SNES Cartridge discoloration

I'm going through my SNES collection and I'm noticing a lot of unsightly discoloration on the back side of a few of my cartridges. I wanna clean them up but I'm not sure what the best way of going about that would be. 

What do you guys do to get rid of the yellow discoloration on your carts? 

Comments

  • You can't clean it because the plastic itself has changed, just like the yellowed consoles (usually a bad mix of flame retardants). It may be possible to retrobrite just like the consoles but you can't just clean it off. You have to reverse the yellowing.
  • I'll have to look into the retrobrite. I have swapped some of the back from cheaper games with some of the more expensive games but that only goes so far. I don't want to buy replacement off brand backs because it causes problems with authenticity. I wish they never added these flame retardants to these things. I want a pretty collection.



    Does anyone have a lot of good experience with the retrobrite?
  • It works but not worth the effort in my opinion. If cheap enough just upgrade to a prettier copy. I've never retrobrited carts only old PCs but I would assume the cream wont play well with labels and also retrobriting can be costly and time consuming.
  • Originally posted by: StudyHallPanic#@!



    It works but not worth the effort in my opinion. If cheap enough just upgrade to a prettier copy. I've never retrobrited carts only old PCs but I would assume the cream wont play well with labels and also retrobriting can be costly and time consuming.



    I wonder if an ozone generator would affect the labels too much. I got a $300 unit for $50 and I’ll be doing my own experiments eventually.  



    8bitguy had promising result some in his experiments:

    https://youtu.be/qZYbchvSUDY
  • You can submerge the plastic in hydrogen peroxide and leave it in the sunlight for a few hours, it will come out like new. The bad news is it will also ruin the label.
  • Blame it on the bromine.
  • Well, it's mostly on the back of the SNES games so What I'd be fixing wouldn't put the label in jeopardy. So at least that's a good thing.
  • Just swap the back with a different tape. Buy a junk sports one or Mario paint for it then toss in garbage after since nobody else will buy madden 93
  • Just deal with it? Who cares, it's the back. 



    Unfortunate, but as others have said... seems unpreventable (from us collectors).

     
    Originally posted by: ALTQQ



    Just swap the back with a different tape. Buy a junk sports one or Mario paint for it then toss in garbage after since nobody else will buy madden 93


    Originally posted by: Beezledrop



    I'll have to look into the retrobrite. I have swapped some of the back from cheaper games with some of the more expensive games but that only goes so far. I don't want to buy replacement off brand backs because it causes problems with authenticity. I wish they never added these flame retardants to these things. I want a pretty collection.



    Does anyone have a lot of good experience with the retrobrite?



     



    Love that EVO!... Actually, I swapped the back from a Madden. And the front had some wear too, so I swapped that too and put a sticker I bought from eBay on it. 



    Perfect!



    If you're swapping the back of a Madden for the back of an expensive game, you're devaluing the more "valuable" game. 



    It's no longer original.



    I'd be pissed if I came across one, and god forbid bought one. (I use bootgod to double check all the numbers. The back stamp is part of this process)



    I get you want the uniformity... but you have to just accept it. I mean, you don't have to... but destroying games to make your collection "pretty" doesn't benefit anyone. 
  • Yeah, what ruins the "just swap the back" thing is that now people are documenting what games have which numbers stamped into the back label... but only if you care or want to sell it to someone who cares.



    Will one with a horribly ugly back but the right number be worth a lot more than the one with a sexy back but the wrong number? In the USA, a restored muscle car that may have a few parts that are slightly the wrong color but is otherwise in excellent restored condition is worth far more than a rusty, discolored all-original. But in the UK, say with a Jaguar, orginality with surface rust, corrosion, dry rot and scratches rules over new, slightly different parts.
  • Originally posted by: Beezledrop

    I wish they never added these flame retardants to these things.





    They had to. The plastic was extremely flammable otherwise.
  • Originally posted by: K.Thrower



    Blame it on the bromine.

    Bromines before homines!
  • I'd rather have a pretty cartridge that is flammable than an ugly one that isn't lol.
  • The raging fire would certainly be pretty.  
  • Originally posted by: Beezledrop



    I'd rather have a pretty cartridge that is flammable than an ugly one that isn't lol.



    Why do you have to be so biased against yellow? 



