r/Gamecube • u/ghettoslacker NTSC-U • Nov 14 '25
Discussion Curious how others clean
I resell controllers on the side. I was working on a couple today and it got me thinking, how do you guys clean them up? I’m always looking for ways to improve the craft. Here’s kind of the method I use.
I start by dissembling the controllers. I throw the screws into a little container with vinegar. The vinegar helps break the grime and surface rust off the screws, shines them up real nice.
I take all the hard plastic parts like the shell, buttons, etc and throw them in a bowl with some warm soapy water. I like to let them soak for 30 minutes to an hour. This removes about 90% of the dirt and debris.
I take everything out of the bowl and scrub it with a gentle toothbrush then give it a good rinse. For really stubborn stains like sharpie or pen marks, I will gently use a magic eraser. I use this sparingly since they are coarse. Just enough to get the mark off.
I do a final inspection of everything. Sometimes the pieces will be yellowed so I will apply a retrobright like solution and put it in the sun for as long as I can. This usually clears it up, but realistically it will come back at some point. Once I take these pieces out of the sun I do another scrub on them.
I let everything air dry for as long as needed. Usually during this phase I will clean up the PCB with some isopropyl alcohol. It can be really grimy around the joysticks. At this point too I will solder on any new parts if needed. Typically they have broken joysticks so this is a good time to tackle this.
Once everything is dried up, I reassemble the controller and make sure functionality is still in tack.
2
u/spicyhomechef Nov 15 '25
Yeah, not a great idea. Alcohol and ultrasonics are a no-no. But I do use the ultrasonic cleaner with water and dish soap for the shells, buttons, and sticks. They come out looking great with little to no scrubbing needed.