Here’s a little tutorial on how to get rid of nasty stickers and residue off Nintendo cardboard boxes. Just because a box is full of stickers, doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed! Using this method you can still transform it into a presentable state.
What you will need is basically three things:
- High percentage Isopropanol Alcohol
- Cotton buds
- Patience
Here’s my latest attempt at removing some nasty tamper-evident stickers off this copy of Super Mario Land in otherwise nice condition. This is how it looked on the Tradera/eBay listing:
The first thing I did was to empty the box so that its contents wouldn’t be affected should anything go wrong. I proceeded to lay out some paper for the table’s protection, and then soaked a cotton bud plentiful in alcohol before starting massaging the stickers.
Even though these stickers were thick they accepted the alcohol pretty well and started to loosen up after a minute or two. Once you see that the stickers are starting to fade and you can notice the artwork underneath, you’re almost at the finish line! Keep adding alcohol if it has dried out, but don’t overdo it at this point. You’ll want to gently rub in the alcohol, not scrub as I did and managed to ruin some of the box.
Once the stickers start to become translucent, try carefully feel the corners to see if they are willing to let go of the priceless artwork. Don’t force them, they should just slide off. If not, add some more alcohol on top and around the edges.
This was the final result. Not perfect, but a hell of a lot better than it was before. You can see the result of me rubbing a bit too hard, but still, I’m pleased with the outcome. Looking up close, it’s barely noticeable where the stickers used to reside.
Once done, I celebrated by playing the game. I know this game by heart so it took me about half an hour to complete. I simply love Hip Tanaka’s ending theme for the game. And I must admit, the game does look good in the cabinet.
Until next time, retronauts!