Cleaning SNES carts?

Got a bunch of carts, and I was wondering if anyone knows how to clean them? 

People around here have different methods, this is how I do it.

• I take the cartridge apart, you will need one of the SNES bit drivers to do this. 
• Use a slightly dampened cotton cloth to wipe the case inside and out.  Be careful with the label, most are laminate but some may not be.  Be particularly careful with the edges of the label, if you get moisture around the edges it can begin peeling up.  For dirt deep in crevices, use a damp tooth brush.
• After cleaning the case, I will inspect the pins on the board.  If dirty or corroded, I will polish the connectors with brass cleaner.  Be sure to remove any brass cleaner from the pins.  I will usually wipe it down with a cloth dampened with diluted rubbing alcohol.

As far as using diluted alcohol or other substances to clean the plastic case, I've heard different reasons to avoid doing this.  I actually use a damp cloth to clean the case, dry it, then give it a quick once over with a cloth slightly dampened with diluted rubbing alcohol.  Haven't noticed any problems myself.

It's best to take the cart apart for cleaning. I just use rubbing alcohol on the contacts with a qtip, though for the heavier stuff I bring out the deoxit.

Take cartridge apart.  Get a can of clean air and blow the insides off.  Then use contact cleaner and a q-tip on the contacts. 

On older cartridge's or is im lazy i just use iso alcohol and a q-tip on the contacts.  I do my all my games every year or so and i switch methods every other time.

ive been doing this for a long time. I will say now do NOT use brasso, or weimans countertop cleaner unless you have to. For very filthy/dmgd carts ONLY. Just rubbing alcohol doesn't cut it either. After a lot of trial and error this is the best method i've found. I"ll skip how to clean the cart and stuff, thats pretty self explanatory. Only thing i will add is mr clean magic erasers work great for getting rid of sharpie and stuff like that

Heres the best way ive found to clean pins on the board. It uses a lot of elbow grease but works best and doesn't dmg the cart

1) Get a really good quality mars plastic eraser. Staedtler makes good ones

http://www.staedtler.com/en/products/pencils-accessories/erasers/mars-plastic-526-50-premium-quality-eraser/

2)take the board and lay it out on a mouse pad. The older thick style ones. f you lay it on a table bare it will scratch the shit outa it

3)Rub the shit outa the pins. Really get in there. Do it horizontally all the way across for a while, vertically, then go pin by pin. Get both sides. Depeding how ditry the contacts are this may take a while

4)Blast it with canned air to get all the remaining rubber bits off

5) Go over the pins slowly and carefully with a q-tip soaked in rubbing alcohol. 70 or 90% works. I prefer 90% because it evaporates quicker.

6)when done go over the pins with a damp soft cloth.. microfiber preferably, with some alcohol on it to get any residue or lint off. 

7) one last canned air blast

done. If the pins are corroded or really messed up then as a last resort you can use some kinda cleaning solution on it. I find Weimans cook top cleaner works better than Brasso and doesn't seem to peel as much off from the contacts

This method takes a while but is the safest and gets stuff very clean. You just cant do too many at once because your elbow will start to hurt if your really cleaning them properly with the eraser. Once youve done this once, and cleaned out your console your set. Ive never had to re-do my carts/system after the extensive initial clean. It takes a while but works great

I'm wary of the eraser method mostly because I'm impatient and I like wet cleaning as opposed to dry cleaning in general. Whatever floats your boat. At first I though the eraser, even if it was the white ones, would eff up the contacts but it can't be must worse than the stick of a cotton swap touching the contacts.

Thanks for the tips guys! 

I got Secret of Mana in part of the bundle, and want to clean it up a bit. The pins looks like absolute CRAP on some of them. It honestly to me looks like water damage. 

I tried the eraser method last night and I do agree it works. But you also got to remember to use Qtips and alcohol for excess dirt. Some dirt you just can't clean off.

Try getting an ear cleaner dip it in hydrogen peroxide and clean the inside part of the cart it really works wonders

Routine cleaning with Isopropyl and a Q-tip or whatever.

For stubborn, non-working carts, Magic Eraser will clean most anything from the cart connector pins and isn't abrasive enough to cause any damage.  What it doesn't remove, a LITTLE Tarn-X will (just clean up very thoroughly afterward). 

Also, STOP saying "rubbing alcohol".  Both ethyl and isopropyl are often labeled as such and you do NOT want ethyl anywhere near ABS plastic parts!  If you mean Isopropyl, then say Isopropyl.



Left, good.  Right, bad.

Wanna clean magic marker off of the shell?   BAM!   Go get em and just watch the magic happen.

Thanks! 

I haven't had anytime to try anything yet because between 2 jobs I'm doing about 65hrs a week right now, but I will as soon as I have time. 

Thanks for all the tips.

^^ The marker/shell cleaning tip works great. Thanks for sharing.