How much work do you go through?

[Atari Charles]

Hi,

 

I'm curious about how much work everyone goes through cleaning used Atari items when they get them? If it is a common cart, but gummed up by pop or something of that nature, do you still bother with it(even though it works) or do you cast it off to the trash?

 

For me. I go through an incredible amount of work to clean anything Atari or actually anything at all to do with my hobbies, even if the item is dirt common(I think Dirt Common should be a new definition for super common carts). I was given about 8 common carts months ago, I probably took about 3 hours cleaning them all to perfection. Some were just dusty and some have food particles and sticky pop stuff on them. I just couldn't toss them as they still work. And yes, one was Pac-Man(hiss hiss) and one was E.T.(boo hiss hiss).

 

I threw away one cart I got long ago(it was for the vic-20). I did my damndest to clean it, took it apart and so on. Some of the plastic cracked on the casing so I threw away the casing and kept the internal circuit board and rom.

 

So let's hear the answers to how far you have gone or are willing to go to clean an Atari item.

[Lemmi]

my original carts i bought/got as a kid probably still have gunk on them from the 80's

 

but all the carts i got from fleamarkets and ebay have been cleaned up, i just use water and a piece of cloth

[sku_u]

I don't bother cleaning my carts' contacts unless they don't work when I pop them into my system.

 

On the very rare carts, I'll clean them up and remove any writing/price tags if possible. On commons, I don't really care one way or the other I generally will trade away or donate commons with bad labels or that are in poor physical condition as I relpace them with nice looking carts..

[+Stephen]

Carts I don't really do much with, but controllers and systems get taken apart completely. I'll use warm soapy water (or Formula 409 for the tough stuff) and a stiff plastic brush on the cases. All switches get sprayed with contact cleaner. Before reassembly, I use compressed air to dry & dust everything.

 

The most work I did cleaning a used Atari was a few months back when I finally got my hands on an Atari 800 (two actually). I removed every key cap and cleaned them individually. I cleaned all the contacts on the PCBs. Call me crazy, but the computer looks and works as new.

 

Stephen Anderson

[NE146]

zero.

[Chrispy]

I clean all my carts, systems, ect...

I use Alcohol and a cloth or Q-tips for those tight spots.

Sometimes GOO-Gone for the rental stickers that are on some games.

 

If not right when I get the system, I'll take it apart and blow all the dust and everything out from the inside with an air-compressor.

[elviticus]

I clean all of my carts - insides and cases. ... Some of the ones you find out in the wild can be REALLY filthy. I found what appeared to be chocolate (let's hope) inside my 5200 Mario Bros. I'm glad I cleaned it first!!

[Voch]

I clean my carts fairly well. I don't see restoration work as, well, work.

 

Windex/paper towel the labels and cartridge body. Windex/Q-Tip out the ROM connector area and odd corners (the Imagic cartridge "lip" corners, for example). When I get some extra time sitting in front of the TV sometimes I'll patch up a label or two (magic marker tricks to hide label cracks, double-face tape dogeared cart labels, etc.).

 

I clean the cart connectors only when the cart won't work (rubbing alcohol and/or erasers). For my NES games that's pretty much EVERY game (hopefully the NES cart connector I purchased last week will negate the need for this).

 

Voch

[joeybastard]

I clean all contacts when I first get them, after that only if they don't work. As for lables, markers, etc., I only bother cleaning that stuff if it's really bad or sticky.

[D.Yancey]

I clean my carts fairly well.  I don't see restoration work as, well, work.

 

Windex/paper towel the labels and cartridge body.  Windex/Q-Tip out the ROM connector area and odd corners (the Imagic cartridge "lip" corners, for example).  When I get some extra time sitting in front of the TV sometimes I'll patch up a label or two (magic marker tricks to hide label cracks, double-face tape dogeared cart labels, etc.).  

 

I clean the cart connectors only when the cart won't work (rubbing alcohol and/or erasers).  For my NES games that's pretty much EVERY game (hopefully the NES cart connector I purchased last week will negate the need for this).

