When buying used carts...

[wiggy]

You sure it wasn't Goof Off, not Goo Gone?

Goo Gone is just orange oil, and flat out CAN'T breakdown ABS like that.

Goof Off contains Xylene.  I don't know what that shit is safe for, but it's no good on plastics of any sort that I've encountered

[Moviefan2k4]

Goof Off contains Xylene.  I don't know what that is safe for, but it's no good on plastics of any sort that I've encountered

Yeah, I tried some very small drops of Goof Off a few months ago, to get some marker off my copy of TMNT2, and it melted the top of the cart. Not enough to go all the way through, but still noticeable.

Not wanting to pour the rest of it down the drain, I went outside, sprayed it all on the pavement, and poured two whole pitchers of water on top of it. Later that night, my sister said she could smell something funny on the air, so whatever's in Goof Off, its not to be trifled with.

[Mick Dundee]

GooGone is a wonderful thing! And it smells great too.

 I tend to clean the cartridges with windex, googone (for sticker residue and marker/pen marks) and ammonia for contacts instead of alcohol.
 I don't bother opening cartridges.  I DO open older consoles to fix them or get them cleaner and "healthier" than they were

[Seraph Man]

Boy, if I didn't want to open up carts and consoles before, I sure as hell don't want to now. Live roaches? Fuck that noise. If I think there's live roaches in there, I'm throwing that bitch in a fire. Not that it matters. I don't have the tools to open up a cart or console.

When I buy carts, I focus on two key aspects. 1) How does the label look? The more intact it looks, the better, and stickers on labels can deter me from a purchase if I think the sticker will tear the label. 2) Does it play? Most of my purchases came from retro gaming stores (Play -N- Trade, Gamer's Inc, etc.) where they have console clones set up so people can preview these machines. I will always preview a game if I can. For Flea Markets, I now have the Retro Duo Portable, so I can test out SNES games before I buy. I've yet to come across a game that didn't play, though I do have a couple that can be finicky, which I never understood. I used to hear people joke about tilting carts to make them work, which I never understood until I found out that some people actually had to do that. My oldest SNES cart, Super Mario All-Stars, I got with the console, and it still works just like it did back then. No tilting necessary. But I digress...

I've bought games with more stickers than I can imagine. I've bought dirty games. I've bought games with people's names written on them in permanent black marker. Goo Gone is my best friend for the sticker residue, though some games still have marker on them no matter how much Goo Gone I apply. I've yet to try anything else. Any recommendations?

[CommunistGamer]

I found you can erase sharpie with a pink eraser. if that helps.

[wiggy]

If the marker is really stubborn, then try this, even though it sounds totally insane.

Write over the marked area with another marker, wait a few minutes, then try and clean it again. If you're lucky, the marker you wrote over the other marker with is the same. If it is, then the fresh marker will sort of "activate" the old marker and both should be fairly easy to clean up.

[Seraph Man]

If the marker is really stubborn, then try this, even though it sounds totally insane.

Write over the marked area with another marker, wait a few minutes, then try and clean it again. If you're lucky, the marker you wrote over the other marker with is the same. If it is, then the fresh marker will sort of "activate" the old marker and both should be fairly easy to clean up.

You're right, that sounds absolutely insane, and counterproductive. I think my copy of Tetris is one such game, so I'll test it out on that later. After all, it's not like I can't find another copy of Tetris for the Gameboy.

[wiggy]

You know how oil and water/vinegar don't mix?  Same idea here. Alcohol and goo gone/orange oil are normally a good match for the chemicals and compounds in markers, but, depending on the marker, they may not be able to completely emulsify it. If you use the same emulsifiers that were used in the marker in the 1st place, then it should clean up with almost no effort. It's just a matter of using the same marker.

So, sharpies are probably a good first marker to try out since they seem to inhabit most homes.

I think I have a few carts with marker on them still. If I do, I'll try and make a little video for you guys.

[DKBananas]

The other day i was cleaning up some of my dupe NES for sell/trade and came across a copy of techmo super bowl with a rattle.  Opened the case up to find that the save game battery has completely exploded and leaked all over the board.  2 diodes, 1 resistor, and i think both caps are destroyed.  That battery Acid is nastier than Alien drool.  I think i can salvage the game by replacing the components, but it will turn into an investment greater that the carts worth and after that there's no guarantee the rom wasn't damaged.

In my opinion those save game batteries are a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy your valued collection.  Would it make sense  to remove the save game batteries from games in storage, especially ones that are not played often or at all.

I was contemplating swapping out the spot welded batteries for a button cell clip holder, like the cmos battery on a motherboard.  Would this just devalue my games by modding them, or save them from an acid bath?   

[wiggy]

That shouldn't happen.  I think what you experienced is a fluke much more so than the norm for 10-15-20 year old cells.

[Rx_79]

Goof Off states on the can not to use on plastics.

[Deadpool]

i have bought some carts with torn labels, even my mk ultimate (snes) has no label, i like to clean every game i buy but i have ruined some labels in the process. i would like to replace the torn labels but idk which is the right paper,  i have a canon mp 280 that printer is enough to print quality labels?

[TyrannicalFascist]

I've bought games with more stickers than I can imagine. I've bought dirty games. I've bought games with people's names written on them in permanent black marker. Goo Gone is my best friend for the sticker residue, though some games still have marker on them no matter how much Goo Gone I apply. I've yet to try anything else. Any recommendations?

No amount of permanent marker has ever been able to stand up to my Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, especially the  Extra Strength ones. I've used it on action figures, cartridges, models and it all comes off within a few seconds of rubbing. If you can get access to those, you should try that. just be careful on or around labels. The only thing it doesn't get off is sticker residue. Pink erasers might also do the trick.

http://youtu.be/SRYQxrwCZSg

[CommunistGamer]

i said that pink erasers work
 

[wiggy]

I've bought games with more stickers than I can imagine. I've bought dirty games. I've bought games with people's names written on them in permanent black marker. Goo Gone is my best friend for the sticker residue, though some games still have marker on them no matter how much Goo Gone I apply. I've yet to try anything else. Any recommendations?

No amount of permanent marker has ever been able to stand up to my Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, especially the  Extra Strength ones. I've used it on action figures, cartridges, models and it all comes off within a few seconds of rubbing. If you can get access to those, you should try that. just be careful on or around labels. The only thing it doesn't get off is sticker residue. Pink erasers might also do the trick.

http://youtu.be/SRYQxrwCZSg

Those things are fairly abrasive though.  They scuff the carts pretty well in my experience