Best and worst game cleaning liquids....

[maxlords]

Here's what I've used before and what works and doesn't:

WD-40 - gets contacts clean and then coats them so they don't get dirty again as fast..doesn't take much either As far as I know..no side effects yet *crosses fingers* I like using it cause it makes everything look nicer and play easier IMO.

Goo Gone - Not only orangy fresh, but it also takes off all kinds of gummy sticker glue and it doesn't ruin glossy stickers (although cheap stickers stain with it). Good all around cart cleaner too. Even takes off SOME permanent marker

Goof Off - This shit is dangerous! If you use it..beware..it eats right thru plastic in seconds...liquifies it! One drop spread rapidly will melt the top layer of plastic right off of a cart, easily removing permanent marker, but if you're not careful, it can chemically stain or burn the cart, and/or ruin it. Not to mention the ink coated plastic tends to spread the ink around a bit so you're sometimes left with a darker splotch of plastic that needs heavy Goo Gone scrubbing. Use at your own risk! When I use it, I drop a drop or two on a cloth and then run it on the item...never use it directly on the game.

Perma-Spin - http://www.exlumen.com/ Awesome awesome scratch buffing liquid! Polishes CDs WITHOUT scratching them and often removes (ok it fills them invisibly!) scratches making scuffed games look better. Not sure how it works on PSX games with the black discs, but regular CDs like Sega CDs it works like a charm Great stuff!

Alcohol - Well...duh. Rubbing alcohol is the old stnadby for cleaning contacts, stickers etc. You all should know how it works. Great for simple jobs, but not very effective for lots of sticker glue or getting out pen or anything like that.

I personally like to do an initial cart cleaning with rubbing alcohol, then clean the contacts again with WD-40. That way all the dirt is gone and then the contacts are protected from more dirt for a while. For stubborn stickers, pen, or glue I use Goo Gone (it also polishes carts and stickers!), and for insanely nasty stuff I hesitantly use Goof Off (but not often!). Perma Spin is great for nasty discs, but if your discs only have one or two minor scratches you're better off not using it. Anyone else have recommendations for game cleaning solutions?

[Happy_Dude]

WD-40 is a brand name. Please be more specific.

Are you talking about the degreaser (thats the only one I know of)
Or the Electronics cleaner (For you're paddles... so I'v heard)
I wouldn't think that degreaser would be good for you're carts

[WiseSalesman]

If you can't afford Perma-Spin, tooth paste works as an excellent substitute. Using about enough to cover your index finger tip, get the cd wet and buff it in circular motions. Only do this as a last resort however, as there is a small chance you could damage the CD even worse. I had a music CD that I didn't care about anymore (Ace of Base.....shut up) and it had a huge scratch in it. It was completely unplayable past the first 15 seconds. I used this method, and you can't even tell it was EVER scratched.

If you're curious how I discovered this, it's an old jewler's trick....used for getting scratched out of quartz in timepieces.

[maxlords]

WD-40 is a brand name. Please be more specific.

Are you talking about the degreaser (thats the only one I know of)
Or the Electronics cleaner (For you're paddles... so I'v heard)
I wouldn't think that degreaser would be good for you're carts

WD-40 - Blue Can, red lid,yellow label. Very well known multiprupose cleaner typically used on stuff like sticking locks and rusty stuff. http://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40.cfm

Awesome stuff to clean with.


I also remembered another liquid used to fix/clean games....but I've never done this:

Water - Boil CDs that won't work and then let them dry and try them...word is that the CDs will often suddenly work again. I've yet to have tried it, but a friend of mine told me that he did it and it worked and he was shocked.

[digitalpress]

Let me ask you this: I have a few Genesis games where there are stickers on the PAPER cover (those bastards)... is there anything you've used to remove stickers from paper without damaging the underside? Sometimes a blow-dryer has worked for me but these are stubborn.

