How to clean oxidized game cartridge pins

This video shows how you can clean & polish retro video game cartridge pins to make them look and work like new again. This video demonstrates this by using NES games, but the same principle applies to SNES, Sega and Game Boy/Game Boy Color games as well. If you have any older generation game carts and you cannot get them to work and you have already checked for damage and you cannot find any, its likely dirty/oxidized pins on the game itself. Especially if you know you have a working console.
NOTE: I say corrosion in the video when I mean to say oxidation. My apologies. The games in this video do not have corrosion on the pins, they have oxidation.
My original post about cleaning game cart pins can be found here www.tzirf.com/nintendo-consol...
Further resources for this repair can be found at www.tzirf.com. If you have any questions regarding your own NES/SNES/SEGA game carts head to my website and make a post.
0:01 The games I will be cleaning
3:32 Inspecting pins under microscope
4:58 Showing isopropyl alcohol does not remove this
5:40 What to use to clean the pins
6:55 how to clean/polish the pins
8:28 comparison between cleaned vs not cleaned pins
9:10 comparison between cleaned vs not cleaned pins under microscope
9:58 Super Mario Bros 2 pins have heavy wear
12:00 testing all 4 games after cleaning
12:31 testing WWF WrestleMania
14:10 testing Airwolf
17:00 testing Super Mario Bros 3
18:30 testing Super Mario Bros 2
19:14 Outro
19:33 Bonus play footage
Music: Bensound
License code: IWWHAXI5WIYPQCW6
For additional resources & guides you can visit my website www.tzirf.com. It is a forum based website where I post all the repairs I am working on so that the resources are there for others to do the same repairs. If you are working on a repair and want to share it, or need help with your repair I encourage you to join and make a post.

[@sammydavis3796]

Love these type of videos I do the same stuff myself

[@customchristopherlewisbuil8690]

Asome info I clean some games today bubgy the bunny on sega and the game genie some great finds today cleaning using a thick Brussels brush and bleach to all the gunk and deep sanitize works great on pins and then 91% ip bing bong I love my games thanks

[@sammydavis3796]

What kind of microscope do you use

[@MisHapMusic]

interesting video and cool to see it under the microscope. i’m thinking of cleaning all my carts soon, do you have any opinion on people using erasers to clean them?
I also have wd40 contact cleaner, would that be similar to deoxit?

[@Tzirf]

I have seen and heard for years how using an eraser on NES/SNES/SEGA carts will clean them. While it is true that it removes some dirt/gunk it also spreads it around, which is something you won't be able to see unless you have a microscope. That being said I did use this method of cleaning pins when I was a teenager so I know it works to some extent. However I have found the magic eraser works best for cleaning & polishing the pins. As for WD40 contact cleaner, yes this is probably similar to Deoxit. I have not personally used it, but according to the manufacturer, it removes dust, dirt and oxidation in electronics and is fast drying and leaves no residue. If you use it and find it works please leave a comment.

[@MisHapMusic]

@@Tzirf Out of interest have you tried what you did above with isopropyl
as in isopropyl and the magic eraser under the microscope
i’m wondering if the slight abrasive is what mostly does the actual cleaning more than the type of cleaner one would use.

[@Tzirf]

@@MisHapMusic Yes I have, IPA is absorbed/evaporates quickly so you have to reapply it constantly. Also its not great at removing oxidation on the pins, which is why I said Deoxit works better for this. You could certainly try it with IPA but it takes way more effort and much longer than 5-10 minutes to get the same results. Also if the oxidation is closer to corrosion your out of luck, you need deoxit or a similar product.