    I think it gives the shelf a nice "vintage" look.    



    I honestly don't understand why anyone would take the back of a shitty game and switch it with the back of a good game.   



    The car analogy stated above was a good one. 



    As more and more reproduction shells come around, and more swapping happens, the harder it becomes to tell if you've got an original game. So... not swapping the shells just makes it easier in the end. 

     
    Originally posted by: GCrites80s



    Yeah, what ruins the "just swap the back" thing is that now people are documenting what games have which numbers stamped into the back label... but only if you care or want to sell it to someone who cares.



    Will one with a horribly ugly back but the right number be worth a lot more than the one with a sexy back but the wrong number? In the USA, a restored muscle car that may have a few parts that are slightly the wrong color but is otherwise in excellent restored condition is worth far more than a rusty, discolored all-original. But in the UK, say with a Jaguar, orginality with surface rust, corrosion, dry rot and scratches rules over new, slightly different parts.



    Value and price aside, the thing I'm concerned about is authenticity. 



    If I pick up an expensive game, it's shitty if the back is from Madden. 



    The car analogy is good... However, I would say that a game with a discoloured back would be more desirable than one with a "minty" back from some random Madden. I mean.. there's 3 parts. 2/3 isn't great. 



    Also... I don't think it's anything "new" that people are looking at the # stamped on the back of the cart. 



    As a noob I came on NintendoAge to read threads title things like "How do I tell if my game is authentic"? where I learned about such mysteries as these numbers and how websites like http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/ document these things. 



    Example:



    Mighty Final Fight - http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/profile.php?id=1005



    Two Digit Code: 07
  • Originally posted by: AirVillain

     
    Originally posted by: Beezledrop



    I'd rather have a pretty cartridge that is flammable than an ugly one that isn't lol.



    Why do you have to be so biased against yellow? 



    I think it gives the shelf a nice "vintage" look.    



    I honestly don't understand why anyone would take the back of a shitty game and switch it with the back of a good game.   



    The car analogy stated above was a good one. 



    As more and more reproduction shells come around, and more swapping happens, the harder it becomes to tell if you've got an original game. So... not swapping the shells just makes it easier in the end. 

     
    Originally posted by: GCrites80s



    Yeah, what ruins the "just swap the back" thing is that now people are documenting what games have which numbers stamped into the back label... but only if you care or want to sell it to someone who cares.



    Will one with a horribly ugly back but the right number be worth a lot more than the one with a sexy back but the wrong number? In the USA, a restored muscle car that may have a few parts that are slightly the wrong color but is otherwise in excellent restored condition is worth far more than a rusty, discolored all-original. But in the UK, say with a Jaguar, orginality with surface rust, corrosion, dry rot and scratches rules over new, slightly different parts.



    Value and price aside, the thing I'm concerned about is authenticity. 



    If I pick up an expensive game, it's shitty if the back is from Madden. 



    The car analogy is good... However, I would say that a game with a discoloured back would be more desirable than one with a "minty" back from some random Madden. I mean.. there's 3 parts. 2/3 isn't great. 



    Also... I don't think it's anything "new" that people are looking at the # stamped on the back of the cart. 



    As a noob I came on NintendoAge to read threads title things like "How do I tell if my game is authentic"? where I learned about such mysteries as these numbers and how websites like http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/&n... these things. 



    Example:



    Mighty Final Fight - http://bootgod.dyndns.org:7777/pr...



    Two Digit Code: 07



    I mean if the back was just swapped  with another game the cart is still authentic just from a different game. I wouldn't put my eggs in the check the number stamp for confiming a game is real anyway. The only good way is to open the thing

     
  • Originally posted by: leatherrebel5150



    I mean if the back was just swapped  with another game the cart is still authentic just from a different game. I wouldn't put my eggs in the check the number stamp for confiming a game is real anyway. The only good way is to open the thing

     



    No, for sure not.



    Obviously the board is the most important piece. But... 



    1) Board

    2) Label/Front 1/2 Cart

    3) Back 1/2 of cart



    Even though it's #3, I still think it's part of being "original". As in, how it came from the factory. 
  • Originally posted by: K.Thrower



    Blame it on the bromine.



    Is it sad I read that in the tune of blame it on the rain?

     
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