[Happy_Dude]

Sort of a cheat but anyway.... I recently removed a rental sticker
that was half plastic and the underside would take some colour off
so I just removed the paper from the top and left the clear plastic on
and you can't even notice it

I have a question about stickers but I might start another thread

[Anonymous]

Let me ask you this: I have a few Genesis games where there are stickers on the PAPER cover (those bastards)... is there anything you've used to remove stickers from paper without damaging the underside? Sometimes a blow-dryer has worked for me but these are stubborn.

Occasionally..yes. For me, it's always a case by case basis. Depends on the type of sticker and the type of paper. If you have those Dreamworks games with the white paper labels...that's a pain. Here's what I usually do for label stickers:

Polished labels (like Landstalker, etc): Depends on the sticker of course. Never peel a sticker unless you have to. By peel I mean lift up the corner of it and pull...you're always going to tear or stretch the label somehow. I usually use my fingernail to slowly scrape the sticker away until it's removed, leaving the gummy messy crap all over the label. Then I use Goo Gone. Put the Goo Gone on a rag (not a lot, just a small squirt), and then remove the sticker glue from teh label with gentle rubbing. This almost always works. If you are near the edge of the label, be careful not to get the Goo Gone along the edge, as it can get under the label and affect the glue of the label.

Paper Labels (Dreamworks games, etc): Forget it. There's no way to remove the glue even if you do remove the sticker, so you're left with a sticky nasty label. Best to just leave it on.

The biggest problem is with peeling the stickers off. If you pull too hard or do it too fast, it always rips the label. Very frustrating but true. There is another way to remove the stickers but it'll make you cringe! This one I learned from stamp collecting back in the day. Stamp collectors found a way to remove stamps from envelopes without tearing them. They do one of two things:

1. Soak the stamp in water. This would work with game carts too. Take the cart apart, and soak the label part in water for 15-20 min, possibly an hour. Then the glue will loosen and you can remove any label stuck to it. It works with stamps and doesn't ruin them so I'd guess it would work with carts too. I've never tried it. The adhesive will still be on the label and you SHOULD be able to reattach teh label to the front of the cart.

2. Steam the label. Get a big pot of boiling water and some tongs, and take the cart apart. Hold the front part of the cart (with the label) over the steam until the heat loosens the stickers, then remove the stickers and reattach the label. The only thing is, I'm not sure what these two methods would do to a label. It's worth trying on a cheap trash cart though. Usually, I just carefully scrape stickers away with my fingernail until they come off and then remove the gunk. The rate of sucess without label damage is about 70%.

Hope that helps!

[maxlords]

Whoops...forgot to log in..I am so a guest :/

[NESCollector75]

Armour All Auto Glass Cleaner works Great for cleaning contacts as well as dirt, and marker off carts.

The only thing that makes me nervous about using WD-40 is that if it does the same thing to your bike as video games you want to stay away from it. What it does to your bike as It will make it look great and run great....At first. After a while it starts eating away at your chain. SO using that logic I would be afraid that even thouhg it may work great first, it may start eating away at the contacts later.

[Captain Wrong]

Novus II plastic polish is a great last resort cleaner for discs. Believe me, if you can't get it with that, it's a coaster. But it's kind of rough, so it is a last resort sort of thing.

[Mr-E_MaN]

For getting perminant marker off of carts I use Spray Nine. It's a tough cleaner so if it gets on the label it is gone almost immediately, but it is the best, in my opinion, for taking marker off of carts.

For stickers, if they are paper coated which leave a sticky mess on the label, I just use my finger and push on the glue rolling it up into a ball then just take the ball off. If that doesn't work I carefully use Goo Gone and a cotton swab to take it off *ONLY* if it is a plastic coated label. Pushing on the glue usually works.

For the security stickers, those silver ones that leave all of the crap on the cart, I use Goo Gone. Takes them off in a flash.

[hamburgler]

Don't forget about 409.This stuff in my opinion is the best to use when cleaning a very dirty game.

[den68]

the best thing I've found for removing stickers, even from paper, is called Bestine. It's a rubber cement solvent but works great on stickers. the only thing you can't use it on is N64 games. for some reason it fades the color but only on N64 games. I've used it on everything else with no troubles. When it dries it leaves no stains on the labels.

