Cleaning? How Do You Do?

[Dravenae]

I always had a problem with how Mega Drive games sat in a UGC. I recently came up with a solution that doesn't involved modding the case or gluing foam into the case, and it also add's an extra layer of protection to the game. A couple of days ago I got a few money bags from the bank to count up and bag all my loose change. I noticed that a Mega Drive game will probably fit into the bag perfectly. I had a few bags left over and decided to give it a shot. The bags worked perfectly, they weren't to tight, nor to loose. I used surgical tape (the only thing I had lying around) to seal the bags, put them back into the UGC, and the games now sit perfectly in the UGC. This makes me very happy.

Some of you guys have probably already discovered this, but I thought I'd mention it in case there was anyone who hadn't.

The great thing about these money bags is that there completely free, or at least from my bank.

[wiggy]

Pics?  What's a money bag

[Dravenae]

Pics?  What's a money bag

I'm not sure if this something that happens in America. I presume it does. Basically we have bags for loose change, and once you have either, €1 in 1 cents, €2 in 2 cents, €5 in 5 cents, €10 in either 10 or 20 cents, €25 in either 50 cents or €1, or €50 in €2, you can go to the bank with your bagged up change, and make a deposit into your account, or get the equivalent in cash. It's just a way of saving.

They are (roughly) 2.5/3 inch x 5 inch pouches. I'll get a photo up asap.

[Blumpkin]

American banks have crap customer support and many won't accept large amounts of change. You usually have to take your change to a sorting machine at a supermarket and pay a percentage for having it transferred into paper bills.

[wiggy]

They'll take it, but require that you put it all into rolls first.

I don't think we have bags like that.  We have paper rolls instead :/

[Dravenae]

Here's a pic of a game in a bag, and a picture of the actual bag. I just flipped the excess around the back and sealed it with tape.

[Spoonman]

How do you guys go about cleaning your controllers? Specifically NES and SNES, and I want to clean up the grime down in the D-Pad.  Do you open them up? Don't have one handy at the moment, but they look like they take a smaller phillips head.  Anyway, what do you say?

[Arseen]

How do you guys go about cleaning your controllers? Specifically NES and SNES, and I want to clean up the grime down in the D-Pad.  Do you open them up? Don't have one handy at the moment, but they look like they take a smaller phillips head.  Anyway, what do you say?

Yep, open with small philips head and give the plastic parts good leaning in soap water.

[Dravenae]

Both NES and SNES controllers use philips head screwdrivers as Arseen has said. I recently took apart all of my controllers to give them a good old cleaning. I just used warm water, washing up liquid, and an old tooth brush. They all came up like new. If you want to give them a shine, then WD40 is the way to go. Just make sure to give it a good wipe down after. I wouldn't recommend using WD40 on PS3 controllers, I think Sony used a different material as opposed to PS1 and PS2 controllers, apparently it doesn't react well to the WD40, but everything else is good. To clean the tracks on the PCB (if dirty) use Isopropyl Alcohol 99%, if the PCB is dusty, just use canned air.

[Spoonman]

Thanks!  Gonna try to clean some up this weekend.

[wiggy]

Why anyone uses WD40 as a cleaning agent is beyond me. It's a lubricant and moisture repellent (in fact, the WD stands for "water displacement").  The fact that it's reacting with some parts is reason enough to drop the habit.

Anyway, take apart, scrub with toothbrush and household cleaner of choice.

[Dravenae]

Why anyone uses WD40 as a cleaning agent is beyond me. It's a lubricant and moisture repellent (in fact, the WD stands for "water displacement").  The fact that it's reacting with some parts is reason enough to drop the habit.

Anyway, take apart, scrub with toothbrush and household cleaner of choice.

WD40 was developed primarily for water displacement in rockets/planes, to prevent ice formations, hence all connections in the circuitry are solder-less. It took them 39 tries to get the solvent just right, and on the 40th attempt, they did so, and Water Displacement 40th Formula (WD40) was "born". The fact that WD40 can be used as a lubricant is just a by-product, which its marketing relies only heavily today.

I never specifically said to use WD40 to clean the controllers. I said use WD40 to bring back its "like new" shine (in less words), only once he has cleaned the controller with warm water, washing up liquid, and a tooth brush. The only reason why I told him not to use WD40 on PS3 controllers (or any controller that is semi-transparent) because they are made with polycarbonate plastic. If you read WD40's FaQ, it will tell you;

Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40.

There is another product out there that gives just as good results, but I can't remember the name off of the top of my head (will take a look for it later).

Here's a video to give you a brief idea of what I actually meant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF3S8oredDk

EDIT: Also, like Isopropyl Alcohol, WD40 is made with a solvent which has low conductivity, so using it to clean metal contacts, as suggested by the WD40 FaQ, is fine. The solvent WD40 is a petroleum based solvent.

[wiggy]

ALL PS controllers are made from ABS. NONE are made from PC.

Also, why do you want them shiny?  They don't come that way

[Dravenae]

Also, why do you want them shiny?  They don't come that way

The real question is, why don't YOU want them shiny?!       

It doesn't matter why I want them to have a like new shine. Its just my preference. All the consoles or controllers I have ever bought new have always had a certain shine to them.

I can't help but wonder, did you even read my entire post or look at the video I linked? If not, then well how can you have any idea of what I actually mean? 

Anyways, back to original topic. If you want to clean your controller use warm water, dish soap/washing up liquid, and a tooth brush. If the tracks under the buttons are dirty, use isopropyl alcohol (99%) and a cotton bud/q-tips.

[wiggy]

The real question is, why don't YOU want them shiny?!       

It doesn't matter why I want them to have a like new shine. Its just my preference. All the consoles or controllers I have ever bought new have always had a certain shine to them.

I can't help but wonder, did you even read my entire post or look at the video I linked? If not, then well how can you have any idea of what I actually mean? 

I already explained why I don't.

I did read it (strike through serves illustrate portions that aren't pertinent to my question/statement)

WD40 was developed primarily for water displacement in rockets/planes, to prevent ice formations, hence all connections in the circuitry are solder-less. It took them 39 tries to get the solvent just right, and on the 40th attempt, they did so, and Water Displacement 40th Formula (WD40) was "born". The fact that WD40 can be used as a lubricant is just a by-product, which its marketing relies only heavily today.

I never specifically said to use WD40 to clean the controllers.I said use WD40 to bring back its "like new" shine (in less words), only once he has cleaned the controller with warm water, washing up liquid, and a tooth brush. The only reason why I told him not to use WD40 on PS3 controllers (or any controller that is semi-transparent) because they are made with polycarbonate plastic. If you read WD40's FaQ, it will tell you;
Polycarbonate and clear polystyrene plastic are among the few surfaces on which to avoid using a petroleum-based product like WD-40.

There is another product out there that gives just as good results, but I can't remember the name off of the top of my head (will take a look for it later).

Here's a video to give you a brief idea of what I actually meant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF3S8oredDk

EDIT: Also, like Isopropyl Alcohol, WD40 is made with a solvent which has low conductivity, so using it to clean metal contacts, as suggested by the WD40 FaQ, is fine. The solvent WD40 is a petroleum based solvent.

I was only questioning why people use it for this application.  Nothing else in that post helps to answer that question 

The video just shows a guy wiping down a console with WD-40 to make it shiny (which I've actually seen before).  I understood your application of the product after reading the the highlighted bit of your post above.  Not sure what makes you think that I still don't get what the outcome is I just wonder why you want that effect.  It was a legitimate question.  I wasn't trying to give you a hard time.