Cleaning/Restoring old consoles

Sometimes, many of us buy consoles that are used or very old. Sometimes, even our own consoles start getting dirty or yellow no matter how well we dust them.

¿Anyone have methods to clean old consoles? ¿Anyone have any recommendations to retore consoles to looking clean, almost new?
¿Does anyone have any tricks, like... substances or tools to use?
Also, what choice of paints would one need to paint a console, like a Snes, and such, in case yellowing cannot be fixed?


Let's discuss our console cleaning secrets!
Thanks

 

Generic furniture polish, a rag, a safety pin (for those tight spaces) and a screwdriver.

Use as much polish as possible, I literally soak the console in the stuff and leave it "fizz" to break down the grime. Wipe it off and use the safety pin to get in the creases that you can't otherwise reach with a rag. Dismantle the console (if possible) and clean all the insides and seams between the case parts.

 

Polish?? I definitely don't clean stuff with anything greasy/abrasive.

I use Q-tips, diluted isopropanol (variants) and paper towels which don't leave fibers. Sometimes use "Goo Be Gone" a oily citrus cleaner to get rid of stickers etc. For cleaning optical objects I use a micro fiber cloth.

To get rid of smells (yes I have received TOO many smelly eBay items) I wipe on some febreeze until the smell is gone, keep wiping down with water/alcohol until the febreeze smell is gone then burn some incense around it

To whiten "yellowed" or sunburned plastic I hear you can soak the piece in bleach.

To clear dust/grime/dead insects inside a device first blow compressed air, then wipe down with alcohol/water/febreeze (whichever is necessary)

To clean electronic joints/pads/contacts inside I use water/alcohol. For oxidized solder/copper traces I use industrial circuit board cleaning solutions.

To clean out the cracks, I don't use sharp things like a safety pin, I use soaked toothpicks so that it doesn't scratch the plastic or I wrap a wet peice of paper towel around the toothpick if it will fit (usually it will)

 

Depends on the system.

Scratches? I try not to get scratched systems...if they get scratched...i try to polish em out...other than that...theres not much I can really do about it.

Dirt? Well, if it seems all that dirty...and I know what I'm doing...I'll take it apart and wash the plastic in warm water...if it's a system I've never opened before...and it works...I'll just clean off the outside and detail it with a toothpick...or paper...or whatever...I'll clean it when it needs to be opened.

Bugs? Never really happens to me. If there are any...it's only 1 or 2...and they're dead...but if I gotta deal with a few roaches for a 25 dollar Neo Geo...hmmm....gimme gimme

 

Aww damn. We only have aggressive water here

Kev made some good points. Basically, products like that should really only be cleaned with water, maybe with a little detergent (just washing up liquid, only a tiny bit we don't need bubbles!!)

Lenses should be cleaned with a lint-free cloth. That means no cotton wool, including cotton buds (Q-Tips to you Americans - isn't that a brand??) - ask any keen photographer. In fact, go down to your local photographic store and buy a lens cleaning tissue for cleaning lasers! I use special lens cleaning stuff - personally I'm not sure how good or bad glasses cleaner would be for it.

If you want a super fine finish (and warning - I mean sparkling, and VERY slippery!), then go to your auto-part dealer and get some Meguiars (think that's spelt correctly!) Tyre Polish. It is a purple liquid, consistency like concentrated washing-up liquid, and a fairly pleasant smell. Use a VERY small amount (I mean it - I put like a palmful on my arcade machine, and if you go lean on it, your hand will shoot down the side like some comedy sketch!). On a console, we're probably talking pea sized, or smaller. The console will gleam, and smell nice!

As for cartridge slots, use some electronic cleaning solvent. I would recommend the non-lubricated version, although I guess it wouldn't do any harm. Before anyone suggests it, WD40 has NO place inside a console!!

As for paint, well it depends what method you are painting with, and what finish you want. If you want a glossy finish, go for car paint, with a matt primer in either white or grey to key the paint. Make sure the plastic is clean, especially grease free, before you start. An aerosol of car paint should be enough to spray a console (or several!). If you want more intricate art, then you'll already be an airbrush artist and know what paint to use

Oh, a cheap scratched system would be an excellent place to practice painting, and you could end up with a much nicer looking system. Fill any bad scratches, try not to do much polishing out as it is very difficult in plastic and could show as uneven when painted.

 

Wow!
I feel so... absolutely enlightened about cleaning my consoles... Your methods are admirable. I will document my progress once I try cleaning that SNes and those 2600's.
PSX, PS2 and DC, and other disc based systems... those I'm afraid to disassemble, but I will surely clean them clinically with these new methods of knowledge.