[The Manimal]

Are there downsides from using Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) to clean the shells of cartridges?

I normally dilute this with equal amounts of water, and clean pretty much all my carts this way. I do this for all my used games, as there's normally dirt in the crevaces and dust buildup. Seems to work really well, but I'm hoping that the cartridges aren't going to change color with time because I cleaned them this way. I've done this for everything from Dragon Warrior IV to Mega Man X3....


I have used this on cartridges for GB, NES, SNES, GEN....


I also clean my consoles with alcohol/water mix...

[XJR15]

Hydrochloric acid usually takes most everything off the cart... including the plastic

[Moose]

Is there anything wrong with using Windex to clean the contacts of NES carts? Isn't it alcohal and water anyway?

But here's one for you to try. If you ever have that sticky residue from price stickers, you can use a dab of peanut butter (no joke) to get it off. Something about the oils breaks down the glue. I have used this trick on all sorts of gifts with annoying price stickers.

[hamburgler]

Orange 409 and the Regular 409 work really good when it comes to cleaning cartridges.

[Duncan]

The only thing that makes me nervous about using WD-40 is that if it does the same thing to your bike as video games you want to stay away from it. What it does to your bike as It will make it look great and run great....At first. After a while it starts eating away at your chain. SO using that logic I would be afraid that even thouhg it may work great first, it may start eating away at the contacts later.

My dad explained this to me a long time ago, and I've never forgotten it. Thus, I will impart the wisdom to the rest of you.

The original WD-40 was formulated as a combination cleaner/lubricant for military and aerospace applications. Used as a coating, it can protect metal from corrosion because it's designed to both penetrate and break up thick oil deposits (that can trap harmful dirt) while at the same time repelling water ("WD" actually stands for "Water Displacement"). So it's very good at keeping mechanical parts in working order for a while -- but the problem is that WD-40 isn't a very thick lubricant, so it has to be reapplied fairly often due to both evaporation and friction.

Which is where your bike chain comes in. WD-40 by itself does not cause the chain to corrode -- in fact, it's the loss of it over time and use that creates the problem. Once the WD-40 wears off of the chain (which doesn't take long under normal usage), it's effectively running with little to no lubrication. And without proper lube, the unprotected metal will eventually both grind down and start to rust.

So you have a choice. You can either reapply WD-40 once a week to maintain its protective qualities, or (the best option) use a dedicated thicker gear lube instead and save the WD-40 for cleaning use when the chain starts to get cruddy-looking.

And by the way, it's for exactly that reason that I wouldn't use WD-40 as a game cleaning product -- at least not by itself. Yes, it does do a fine job of getting grime out of the contacts, but it'll also stay there and just attract dust (since it's not being moved around like it would be in some sort of a mechanism).

The thing is, rubbing alcohol will do the same basic job, but it'll also evaporate quickly once you're finished. This keeps the contacts clean, dry and -- more importantly -- non-attractive to dust or dirt.

Duncan

[Duncan]

Off the subject of WD-40, I do have a useful tip regarding the removal of stickers from Genesis case inserts.

Since most of these inserts are fairly glossy, it's easy to get most of the paper part of the sticker off just by scraping it with your good ol' fingernails. But what about the really gooey residue that remains?

The answer: Scotch Magic tape (or any bargain equivalent). Using several strips in a repetitive way, simply stick and remove a strip on top of the offending stick-stuff. You'll note that the tape gradually removes more and more of the adhesive with each pull, while being gentle enough that it won't remove any print from underneath. Once your tape strip starts getting dirty, simply grab a fresh one and keep going until all the goo is removed. Presto -- like-new inserts!

Duncan

[evilmess]

Ronsonol lighter fluid.

This stuff works great. Squirt some on a old rag and rub it into the sticker (not so great for plastic stickers though) and it will soak thru allowing you to easily peel off the sticker. Wipe more on the sticker residue and it will complete the job.

I used this to remove a paper sticker on a paper package with great results.
Also works great for removing permanent marker!