Can You Use Nail Polish Remover To Clean Snes Cartridges

I have fabricated the long overdue conclusion to fully maximise the performance/durability of my old xx+ yr old Nintendo consoles, not to mention carts. To do so, I'll need to make clean the contacts of the game carts.
The Internet is truly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, invention of our times. It is therefore no surprise that Google was my outset port of telephone call when it comes to looking for information and how and what to apply to clean old retro game carts.

The Internet's prissy and all, but information technology is also mainly American, and sometimes, localised solutions are necessary. For example, one of my early obstacles was "What the fuck is a Q-Tip?" It turns out that Q-Tips is Ameringlish for what we normally call "cotton buds" or "ear buds".

A similar problem is that the bulk of guides I read recommended foreign (i.due east. American) brand name goods that I've never heard of earlier. Nevertheless, I did make note of potentially of import key words/concepts such equally "contact cleaner", "isopropyl booze", "rubbing alcohol" and "agents that incorporate at least 90% isopropyl". I'm guessing this isopropyl thing is pretty important.

However, what I don't take is but a name (or film if possible) of exactly what product I demand so that I can go to my local supermarket and identify it on the shelf. If not supermarket, so an electronics store. Do you accept that noesis? Plz share if and then.

Since my the life of my game carts are on the line, please respond only if y'all have practical experience and/or know what yous're talking about.

Side note: Plainly, "Goo Gone" and "Magic Eraser" exists in both American and Australian markets. They're skillful for cleaning the exterior of the cart (e.grand. sticker residual, name written with a marker, etc...)
Isopropyl alcohol for cleaning most electronic contacts.
Jaycar
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=NA1066
Altronics
http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?surface area=item&id=T3038

Alternatively hit up the big green shed (Bunnings) they may still take it amongst the solvents.

Or you could endeavor a chemist, they're more likely to accept "rubbing alcohol" only its more than likely to exist diluted.
Cheers, I've never seen that before, and certainly not in an average supermarket, and I idea it would have a proper consumer brand name. Looks more like a specialised chemic thing than a general household skillful.
Edit: I merely read on another forum that someone constitute a like production (Isopropyl Alcohol) in the Medical section of Woolworths. That may explain why I couldn't find anything similar, because I was looking in the cleaning section.

Last edited: Oct 21, 2022
Your answers are stupid. I did blow in them and it would work if at that place was grit or something on the contacts that prevented them from getting a skillful connection.
Evidently that's not working now after two decades as the contacts have corroded and you need to remove the non-conductive oxide layer.
The best answers have already been given but I'll just chinkle in and say that Jaycar calls it "eletronic circuit board cleaner" Terminal fourth dimension I bought the stuff though was nearly 10 years ago.
One ghetto method a fellow workmate only recently showed me to clean the PCIx gilded pin connectors was to use a stationary eraser and go to town rubbing on the connectors. It cleans up bloody well too I must admit. But to do this you would need to dismantle the cartridge itself in society to get to the connectors properly.
ahem.
blowing can and does push dust further into where you're blowing
as well, the majority of that corrosion would come from the actress moisture you're putting on the contacts each time you lot accident.
I've ever just used metho as an electrical part/contact cleaner. I know it's less "pure" than isopropyl just I've been doing it for nigh 15 years with nil issues. For corroded terminals a dot of 2000 dust glued to the end of a pencil eraser does wonders.
Maybe if you're blowing into a screen where the air can escape in a laminar manner. But not if you lot're blowing in a turbulent manner into a airtight space.
I'm not sure, but that might damage the plastic casing on the game carts.
Bunnings as well has isopropyl alcohol. It's normally in the pigment department, with the acetone, turpentine, etc.
Used Nail polish remover on them a couple years back on the connectors, applied it with a cotton wool bud, so dried with a hair dryer.
Used a nice desticker stuff on the outside of the cart to clean them up alot.

They all expect and play like new!

Last edited: Oct 22, 2022
I bought and used one make of Isopropyl Booze (Bunnings has information technology in store, simply not the supermarkets I checked) on a couple of carts, carts that only worked after multiple insertions and desertions. After what appears to be but a little bit of cleaning (a few black spots on the cotton bud), these carts at present work the commencement fourth dimension I insert information technology into the console, and every time afterward that. If I was religious, I would telephone call this a miraculous result.
However, I still accept a Super Metroid cart that for some reason refuses to piece of work even after cleaning and I don't know why. That is the but one cart of out many that doesn't work, with or without cleaning, so maybe that one has suffered more serious harm somewhere, somehow. Whatever ideas on the trouble? I'll exist getting proper screws in a few weeks to open up the cart itself.

By the way, how forceful are you, how forceful tin can you get, when you utilize the cotton fiber buds to make clean the SNES cart's contacts? Like any other electronic item, I am and was delicate when it came to cleaning the contacts. One of my carts was expendable and then I used a chip more than force, and thus, got more blackness stuff to come off. Not sure if that is a adept or bad thing in the long term though. Also, what about using the quick and short scrubbing motion, sort of like brushing your teeth, can the contacts withstand it with no negative side effects?

Last edited: Oct 25, 2022
Nail polish remover is acetone and is a really stiff solvent. Would non recommend!
Metho is pretty gentle, if you can't get iso.
An update on this: it ended up working without a problem after giving it a good clean a second time. Must have been some invisible pile of gunk.
Besides, what does it mean when the cart's contacts has a deathly night yellow tone to it instead of the normal clear/white/silver? I'm talking nigh the connector as usual, non the exterior plastic (which can besides go yellow like the console due to relatively lower quality plastic used by Nintendo and/or a smoking household, and to my knowledge, is non fixable).

Also, a expert trick I read somewhere else: First give a random game cart a proficient clean with the IPA. Insert and desert the cart into the SNES/SFC multiple times, then give the cart'due south contacts again, and repeat the insertion/desertion procedure. Result: A pretty proficient clean of the panel's contacts without opening it up.

Last edited: Oct 31, 2022
I've always found success in using metho. Cleans off stickers and gunk from cartridges easily too.The solution is to bandy with sports cartridges! Luckily the forepart plastic is resistant to yellowing.Y'all tin can always swap the ROM chips with another cheaper game. I've done information technology earlier with a N64 game, would be a bit more complex with the SuperFX chip involved though (Actually, thought SM might have had a SuperFX chip but it doesn't take any enhancement chips). (Good job on getting it working again)

Last edited: Oct 31, 2022
Maybe the 1 i was using wasn't equally bad, simply regardless, all of them piece of work perfectly still.
At the time alot of black crud was appearing on the buds after wiping them.

Virtually games didnt work on a first kicking upward pre cleaning, but now everyone works fine, and I have washed dozens of 64, NES and SNES games.
Shame that, my all fourth dimension favourite game, Super Metroid.
Actually, I'll second the smash polisher every bit existence less than ideal for game carts. While I've never personally used it before, I've read virtually it on the Internet that it tin can potentially cause impairment, as opposed to clean. That'southward reason enough for me to non apply it.
As for my formerly non-working Super Metroid cart, if "youse" (what'south a good neutral plural for "y'all"? "Youse" sounds too uncultured/ghetto) read further downward, I did stop upwardly fixing it.
I blow into them these days and it still works.
Diggers, probably. Green label? Big W sells it too, in the hardware department.
Would NOT apply acetone or any other nail polish remover, it tin can wreak havoc with some plastics.