Deoxit for cleaning carts - Yea or Nay ?

[gummo]

   I've never really heard of anyone using Deoxit to clean cartridge contacts before , but I just received a Gameboy game from a popular Ebay seller that was "cleaned" and tested that absolutely would not boot upon arrival . They had pictures of the game opened to show the innards so I assumed they'd do a good cleaning before they shipped it . When I opened the cart there was what looked like a light oil on the contacts and around the inside shell of the cart as well . I cleaned the oil residue off with IPA , then recleaned the contacts with a block eraser (my preferred cleaning method) , the eraser removed a lot of grime and dirt that was still on the contacts . Game boots fine now . I asked the seller what they used to clean it and they said Deoxit . Seems to have done a really bad job .

   Anyone have experiences with Deoxit on carts ? What method of cleaning do you prefer ?

[oldgamerz]

I use the cheapest method and it does wonders

91% Isopropyl alcohol  and some Q-tips also called cotton swabs,  just takes some of that kind of alcohol, then pour it into a small cup. and then dip the Q-tip into a cup then move the swab back and forth on both sides of the game cartridge. When you see that your cotton swab is black on both sides just throw away. and repeat this, until no more black guck is coming off the game cartridge. Never use Cotton balls because that is more likely to stick to the cartridge.

I used this technique on all of my old NES cartridges I purchased from different places, where they didn't clean anything before selling the games, I only cleaned them once and never had to clean them again because I've had them for about 5 years and they still are pretty clean.

Also you can buy Cartridge tip covers, but I don't know where to buy them reasonable, I haven't looked but I got one cover from A SNES game. I bought a long time ago also you can get NES ones but I never seen a N64 cover before

[pzeke]

That's the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title.

Anyway, Deoxit, 91% or 70% isopropyl alcohol, and even an eraser (clear preferably) should work fine, regardless of what some people may say about the latter two.

They had pictures of the game opened to show the innards so I assumed they'd do a good cleaning before they shipped it.

Some sellers are sneaky and will use their own "stock" photos showing an item entirely different to the one they'll ship their potential buyer, somewhat like when a seller has more than one brand new item and only shows one of them for the sake of having something for people to see. There are also sellers that are just outright crummy and will show one thing in their pictures, then send another, so...

[gummo]

I use the cheapest method and it does wonders Isopropyl alcohol and some Q-tips

I definitely use a lot of Isopropyl alcohol too .

[gummo]

That's the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title.

Anyway, Deoxit, 91% or 70% isopropyl alcohol, and even an eraser (clear preferably) should work fine, regardless of what some people may say about the latter two.

They had pictures of the game opened to show the innards so I assumed they'd do a good cleaning before they shipped it.

Some sellers are sneaky and will use their own "stock" photos showing an item entirely different to the one they'll ship their potential buyer, somewhat like when a seller has more than one brand new item and only shows one of them for the sake of having something for people to see. There are also sellers that are just outright crummy and will show one thing in their pictures, then send another, so...

Lol , I had to look that up , not a huge Pokémon player . I'm sure the photos are the item I received . It had an identifiable spot on the back . I always look at the pins on Gameboy games before I put them in , but these contacts looked shiny . The oily sheen masked the dirt underneath . They must not have wiped it off well enough after they applied it . I talked to the seller a little afterwards and they were super nice for a change . I have fairly good luck from Ebay sellers , I've gotten filthy/faulty carts from Amazon sellers a lot sold as "cleaned and tested and save checked" when they weren't . Since most Amazon sellers don't use photos you have to rely their description only .

[pzeke]

Lol , I had to look that up , not a huge Pokémon player . I'm sure the photos are the item I received . It had an identifiable spot on the back . I always look at the pins on Gameboy games before I put them in , but these contacts looked shiny . The oily sheen masked the dirt underneath . They must not have wiped it off well enough after they applied it . I talked to the seller a little afterwards and they were super nice for a change . I have fairly good luck from Ebay sellers , I've gotten filthy/faulty carts from Amazon sellers a lot sold as "cleaned and tested and save checked" when they weren't . Since most Amazon sellers don't use photos you have to rely their description only .

Yeah, before posting I checked your collection and noticed you only own Blue, so I debated whether making the comment or not, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I said, Wynaut? *snicker*

Anywho, a bit of isopropyl alcohol should work just fine, which is usually what most of us tend to have on hand; however, if you're still looking to get Deoxit, rest assured it'll work as intended, if not slightly better than the methods mentioned above.