How To Keep Your Vintage Cartridges Looking and Working Like New!

Today I am going to talk about a few situations that really annoy me and can be fixed with a few dollars worth of materials and/or some basic common sense.

First, as most of you know, when games get REALLY old the labels start to come off. I HATE THIS! I hate seeing a cartridge with no labels. And I REALLY hate when people write notes on them to tell you what they are. Here is a super easy tip of the labels start coming off of your game:

1. DO NOT USE SUPER GLUE! It bleeds through paper and is just plain to messy. You will end up with a really crappy looking cartridge. The only thing that looks crappier is someone who uses clear tape to reattach their labels.

2. Keep your cartridges away from the air conditioner/heater and away from direct sunlight. I know it says it on the back of NES cartridges, but use your head. Air conditioners and heaters take moisture out of the air, glue dries out and the labels come off. Direct sunlight will eventually discolor your cartridges.

3. DO NOT blow in your cartridges. The chemicals in your spit and moisture from your breath are actually very bad for the games. Don’t blow in the game system itself either.

Here are some great alternatives to keep your games in tip-top shape without killing your bank account:

1. Labels coming off? Go to the arts and crafts aisle at your local big box store and pick up a dollar thing of stick glue, the kind you used in grade school. Clean the cartridge with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol then apply a bit to the effected area and hold it down until it sticks. If the entire label has come off, apply a good coat to the entire label and reapply it firmly. Cleaning the cartridge with rubbing alcohol is very important as it gets rid of old useless glue, debris and dirt.

2. Video game storage: Like I said before, don’t store your games near heaters, air conditioners or direct sunlight. Remember this are basically 30 year old electronics and need to be treated as such. I keep mine all in a bookcase. It has 6 shelves so I use 2 of them for my systems, 1 for controllers, and 3 for games. It is set to where there is no sun on them and is on the opposite side of the room from the air vent.

3. Cleaning your games: Everyone has come across the problem of your games not working. Dust gets into the pins and you get squat. Most peoples’ first solution is to blow in them. That is about the worst thing you can do. It may work for the short term but will deteriorate your games in the long term. All you need is a can of compressed air like used to clean out computer keyboards, rubbing alcohol and Q-tips. Blow out your machines with the compressed air occasionally with the compressed air, and clean your cartridges with the q-tips dipped in alcohol.

If your games come in the original box, leave them in it! It is rare to find games in original boxes so the boxes themselves are rare, and are an excellent way to show off your collection while keeping them away from light, heat, cold and liquid. Following some basic guidelines and using your head will save you lots of trouble down the line.


ON A DIFFERENT NOTE: Don’t forget to vote for your favorite game system on the poll located on the top of the column on the right! A lot of people have voted for the SNES, which is probably my least favorite vintage system and I really don’t think it did much to further the video game industry, but one man’s trash is another’s treasure. Anyway, VOTE! PLEASE VOTE!