Proper cleaning materials for cartridges

Ok, old thread but I figured I'd follow up and give you guys results. DeOxIt is fantastic stuff. What I did on my games was 99% isopropyl followed by DeOxIt. The combination worked wonderfully. DeOxIt is expensive but a small nail polis sized bottle of it was enough to clean about 110 NES games with a quarter of the bottle left over, so it's not that bad. Q tips, DeOxIt and isopropyl. That's the secret sauce for me

 

DeOxIT is a brand, not a product. As we've already discussed, there are several different products presented in several different dispensing methods in their range. It might be more useful if you mentioned which product and in what form It sounds like you're using D100L or G100L, but they come in many forms, many sizes and a few different solutions. I assume you used the liquid, but that's available in 5% or 100% solution and in a standard bottle, needle dispenser bottle or brush applicator bottle... each having both solutions.

Thanks for following up - a bit more info and that will be a useful insight into how far it goes. (Take the brush applicator - it's either 1.6 ml at $5.95 or 7.4ml at $19.95, assuming you are using D100L and buying from Caig. If three-quarters of the bottle does 110 carts, let's say you get 150 carts done with a bottle. If it's the small bottle, it's 4c per cart... but if it's the big bottle, that's 13c per cart. A big difference!)

 

I used D100 in the 7.5ml bottle with the brush applicator. Earlier I had also purchased a 5oz can of DeOxIt D5 and while it worked, it was way too messy and the spray was highly pressurized and a bit too much for this application. The brush applicator in the 7.5ml bottle was perfect for cleaning cartridges, because there's no waste and you can apply it where you need it. It also helped to remove a lot of dirt from grooves in contacts that people had claimed were already cleaned. It is on the expensive side, and you could certainly get by well enough with isopropyl, but for me I was impressed enough with the ease of use and the results to recommend it if you can afford it. As for where I got it, I bought it from Amazon for $15.25.

 

Interesting feedback - nice to have two products compared. Indeed, the pen, brush bottle and wipes are the intended products for small cleaning like this.

That's what needs proving really - whether it's THAT much better than IPA to justify the cost. Being scarce over here, I've not tried it yet.

Price is about right - $14.99 from MCM or $14.59 if you buy 4.

What your notes do is compare to the wipes, which is very handy. At $14.99 for 150 applications, that's 10c per use. Wipes are $18.99 for 50, which is 38c each. Whilst that sounds very expensive, you could probably do a few carts per wipe. In fact, you'd only need to be able to use a wipe on 3 carts to get the same amount of carts cleaned (although you'd be paying $4 more). To get the same value, you'd need to clean 190 carts with a pack, which is 4 carts per wipe. I've not seen any information on how big the wipes are... although you'd think 4 uses would be doable. That's a quarter (or one edge) per cart.

 

The wipes are an interesting idea, and one that I think I'd explore if I had more time. The problem for me is that I usually have windows of 30-60 minutes to get cleaning done. It's hard to find hours to clean with a 3 year old in the house. I'm not sure about the wipes in terms of how fast they dry out or if they're less effective over time, so I wanted something that I could seal up quickly and go back to later.

As far as the spray cans go, I think that cleaning car parts or something is a better application. The force of the spray is just too much for cleaning small things, but would be great for something larger.

 

The 50s come in a reusable jar, whereas the 25s come in individual packets.

If you don't mind spending a bit more per wipe for testing, I'd say see if someone sells them individually or in smaller quantities on eBay.

Incidentally, I asked Caig several questions two months ago regarding selecting the best DeOxIT products for the job. They never bothered to reply. Very disappointing!

Oh look, this seems a good deal! $20!

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-...oxit-gold-electronic-maintenance-kit--341-203

Possibly this for $10, too:

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-dgn5ms-15-deoxit-deoxit-gold-mini-spray-twin-pack--341-204

 

https://www.parts-express.com/caig-product-selection-guide

 

My experience with the larger cans leads me to believe that a spray of any type isn't the best tool for the job. It would get the job done, but cartridge contacts are pretty narrow, and you'd end up wasting a fair amount in overspray.

 

I'm well aware of their product selection guide. I asked more specific technical questions not covered by it (and it's extremely vague, anyway), and they didn't bother replying.

There are mini sprays made for such purposes, but the intended product would be a wipe.... or perhaps even the needle applicator if you're leaving the cart intact. The brush applicator should be fine, though.