ExedExes wrote:What's the best way to clean DS games?
Flip the cartridge over, lightly moisten a q-tip in rubbing alcohol, and scrub up and down each contact. Then take a non moistened q-tip and scrub the contacts again to remove any leftover alcohol (yes it will dry on its own but I'm neurotic). Lastly use an air blaster like this to blow away any remnants of cotton the q-tip left behind. That's how I do it.
Actually, you're not neurotic. Following up with a dry swab can be crucial. When you wipe the contact with alcohol you'll lift up any crap that's on it, but you don't always lift it all away. When the alcohol dries (and it dries FAST) all the crap will dry back onto the contact. When you follow up with a dry wipe, you'll wipe away more of the crap that was on the contacts. For dirtier contacts, you may have to repeat the steps 2 or more times.
Don't bother blowing it. If you wipe it with a dry Q-tip while it's still wet, that should be enough. If you DO want to blow it with a duster can, just make sure you don't blow UP. You could possibly blow alcohol inside the cart. Also remember that those duster cans are not compressed air in a can, they're a gas. Does any one know if blowing that gas onto contacts will leave a residue? I would just omit the duster can entirely.
Ziggy587 wrote:Does any one know if blowing that gas onto contacts will leave a residue? I would just omit the duster can entirely.
Duster cans do have a propellant in them (along with a bitter agent) that does leave a residue. That's why I did not link to a duster can. Here's what I linked to once again:
Ziggy587 wrote:Does any one know if blowing that gas onto contacts will leave a residue? I would just omit the duster can entirely.
Duster cans do have a propellant in them (along with a bitter agent) that does leave a residue. That's why I did not link to a duster can. Here's what I linked to once again:
AH!
Sorry, I was rushing and didn't bother to check the link. I just (wrongly) assumed you were talking about one of those duster cans.
I swore off duster cans for two reasons. One, the propellant and bitterant residue. Two, sometimes the straws will shoot off the can like a bullet and scratch whatever you are dusting off. Not good when you're cleaning say a DS screen.
I'm glad there are some professional neurotic cleaner homies around here though.
I got some nice gameboy goodies in the mail today from ebay buys a couple days back. A kirby explosion of Star Stacker and both Dream Land's, and then Castlevania Legends -- yesterday game and watch gallery 2.
I have 2 others coming, one seems to have been semi-lost by the post office in the county below us here yesterday and hasn't updated since which is dumb (street fighter 2), and seems I'll have to wait for next week on Wendy Every Witch Way due to the holiday on Saturday.
I also ordered this fun little radio shack knockoff pocket repeat a few days ago too and it's out of cincinnati oh (80 mi~)? and for some bs reason the post office is holding onto it until next week. WHY?! I hate them sometimes. I could have driven up there and back in under 3 hours.
Exhuminator wrote:I swore off duster cans for two reasons. One, the propellant and bitterant residue. Two, sometimes the straws will shoot off the can like a bullet and scratch whatever you are dusting off. Not good when you're cleaning say a DS screen.
I'm glad there are some professional neurotic cleaner homies around here though.
And I'm glad there's some one else around here that hates duster cans!
I never use duster cans, personally. But I have to use them at work with a high volume dot matrix printer (loads of paper dust). Yeah, I had a straw shoot off some where in the printer and get lost. Luckily it didn't go anywhere that would cause a problem, but wherever it is, it's still there now. The most annoying part about them, in my opinion, is that you can only use them for a short while before they ice up. Then you have to wait a while before you can use it again. I keep several cans by the printer so I can just switch to them all and clean the paper dust out of the printer faster.
I don't even like using the straws. But without the straw you have to sometimes hold the can on an angle to dust certain areas. Those cans don't work quite right unless they're basically held straight, and they don't work at all once you hold them past a certain angle. It's REALLY annoying when you spray liquid on something you're trying to dust.
At home, whenever I absolutely NEED something like that, I just use an air compressor with a duster gun. The draw backs are that with a really high PSI you can actually damage things. And there's moisture in the air, which is obviously no good for electronics. But, just make sure you throttle the output pressure if needed, and bleed the tank often so you don't spray water. I couldn't imagine dusting out my tower without an air compressor.
In fact, this reminds me, it's time to dust out my tower.
Last edited by Ziggy on Thu Jul 02, 2015 5:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
As it turns out, after using the swabs/alcohol again, I tried my far-fetched idea of paper towel/toothpick/alcohol, and it worked out the best. I saw so much dirt on those games I missed from the swabs. Now all my DS games look and work brand new (the first time!) again.
Exhuminator wrote:
Does that work on computers? Is it powerful enough? Is it reusable? Being a tech-savvy sort of guy I'm always cleaning out the insides of desktops. That's a super purchase that could replace a whole mess of money on air cans.
Tanooki wrote:I also ordered this fun little radio shack knockoff pocket repeat a few days ago too
I had a Pocket Repeat! The only thing I didn't like were the buttons, they required a lot of force for my 12-year old hands back in the day, they even hurt a bit!
Xeogred wrote:The obvious answer is that it's time for the Dreamcast 2.
