MVS Cart Clean-o-rama!

Ok, I have quite a few MVS carts and a great deal have come out of cabs, they have a thick layer of dust on and around the boards, so I was thinking I should give them a clean, how do I go about it?

I know how to clean the contacts with Isoprop, but are there any effective 'board friendly' ways to clean the dust off and leave me with minto looking boards?

I could load them into the dishwasher

The dishwasher option is not as silly as it sounds.

No detergent though

LOL, i heard that some folks (as a last resort) put pcbs in the washer, so in theory I guess you could wash them in the sink?

It's not a joke or a last resort, just throw them in the dishwasher. As soon as it's done, pull them out, hit them with compressed air and maybe a hair dryer to get any remaining water out from under chips, etc. Then give them a day or so really make sure they're dry. The key is to get all the water off the boards after they're done so they won't sit wet for any length of time; you don't want anything to corrode. Also, you don't want to have any water on the PCB's when you power them up, that can short traces and can cause all sorts of bad stuff.

If immersing the boards in water damages them somehow, then they were already damaged to begin with.

I've put plenty of stuff through the dishwasher without any problems myself; it's a hell of a lot faster than going over them with a toothbrush, and you can do multiple ones at the same time. PCB's are very resistant to the elements, which is why there are tons of old comptuers sitting in landfills that aren't going anywhere anytime soon

Your reasoning is sound but I'd still be scared to put my beloved game pcbs in the dishwasher! I think I'll stick to using a toothbrush for now.

I'd really like to know if anyone has any good ideas for cleaning the shells of mvs games. I can never get the dust out of all those vents and it makes them look really grotty. I know the dishwasher would work for this if the label is being replaced but when the original label is being kept this isn't an option.

Any ideas?

Me=
Dirty Boards= Toothbrush,Compressed Air,Small strong fan/over sink....(other Rag,Paper towels,Alcohol..............and Time..

Contacts=light sandpaper/scotch brite Rag,Paper towels,Alcohol..............

Dirty Cases internal =Toothbrush,Compressed Air,Small strong fan/over sink....(other Rag,Paper towels)..... Q-tips to get into each vent.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
Lets face it ..if you get a load of those MVS carts coming out of China,Whew do they need a good cleaning inside.

I don't disagree with the dishwasher usage...I just don't have one.
I'd say with dishwasher usage much patience is involved...You must make sure to dry them and or give them enough time to dry/plus be able to check if they are dry......."I'd" be weary to wash anything(carts) with socketed chips/daughter boards or repair wires...

........................
Years ago: a friend of mine had an accident,his car went into a Lake after spinning out etc...He had a an expensive car stereo system in the car.
The car was underwater..when he got the car out it was totaled,but he took out the car stereo ..Something burned out in the Radio and the speakers were wet but the Big Amp totally full of water worked again after a few days of drying..
And all he did was put it over a warm house radiator.

Compressed air should work fine.

Pcb's love water in reasonable quantity!

This is the best way to clean your old dusty pcb's. Neo carts love this treatment aswell. This can make any old filthy ocb look good as new (if the hardware isn't allready damaged under all that filth ofcourse).

http://solvalou.mine.nu/technical/pcb_care/

I've done this with many of my games and it has never failed me. This guide is written by the swedish arcade guru and uncletom whom i know from the swedish arcade forum arkadtorget.net

Here's actual before and after pictures of my ivan stewart track pak pcb:
http://vvv.snutt.net/arkad/Ivan Stewart/IMG_7637.JPG
http://vvv.snutt.net/arkad/Ivan Stewart/IMG_7642.JPG