Removing yellowing from old computer cases, solved!!

[Merlin]

Hi,

A major breakthrough has been made in the Amiga (sorry ) world that is too good to keep to ourselves, take a look here:

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=37808

The process is proven and works really quickly, this may be of interest to your members. Feedback is welcomed...

Enjoy....

Merlin

Note to mods: Not sure if this is in the right forum, please move it to the appropriate place if it's not. Thanks



simbo edit.........:

----------------------
made this too a sticky as its a good topic for adding to the guides
has its uses when further narrrow scope impants like sprays and fixers are used...

[techie_alison]

With kind thanks to Merlin for providing this information.

Welcome to the board.

[popsel]

Hi!

Has anybody tryed a method of "Removing yellowing from old computer cases" thread (http://atari-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=14567)
and can give us a "howto" instruction to get a good result ?

After reading tons of post I am still unsure which is the best recipe

[AtariSince1989]

All seems a bit dangerous and not guarantee of getting as 1st day.

I think I'll try some on my grandpa's denture, before ruin my ST

[techie_alison]

bumped for anyone that would like to give it a go.

[jkolak]

bumped for anyone that would like to give it a go.

Hah!

I'd be glad to if I still had an ST!

(hint... hint... open for offers of donations!)

[DarthWhippet]

This could of course all be a ploy by Amiga owners to get us to ruin our ST's

[Merlin]

Oh God, not the old "Amiga vs. Atari" arguments again, FFS.........Thou unbelievers.......

Right; here's a link to Atari Age, where I was invited to take part in a thread started by Atari owners, who had done their own experiments based on our work.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.ph ... pic=138244

Here's a link to some photos of an Atari 130XE which was done by Tezza of Vintage Computer Forums, the process does work on Ataris too!

http://classic-computers.org.nz/blog/20 ... ases-2.htm

The science behind this discovery has been discussed and validated in that thread by another chemist who is an Atari site member.

Also, we are writing this project up for a Wiki type article; would you like us to post the link here when it's finished, which should be in about a week?

[Mug UK]

Our very own Wiki would be a deserving place as any for useful stuff like this.

[Merlin]

@ muguk

Thanks, I shall be in touch when Zetr0 and I have completed it.

I would also appreciate you checking on this thread for trolling, as we have had quite enough of that over the last four months we have been working on this. We could have kept this idea secret, however we chose to release it to the public domain, with a full explanation as to why it works, so that all may benefit from our work; not to set ourselves up for a trolling.

If anyone wishes to critique the science behind this once they have read the thread at Atari Age, feel free, but I will be looking for some real scientific argument behind your comments, as we believe our reasoning is sound.

[DarthWhippet]

Someones had a humour bypass i think...
It was made in jest i really couldn't give a fig about the x vs y brigade i thought we were all grown up now.

[Merlin]

LOL, nah it's OK mate, no offence taken.

[DarthWhippet]

LOL, nah it's OK mate, no offence taken.

Phew...didn't want to upset anyone when i just got here.....Just wasn't sure which way to take it.

[Merlin]

@ Darthwhippet

I am actually from the "Dark Side" though, ssshhhhh, don't tell anyone, they might not notice.....

*cough*

[DarthWhippet]

@ Darthwhippet

I am actually from the "Dark Side" though, ssshhhhh, don't tell anyone, they might not notice.....

*cough*

[Merlin]

@ all

The best recipe is this:-

1 pint (500ml) 10 to 15% Hydrogen Peroxide solution (do not use stronger than 15%, as low as 6% has been proven to work)
1 tablespoonful (10g) of Corn Flour, Xanthan Gum or Arrowroot (any starchy food thickener will do)
1 teaspoonful (5ml) of Glycerine (it helps the thickener disperse and wet out better)
1/4 teaspoonful (1.5g) "Oxy" laundry booster

You should be able to get these materials easily.

Blend the first three items for 30 seconds with a high speed hand blender or liquidiser. Let the mixture rest and 5 minutes later you should have a thick almost clear gel which won't drip from a spoon. This is stable and can be stored. DO NOT add any "Oxy" until you are ready to use it.

Add the 1/4 teaspoonful of "Oxy" and stir it in with a spoon just before you brush it onto the item to be treated. Stick it under a black light or sunlight and check periodically. Once you are satisfied that the colour has been restored, wash all traces of the gel off and allow to dry. Coat with a clear lacquer to seal the oxygen away from the surface and it should stay the restored colour indefinitely.

[Merlin]

@muguk

Here's a link to the Wiki article that we have put together; feel free to link to it from your site.

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com

We have tried to make it easy reading and there are some nice hardware "before and after pictures" included, along with an explanation of the science behind it.

Cheers

Merlin

[Desty]

Thanks Merlin, I can't wait to try this on my STs. Great pics on the page, any chance of having high-res versions linked as well though (I'd love to see the one-side-treated super-yellow C64 zoomed in a bit )?

[Merlin]

Here you go Desty, I'll post it here for now:



That should be big enough for you. We will eventually put a gallery of lots of these project up there; if you treat one of your cases, can you post some "before and after" pictures here, that we could maybe use on the Wiki as well?

[Mug UK]

@muguk

Here's a link to the Wiki article that we have put together; feel free to link to it from your site.

http://retr0bright.wikispaces.com

We have tried to make it easy reading and there are some nice hardware "before and after pictures" included, along with an explanation of the science behind it.

Cheers

Merlin

It's on there now.

[Merlin]

Thanks a lot Muguk, much appreciated!!

[Desty]

That should be big enough for you. We will eventually put a gallery of lots of these project up there; if you treat one of your, can you post some "before and after" pictures here, that we could maybe use on the Wiki as well?

Wow, that's a massive difference. The right side looks like an oompaloompa. If I treat mine, I'll definitely take some before and after pics, but I don't think they have very pronounced yellowing (the old mono monitor is yellower than Homer Simpson's arse, but I'm not sure exactly how to take it apart safely ).

[Merlin]

It wasn't yellow when I got it; it was more of a mahogany colour!!

It's now back to the grey/light beige colour that Commodore intended. I will post the sequence of pictures taken at 2,4,6 and 8 hours so you can get an idea of how long a particular stage of discoloration takes to reverse.

I like WOW, it means people are impressed......

[Merlin]

God, I am post wh0ring in here tonight!!

Here's the link to the thread at Atari Age on the same subject, keeping it in an Atari stylie:

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.ph ... pic=138244

Lots of pr0n pictures of treated Atari cases in that thread, also loads of scientific chat about it too; Harpo at AA has validated my chemical reasoning on this as well, which is way cool.

[Shredder11]

the old mono monitor is yellower than Homer Simpson's arse, but I'm not sure exactly how to take it apart safely ).

Which?....the monitor or Homer Simpson's arse?

Surely in the case of Homer you just part the cheeks and errr........remove any unslightly logs and then clean up!