How to Polish Your Games to a Shine

I know this is easy to do, but I wanted to give an example for anyone who hasn't done it before. For this example we'll be using a NES cart, but this method will work for any cartridge game. To take the games apart, you'll need either a 3.8 or a 4.5 gamebit, depending on what type of game it is. The NES games use the 3.8 bit, while a Genesis game uses the 4.5 bit. That's not saying all games need a bit, though. Some NES games only need a flathead screwdriver. Just check your games and use the tools accordingly. Gamebits can be purchased on eBay for around $7 or $8 for the set of two. (It's handy to have both sizes if you're not sure which size you'll need.) If you need more information on what these are, or where to get them, drop me an e-mail and I'll be glad to help. You'll also need some metal polish. This can be purchased at any Wal-Mart or automotive store. The one I've always used is the Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish. I don't recall what I paid, but it shouldn't be any more than $3 or $4 a can. And believe me, a can goes a *very* long way, especially if you're only ever going to use it to clean your games.

So let's recap what we've learned so far. You'll need:

A cart game to clean

A 3.8/4.5 gamebit or a flathead screwdriver (Again, I recommend having them all)



A can/bottle of metal polish



Now we're ready to disassemble the cart. I only needed to use my fingers for this, but you can use a nut driver. The gamebits just slide in the end like any other attachment for a driver. I haven't found any games that required this, though. They've all been relatively easy to remove with just your fingers, but use whichever method you like.

Here's what the chip inside the cart looks like once it's removed from its casing. Notice how dirty those connectors are! We'll fix that, though. :)


Smear some of the metal polish across the connectors. It's OK to be generous. Don't worry about not getting it exactly on the connectors. It'll wipe right off, but try and be as precise as possible to save yourself the hassle.


Once the polish is on, it's time to buff it off. You can use any soft cloth to do this. Begin wiping the polish off in a back and forth motion. You'll notice that the cloth gets really black while doing this. This is a good thing! You may also notice that it doesn't seem to shiny right away. Keep buffing that polish off! Keep changing to a clean spot on the cloth as it gets dirty. Most of the gunk will be removed without any pressure applied, but just press harder for the stubborn stuff. I had some *really* dirty games that came out perfect after I put some elbow grease into it. Keep buffing the connectors until the rag is practically clean after rubbing it across the connectors. You may think it's clean once it begins to shine, but keep going! Make sure it's clean. This may take an extra minute, or two, but it's well worth it. Do the exact same things to the other side, too. Once you're done, your game should come out looking pristine, almost as if you just bought it. Heck, it may be better than when your bought it. :) Here's a picture of the above chip after it's been polished. It may be hard to tell just how shiny it really is, but this picture should give you a general idea of the results to expect. You really have to see it for yourself to believe it.







Other Helpful Stuff
You may want to clean the game casing while you have it apart. Sometimes they're really dirty.

Once you polish your games, you can probably just use the Windex method for any future cleaning. This is a popular method of cleaning games, but I didn't get the results I was looking for. Once you polish it, though, Windex is all your should need because you've already thoroughly cleaned it with the polish.

You may also want to replace the 72 pin connector inside your NES, too. That way everything is in tip top shape and ready to play. I'll make another page explaining how to do that if I get around to it.

While you have the game open, brush the card off with a soft brush or use some canned air and blow off any dust that may be hiding in there.


That's about it, folks. I'll update this as needed. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. :)

Last updated o4/17/o3