run in different circles because I have never heard of using brake fluid as a cleaner until today. 
 

I personally wont recommend it until I try it myself though, I tend to leave sharpie if its cleanly written. 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

The best thing about using break fuild is sipping a little straight from the bottle before the cap goes back on. 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

20 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

I thought sharpie was ink (not paint) maybe im wrong. As far as it being widespread in use, I Probably just run in different circles because I have never heard of using brake fluid as a cleaner until today.

I personally wont recommend it until I try it myself though, I tend to leave sharpie if its cleanly written. 

There was a fairly detailed thread about it back on NA, which the naysayers of the time discounted without ever having tried it.  I personally haven't used it to date, but I've seen enough evidence provided by others that I'm confident in its efficacy.  Here's a Reddit blurb where someone goes into the specifics of why they believe it works so well on Sharpie (apparently on labels as well as carts).

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

2 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

First hit on Google search for “what chemical is in contact cleaner”:

https://labproinc.com/blogs/chemicals-and-solvents/ethyl-alcohol-vs-isopropyl-alcohol-for-cleaning-electronics-in-the-lab
 

It looks like it’s just Ethyl alcohol instead of isopropyl. According to this article, it also looks like that’s a less effective cleaner than isopropyl as well.  To each their own. 

The contact cleaner I use isn’t alcohol, it’s essentially lighter fluid chemically, with added lubricants and anti-corrosives to protect the contacts 

 

Edit qnd a quick skim of that article didn’t seem to talk about contact cleaner it seemingly ONLY talks about alcohols. Again was just a quick skim

Edited December 7, 2022 by LeatherRebel5150

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

12 minutes ago, darkchylde28 said:

There was a fairly detailed thread about it back on NA, which the naysayers of the time discounted without ever having tried it.  I personally haven't used it to date, but I've seen enough evidence provided by others that I'm confident in its efficacy.  Here's a Reddit blurb where someone goes into the specifics of why they believe it works so well on Sharpie (apparently on labels as well as carts).

You realize the RLH wrote that reddit blurb, is most likely “RH”, the guy writing about brake fluid here? I think his SN here or on NA was RLH. 
 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by MrWunderful

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

1 minute ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

The contact cleaner I use isn’t alcohol, it’s essentially lighter fluid chemically, with added lubricants and anti-corrosives to protect the contacts 

Thats going to be a hard pass for me on coating the pins in anything. 
 

My gut feeling is the build up of the anti corrosion “film” getting scraped off onto the female pins would cause far more problems than a clean PCB with a quick iso alcohol hit every few years. But if it works it works!

[OptOut | 8,889]

5 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

You realize the RLH wrote that reddit blurb, is most likely “RH”, the guy writing it here? I think his SN here or on NA was RLH. 

Listen, all I know is @RH is a tight dude, I trust him with my life. Now we have this other dude, RLH backing him up, that's like two sources right there. 

On the internet two sources may as well be the literal word of God. I'm dousing my game room in brake fluid as we speak! 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

7 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

You realize the RLH wrote that reddit blurb, is most likely “RH”, the guy writing about brake fluid here? I think his SN here or on NA was RLH.

Nope, paid zero attention to it, just happened across it in my Google results while I was trying to find the Toy Polloi video I recall where he used it to remove Sharpie (and only came up with videos where he successfully removed non-stock paint) from toys.  That being said, now you have a better idea of the underlying science behind it working like it does, which should instill more confidence in you for giving a shot the next time you need to remove some Sharpie.

[RH | 4,915]

2 hours ago, MrWunderful said:

Dude you had me until brake fluid. It might work, but its hydroscopic and absolutely destroys any type of paint.  You do you, but as a former mechanic I would NEVER recommend that.  
 

For the record, I have cleaned carts for YEARS with iso (on plastic) and never once experienced that. I don’t use an excessive amount by any means, but literally have used it for 25 years and the white cloudiness you are referring has never happened to me personally. 
 

I have seen that cloudiness on games, always thought it was brake/carb cleaner or something else. If they use iso in labs on sensitive equipment, its good enough for me. 

I'm not sure why because I quickly learned not to do it because once the iso dried, it was always whiter. I will also say that I get the highest percent that I can find in general, so it's usually around 97%.  Maybe if it's dilluted to something like the 80s, it's not as bad.

Regarding the break fluid, someone recommended it on Nintendo Age shortly after I joined (2016).  I picked up a cheap bottle and I've used it ever since.  No long term damage to a single cart, it makes Sharpie removal easy, and if a label is high-gloss, I've even had good luck taking it off of those. (I first experimented with cheap games to confirm.)

I'm always open to improvements but IMHO, if you don't have to scrub and scrub and scrub to clean something, it's usually better.  I know that with some solvents, scrubbing has removed markings and such, but it often buffs a bit of the texture off of the game too.  I'm not into that.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

17 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

Thats going to be a hard pass for me on coating the pins in anything. 
 

My gut feeling is the build up of the anti corrosion “film” getting scraped off onto the female pins would cause far more problems than a clean PCB with a quick iso alcohol hit every few years.

It doesn’t. There is a reason I advocate for actual contact cleaner, I design PCBs for a living. I deal with this stuff daily. 

[RH | 4,915]

26 minutes ago, MrWunderful said:

You realize the RLH wrote that reddit blurb, is most likely “RH”, the guy writing about brake fluid here? I think his SN here or on NA was RLH. 
 

 

 

18 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Listen, all I know is @RH is a tight dude, I trust him with my life. Now we have this other dude, RLH backing him up, that's like two sources right there. 

On the internet two sources may as well be the literal word of God. I'm dousing my game room in brake fluid as we speak! 

I should have read the whole thread, lol.

Yes, that's me on Reddit.  If it's game related and and "RH" or some combo of "RLH", it's probably me.

Regarding my response, I know I did read somewhere regarding brake fluid that it works (specifically, Dot 3, I think.  The bottles not near me) that it breaks down enzymes very well.  Sharpie's are ink but inks are made from all types of chemicals.  Again, from some other article I read a long time ago, Sharpies work well because they use naturally bonding enzymes, so the ink can bond with a lot of surfaces.  The brake fluid seems to break down the enzyme enough to be able to clean it off, or break it down enough that it take off the top surface and leaves one so thin it's either unnoticable or completely gone.

This does lead me to theorize, though, that I think fake sharpies don't work as well.  It's a different type of ink.  But sharpie-brand does in fact break down well and come off seemingly 100%.

[MrWunderful | 2,927]

6 minutes ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

It doesn’t. There is a reason I advocate for actual contact cleaner, I design PCBs for a living. I deal with this stuff daily. 

So where does the anti corrosion and lubricant go when the female pins scrape on the brass? 
 

And are the pcbs you design pulled in and out of their receptacles thousands of times like a video game cart? Curious what brand contact cleaner you use.