 

Voch

 

I got an NES at a yard sale and nothing worked. I knew the carts were clean because they worked in my other unit. I took apart the dirty NES and used an emory board(finger nail file) to clean the cart slot. It has worked perfectly every time with every cart since that day. I hope I did not damage it. Thus far, I've seen no ill effects.

 

I'm meticulas about my Atari carts too. I love for them to be clean inside so they do not gum up my precious 2600's!!

[Wolf9545]

My original games I don't clean but any game that I get now I remove any of the price stickers or any dirt on them but I don't spend a lot of time on them.

 

Does anyone know of a website or PDF file that has tricks/tips on making a 2600 system work? I still have my original system from the 80's and when I try to play a game the video turns on and off every second.

[Atari Charles]

Both joysticks had decaying feet like road tar, so I totally disassembled both joysticks. I first soaked the bottom cover of theWico joysticks in Goo gone for a couple days. That took off most of the gummy rubber. Then I rinsed the bottoms off and soaked them in a mixture of liquid laundry soap and hot water. They soaked in that for a few days. I removed the bottoms, wiped them dry, then cleaned any remaining black residue with rubbing alchohol and q-tips(not made by Q-tips) made for babies. These work well because normal q-tips often leave bist of cotton behind. I got off all the rubber residue and gave them a final rinse in hot water.

 

It was a lot of work but these joysticks are very excellent. Just looking at the insides, the quality of the BAT Wico joysticks far exceedes the Atari 2600 joystick.

[~llama]

The only Atari cart I've really cleaned was my Barnstorming cart that wouldn't work 90% of the time when I first got it... I did the Wondex/Q-Tip trick on the PCB connectors and it works fine now

 

I've cleaned all of my NES games multiple times though... I should look into getting a new cart connector but I'm broke.

[Snoopy]

Well, I've always thought that I go through alot of work when I bring home new games from the fleamarket/yardsale/ebay. They all get thoroughly cleaned with rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs. Carts get cleaned pretty well on the outside of any dirt or stuff that may be on them. Actual systems are given equally thorough cleaning treatment. I will occasionally use endust for electronics to polish off the outer part of any console.

 

I guess I should say however, that I don't really do much cleaning of the games once I have them...I mean, they are stored in rubbermaid boxes...so they dont have much of a chance to get too dirty.

[Mindfield]

Frankly, beyond cleaning the contacts when required, or removing particularly offensive schmutz, I don't really bother as far as carts go. Mind you, I probably have an ounce or two of OCD in me, 'cos it does sorta bother me, and one day I'll eventually go through the whole damn lot and clean 'em.

 

Though not quite so much OCD as to spend more than a few moments and a wipe or two on each one. Cart contacts I do tend to polish up though; those are the important bits, so I like to get as much gunk off of 'em as I can, primarily so I don't have to do it again at some point.

 

Consoles, especially rare or treasured ones, I'll really dig into though, Q-Tips, paper towel, alcohol, windex, Goo Gone, thin straight edge (for scraping off the nasty caked-on schmutz) and all. I'll often open 'em up too, to check for any nasty stuff inside, check over the contacts, solder points at all external accesses (AC, RF, joystick ports, etc.), socketed chips, etc.

[Whisper]

I clean every cart I get that goes into my collection both on the outside and the inside. It involves using water and a brush for removing dirt and dust from Imagic cart handles and 2 q-tips for the contacts, one with alcohol to dissolve possible corrosion, and a dry one to dry and make the contacts nice and shiny again. I also use a q-tip to remove possible dust from the plasitic surrounding the contacts. After the treatment, my carts are stored dust-free.

 

With systems I usually use warm water with a tiny bit of washing powder (for clothes). It works great against sticky goo while not damaging the plastic and it gives the console a nice fresh smell too :wink: After gently brushing I remove the excessive soap with warm water to leave no residue.

 

I like cleaning carts and systems. It's restoring a nice piece of hardware to its full glory. For me it's like polishing a classic car