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Thread: toothbrush read if your planning to use one to clean..

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    Default toothbrush read if your planning to use one to clean..

    I would like to strait some things out that has been bothering me..
    over time ive read more and more recent posts by ppl who mostly know bogus about repairing and the fact of using an old toothbrush to clean, this is quite dumb for a lot of reasons.. main reason meantioned here.

    if you are planning to use a toothbrush to clean your console or whatever.. dont use an OLD USED one!!!! since most toothpastes has cemicals within them who are harmful to electronics witch in some cases cause more damage then fixing. and ALSO NEVER EVER IN HELL use water unless your cleaning something NONE electronical like plastic. even if you cant see it water soaks into viaholes and other gaps on pcb's and components and forms crystals witch in time causes inreversable damage !!! this is also why normal Alcohol aka moonshine shouldnt be used do only use Electronic-Alcohol (isopropanol) can be found at a local drugstore probably if asked for.
    Broken? fix it.

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    Default Re: toothbrush read if your planning to use one to clean..

    Quote Originally Posted by MrKitt
    ALSO NEVER EVER IN HELL use water unless your cleaning something NONE electronical like plastic. even if you cant see it water soaks into viaholes and other gaps on pcb's and components and forms crystals witch in time causes inreversable damage !!!
    Can you provide a link that elaborates on this?

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    Default

    I think an old toothbrush is perfectly fine for external detail cleaning. A new one is cheap though, so why not?

    If you've got some constructive tips on how to properly clean hard to clean (and get at) areas, like cartridge slots, I'm sure we could all benefit.

    I think it would be fair to say that most posters here are at worst clueless, and at best, amateurs (my apologies to any of you who are actual Electronics Engineers) . I rank myself as an amateur, who has an enthusiasm for old video games. I know of no "professionals" who will bother with old systems. That leaves only us enthusiasts. The whole purpose of this forum is to separate the real "good" information from the internet chaff.

    Constructive input, of good information, is always welcome.

    My old toothbrush works great on getting the dust out of PS2 grills, so it can be blown out efficiently.

    I was under the impression that you needed a mix of distilled water and isoprpyl alcohol to clean effectively. Is this untrue? Is pure alcohol better? I'd love to know the real info!
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    Default

    the intend of this post was not to provoke ppl rather warn amatures not to make anything stupid that they might later regret.

    i am not an electronic enginer but i am a certified and trained repairman, and along that im quite more then qualified to claim stuff like dont clean electronics with water or normal alcohol. (alcohol can be used but is still not recommended since if you dont whipe it off good enough it will have the same effect as water).

    and im quite aware that most ppl here are nothing more then common users who may want to learn some about how to repair their vintage consoles.
    Broken? fix it.

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    So, the point being, if you clean it with alcohol, you better be ready to get it all back out, correct?

    Makes sense.
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    Okay, so he's told us what not to clean with. What DO we clean with?
    Seeking display quality copy of I Want My Mommy for the 2600... if you have one, PM me, I will pay/trade well.

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    Default

    I have been using tap water and rubbing alcohol for years. No problems yet *crosses fingers*.

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    Default Rubbing alcohol

    Is rubbing alcohol the ohly material available or is there a comercial product tbat is specific to cleaning electronics?

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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by The Manimal
    I have been using tap water and rubbing alcohol for years. No problems yet *crosses fingers*.
    Same here, and same crossed fingers. I think the big thing to remember is that you just have to make sure everything is very dry afterwards. That's always worked for me.

    By the way, Grab-It or Swiffer cloths are damned handy little items for dusting electronic stuff. Just thought I'd mention that.

    Duncan
    Active systems owned: Wii, X360, PS3
    Inactive systems owned: RCA, INTV2, NES, SMS, Genesis, Lynx, SNES, Saturn, PS1, GBC, DC, PS2, GBA, Xbox, GC, PSP, DS
    Systems wanted: Coleco, 7800, TG16, GG, 3DS, Vita, WiiU

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    Default

    electronical cleaning alcohol is called ISOPROPANOL, normal alcohol works to but you still need to rubb and remove it yourself.. ISOPROPANOL dont need that much rubbing to remove it since it vaporizes in seconds
    Broken? fix it.

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    Default

    Where does one get ISOPROPANOL?
    Seeking display quality copy of I Want My Mommy for the 2600... if you have one, PM me, I will pay/trade well.

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    Default

    There's an electronics place called Future Active in my city that I bet has it. This stuff rings a bell for me, from shop class in high school. I remeber an alcohol that evaporated really fast, so fast that when put on the skin, it would feel very cold for a short while.

    I wonder jow much of such a fast drying substance would be needed to remove stubborn oxidization, schmootz, and skin oils from say a cart contact. I'm gonna get some and give it a try, but I wonder what advantage it will give me over distilled water/ alcohol.
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    You shouldn't use a toothbrush on the shiny surfaces of a Sega Master System or anywhere on a JVC X-Eye. The SMS will show the scratches and the plastic used for the X-Eye is soft as butter and will show everything...

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    Default

    when i clean systems i use a tooth brush, and i usually keep it dry if it's cosmetic stuff as water softens things and makes dirty clumpy. if you leave it dry, it busts up the dust into dust and you can just blow it out. and i only use a toothbrush on grills and stuff like that. if you want to clean off the rest of the casing......i use a dash wipe(for cars obviously) and it usually eats most of the dirt and leaves the plastic kind of moist looking. after that i wipe it off with a lint free cloth and it may be a little oily, but it wears off fast. and as far as cleaning boards, they don't need to look brand spanking new as they are inside the case all the time. so just take a dry toothbrush to knock a majority of the dust off and blow it off if you have to........using something to clean it off isn't going to really help much except for in some newer systems where components cooling off is critical. they sell lots of electrical parts cleaners on the market, contact cleaners should work fine, i wouldn't soak the thing.....but it would work. i wouldn't highly recommend it as i've never done it but if you must i would use air in a can......but that's just my thoughts and my dad doesn't ever yell at me for anything i do. and he's been repairing organs, keyboards and amplifiers for quite some many years now(he's almost 50) and if i were doing something wrong, i promise......he would chew me a new one as i usually check with him to make sure i'm not going to damage anything. hope this helps some of you. o yes, and i suggest everybody try using a dash wipe for cleaning the externals of cartridges and consoles, i think they look great.....some stuff you have to scrub a bit or play with, but dash wipes are cheap and it sure beats water......as it's more portable

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