Hardware How to clean 3DS Circle pad and buttons

[RodrigoDavy]

I have been playing with my 3ds a lot lately, but the buttons and circle pad have been feeling greesy/sweaty (not sure what's the right word). I tried washing my hands, passing a dry cloth on the buttons, but the weird feeling doesn't go away. Any suggestions?

 

[Skelletonike]

Personally I use Alcohol (the type use for injuries), since it's pretty good at drying stuff, be it skin or whatever, also, if you use it on a thick tissue or something similar, the alcohol won't drip so it won't damage the unit with any liquids, anyway, I've always used alcohol to clean my handhelds since the GBC days and I've never had a problem with it.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

I'll consider it, but i'll have to buy some first (live in a students apartment). I am a little scared though that it may affect the 3ds painting since it's red, is it likely to happen with alcohol?

 

[boombox]

Personally I use Alcohol (the type use for injuries), since it's pretty good at drying stuff, be it skin or whatever, also, if you use it on a thick tissue or something similar, the alcohol won't drip so it won't damage the unit with any liquids, anyway, I've always used alcohol to clean my handhelds since the GBC days and I've never had a problem with it.

This.
You can also use hand sanitiser, which is the same thing.
Works like a charm also great for general cleaning, make sure it's not dripping and spread it around a cloth or kitchen roll before applying.

 

[Skelletonike]

I'll consider it, but i'll have to buy some first (live in a students apartment). I am a little scared though that it may affect the 3ds painting since it's red, is it likely to happen with alcohol?

The 3DS seems to have some sort of layer on top of the paint, unlike then DS Lite (the red one lost its color pretty fast just from normal usage), the only part of the 3DS that I've noticed the color peeling off is on the shoulder buttons and the bottom part of the console (the one where the battery is), in the buttons and top screen part, the color doesn't peel off, I'm saying this from a Black 3DS owner point of view, but I'm assuming the painting is the same, also, don't apply alcohol directly in the screens, just around them.

 

[RodrigoDavy]

I bought isopropylic alcohol (an especial type of alcohol that evaporates really fast) and it worked, but... the buttons are dry but my fingers stills feels sweaty, even if I wash my hands . Maybe it's because of the weather where I live, it's getting hot... =/
Maybe I'll just have to take showers before gaming ^^

EDIT: Forgot to thank everyone! Thanks for the help!

EDIT2: Love the smell of isopropylic alcohol!

 

[JulietStMoon]

I think that's just the nature of the plastic used. I upgraded to a 3DS XL recently (which uses a different kind of plastic for the buttons and casing), and it doesn't seem to have the "oily/greasy" problem the original 3DS had (at least, not as much). Human skin is naturally oily, so it's always going to be a little bit greasy to a degree, even if your hands are clean.

 

[yuuna]

in my experience, the circle pad always get greasy after a short period. i use tissue paper to clean them or make a patch of tissue paper on top of the circle pad. never have problem with buttons though.

 

[Keo-Spin1080]

You know...Fingertips don't have any sebaceous glands so they never get fingerprints on their own. Fingerprints happen when you touch any other part of your body that has them i.e your face, hair, derriere etc.

If you want pristine 3ds then stop touching yourself TC

On Topic..yeah I use surgical spirit from pharmacies meself.

 

[Deltaechoe]

Here's what you should do (i do this for glasses which are generally cr-39 plastic) is that you mix distilled water and isopropyl alcohol 1 to 1. Spray it on a microfiber cloth and have at your 3ds