Hacking DS d-pad stain

[OSW]

Well, it seems my hands are naturally quite sweaty

or perhaps i've been playing ds with dirty hands ...

A while ago playing my DS lite i realised the d-pad was getting a bit sticky. Taking a closer look a noticable darkish stain was aound the dpad.

It makes playing a bit unpleasant (i use the touchscreen as often as possible)

i tried carefully cleaning it with a wet cloth, to no avail.


has anyone else had any problems with sticky/stained d-pad?
Any reccomendations on how i should attempt to clean it?

 

[JetBlckHrt]

I have an oil stain around my movement buttons, but its not sticky, just shinier than the rest of the plastic. it does get annoying tho, cause it makes my DS look unkempt, when I really do look after it..

 

[roboz]

The only possible way to clean it is by taking apart the ds and then cleaning it. If it is a permanent mark you can probably get a new d-pad at ebay or something.

 

[Hooya]

Try rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip. Even if you get a lot down into the DS it'll only take a few minutes for it to dry and Alcohol is a pretty good solvent that can get rid of a lot of sticky mess.

I have always had very sweaty hands when I play too. I always have to wash my hands before I play because if there's even a little bit of dirtiness on them I can leave some of that behind with my sweat. A little bit of grime is inevitable.

 

[shadow1w2]

I got pizza greese on my Wii Classic controller thumb sticks.
Its all yellowish now.
Dont think I could remove it, besides its hardly noticeable. Just doesnt have that nice white shine.....
Damn it, why couldnt nintendo release a black version too? >.

 

[Awdofgum]

Maybe some peroxide might do the trick.

 

[4saken]

Use some cleaning alcohol or spirits (meth spirits with a Q-tip like somebody suggested above).

Try toothpaste as well. May sound absurd but it may work after a bit of elbowgrease.

 

[OSW]

wow, thanks for all the advice guys.

oh.. what is a Q-tip?

and i know people use alcohol to clean stuff, but does this actually mean pure alcohol or something? should i buy some special solution?

thanks again.
i'll try and clean it this weekend if all goes well.

 

[TLSpartan]

You should seriously give toothpaste a shot OSW. My old calculator watch got massive scratches on the front and then I put a little bit of toothpaste on it and brushed it with an old toothbrush and the scratches have gone and my watch smelled minty

 

[OSW]

haha

i'll consider it. however i have my doubts that it is the most effective method though.

I might use it on something less valuable though

 

[HBK]

haha

 i'll consider it. however i have my doubts that it is the most effective method though.

I might use it on something less valuable thoughÂ

It does work. Believe it or not, toothpaste is great for CD scratches! A friend of mine told me that he had a CD that had a lot of scratches on it, and the computer wasn't able to read it (data CD), so he used a bit of toothpaste, cleaned it with a toothbrush carefully, inserted it and it worked! I couldn't believe it, but it was true.

Toothpaste FTW.

 

[OSW]

wow. still, it's a bit of a different story, being plastic, and one of my most prized possessions.

 

[4saken]

I've done it before, so I can verify it works. Just try not to get toothpaste stuck in the holes

I had to suck it out of the speaker holes

 

[StuKeeler]

oh.. what is a Q-tip?

A cotton swab... Wikipedia

American's refer to them by brand name (Q Tips)

 

[JetBlckHrt]

wont using alcohol actually depleat the black color of the NDS lite?

 

[leetdude_007]

Crap. I'm having the same problem with d-pad stains. Furthermore, I have stains circling around the abxy and start and select stains.

note: lens cleaning cloth does not do the job... because it's no screen. it's the plastic nintendo loves to use with their products.

 

[yarfapet]

haha

 i'll consider it. however i have my doubts that it is the most effective method though.

I might use it on something less valuable thoughÂ

It does work. Believe it or not, toothpaste is great for CD scratches! A friend of mine told me that he had a CD that had a lot of scratches on it, and the computer wasn't able to read it (data CD), so he used a bit of toothpaste, cleaned it with a toothbrush carefully, inserted it and it worked! I couldn't believe it, but it was true.

Toothpaste FTW.

Do you think it would work with touch screen scratches?

 

[590221010]

please someone that has the grease stains on ds try it with toothpaste and then let me know haha. I probably will try it I have noticed that the grease stains have grown bigger around the abxy and the d-pad

 

[AStar]

try using a white pencil eraser, i know it sound strange, but the light abrasions will help alot. I use it to clean my L and R buttons, as well as my white macbook.
The rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab works well too.