And... I'm Scared. I really hate bugs...
Now I know WHY they call them "flea" markets. I've never found roaches in any of my machines, though, but I'll go give that old Inty another look.

 

I read on the DP boards about someone who found a roach in one of their consoles. And it wasn't the cock kind.

 

Hmm, I'd be careful with bleach! You don't know what it would do - plus its pretty leathal stuff!

Once a grey/white console has yellowed (e.g. a SNES), there's not much you can do. If it bothers you, buy a better one for like £10-15, or what $15-20 there?, or paint it

 

I haven't tried the bleach thing yet since I don't have any stickerless white plastics in need of deyellowing. That is something I'd try with something like a C64 monitor.

 

Oh, actually - my boss tried bleaching a PC monitor. Didn't work

I really wouldn't try it, as the plastic has chemically reacted, and you won't be able to do anything short of peeling off a layer, perhaps. And then you'd lose the finish!

 

I wouldn't use straight bleach of course. Maybe 10% and I'd keep it in no more than 10 mins.

 

I personally like a Simple Green or similar variant - I'm currently using a dollar-store variety called Mean Green. It works really nicely on dirt when used in conjunction with a washcloth or a SLIGHTLY scratchy sponge (when you need a bit of texture to loosen up the dirt). Price stickers and residue are best gone after with Goo Gone or a similar citrus-based cleaner. Dirt and whatnot on the boards themselves is taken care of with gentle spurts of compressed air.

However, if your console happens to look like someone's cat simultaneously shat and vomited into a dimensional paradox that caused every drop of the vile matter to materialize INSIDE the case of, say, a $7 SNES at a thrift store... there's nothing you can do. Keep the case for a paint project, and for God's sake get the boards out to the trash before your room begins to stink.

 

Retro-

Is the product you've suggested similar...or the same product...as Armor All? I've heard that that'll slowly dissolve the plastic...and that the only way to keep the shine with it is to continue putting it on.

XerdoPwerko-

I don't know about PS2, but I wouldn't feel to scared about taking apart a PS1 or DC. I'm easily scared of taking things apart, but both are pretty simple. I'ts been awhile since I've done a DC...but the procedure for both of those consoles would be to flip them both over, remove all screws, flip back over, take off the top, and then continue dismantling from there.

It's really simple to take the DC internals out. It just goes together. With PSX it isn't too bad either...just be careful not to breat wires or plugs.


PS: What's the most consistantly dirty console you guys get? For me it would have to be Playstation...they're always filthy...

 

roaches? never knew roaches could invade a video game console. Damn, you're really giving me the creeps, since most of my consoles are coming from flea markets, garage sales and so on....
i really need to check my sms and all the others!

 

Cahaz, depends if roaches are a problem in your area.

Blur2040, it isn't a spray, its a liquid, like a gel. It does say not to use on vinyl (i.e. interior of car), but a console isn't vinyl, plus I used it on the vinyl of my cab and it was ok - just damn slippery!

Oh yeah, old toothbrushes are great for this, so don't throw yours out when you're done with it. You're supposed to change every 3 months anyway

ASSEMbler and GSL have good points with the citrus. Cutting a lemon or orange and rubbing it on is good, as they are natural cleaners. That's good on limescale, too

Dirtiest console? Hmm, well I'd have to say I've seen a lot of dirty Megadrives, and SNES. Still, SNES is usually just the yellowing, but if you get crap in those grooves round a SNES pad... yuk!! Oh, N64 pads are often horrible - but that's partly due to their design. The stick seems to scrape away at its cradle inside - open it up and it'll be full of powder!

I will dig out some Meguiars and a dirty console, and take photos of the result

Oh, here it is, the one at the bottom. Purple tyre gel. You could try the vinyl one though, I guess.

With any chemical, always test on an inconspicuous area, and leave for a while. I would never use anything abrasive. This isn't so much a polish as a protector - obviously you don't want something abrasive on tyres!

 

What about cleaning the pins in a cartridge slot? What would you use?

I read somewhere that normal rubbing alcohol and a paper towel was fine for this, but haven't had to do it to any of my consoles yet (most of the stuff I have is new/in decent shape, except for a couple of consoles from the early 80's.)

Like I mean what if there's rust up in there, is there any kind of contact spray or something you could use, like something they use for electronics?

 

This may sound odd, but on cartridge pins, I use a normal plastic or pink eraser. Of course, most cart games I bring home I open with a gamebit and dust out anyways, so your mileage may vary if you don't have a gamebit.