Suggestions for removing corrosion from an SNES PCB cart

[dougman999]

I bought a copy of Zelda: Lttp off of ebay, and the cart looked really good. I pop it in; nothing. So I take the cart apart and BAM: there's so much corrosion on the connectors that it looks like some are missing!

The solution I came up with was to get a razor blade and scrape away at the corroded pins. It worked: mostly. Now the game starts and everything seems to be going smooth, until I go to get the Butterfly Net from the sick kid, then black screen. (it happens on other random moments, so an answer of "don't get the Net then" won't suffice :-) )

I'm guessing that the system is trying to access one of the pins that is still too corroded, but I don't want to end up shaving too much of the pin off.

So, any suggestions?

[omnedon]

Fiberglass brush.

http://www.ehobbytools.com/index.html?target=p_11.html&lang=en-us

Put down and step away from the razor blades.

[chaoticjelly]

I usually use wire/steel wool, makes it come up nice and clean, watch the fingers though, id recommend wearing gloves LOL

[WhiteHenDecapitator]

I usually use isopropanol to clean my PCB's, dip the end of a toothbrush in it and scrub off the corrosion.

I had a JAMMA PCB's that was so full of corrosion, I used some baking soda and water and made a thick paste, scrubbed it on and let it sit for about half an hour. Then rinsed the PCB under the kitchen tap to get the baking soda off, worked like a charm!

If your going to rinse PCB's in water or any other liquid, make sure you give them plenty of time to dry out!

Thanks.

[Dave Farquhar]

There are several things you can try, depending on what you might have around the house. Bar Keeper's Friend is wonderful stuff. Make a paste with a mixture of it and water, and apply with a cotton swab. You can use a kitchen scouring pad if it's really tough stuff, and if you have enough room to get in there with it. Bar Keeper's Friend has a cleaning agent, a polish, and a mild acid that will even remove rust. If you don't have any, I suggest going to the grocery store and getting a can. It's in the cleaning aisle, probably sitting right next to the Comet.

You could try using a metal polish like Brasso or Noxon. I've used that to rehab metal that had seen better days, and gotten it looking new or nearly new. It's abrasive enough that it will often remove dirt, oxidation, and whatever else might be on there.

Contact cleaner (auto parts or hardware stores) or TV tuner cleaner (Radio Shack) can be helpful. Make sure whatever you get is plastic compatible. The Radio Shack stuff is more expensive but it is plastic compatible, so it's probably worth it.

One of my addictions is vintage model/toy trains, and we deal with this issue frequently. Some of the things I see make me wonder if people bury things in their yards when they run out of shelf space...

[ProgrammingAce]

There are two things i use for pcb's

1). A pencil eraser. These work suprisingly well. The 'crumbly' ones work best.

2). There are these stones you can buy at hobby shops that are made to clean the corosion off of model railroad tracks, they work aweseome on pcb's too.

[jferio]

If things get really bad, I use a small dremel with a metal polishing brush (stiff wire brush, wrapped into a disc and mounted on a standard shaft). I know I've used it to clear battery corrosion from the terminals of one of my old game units. The idea is to use just enough pressure on it to clear the corrosion on the contact without trying to eat into the actual metal.