Retr0bright Support Thread

[rkauer]

Probably, yes.

The best is a varnish that stop oxygen to reach the plastic surface AND add some UV protection at the same time.

But since the oxygen will never touch a surface of retr0brighted plastic after the use of a varnish, the effect is the very same.

[fireaza]

Do you know of any online stores that would carry a matte acrylic lacquer with UV protection?

I guess it's not a massive loss to use the UV-protection-less varnish though, the clerk said you can remove it with turpentine, so I guess if I were foolish enough to leave something I've Retr0brighted in the sun, I can remove the finish, Retr0bright it again, then re-varnish it.

[Merlin]

The Krylon lacquer I mentioned earlier has UV protection in it and if sprayed on as I described earlier will be OK.

[fireaza]

Do they make that in a non-gloss? I can only find glossy versions. There are other Krylon sprays that are available in matte, but they're not acrylic lacquers and I can't find mention of UV protection. Is it really importent that you use an acrylic lacquer, or will any sealant spray do? There's a whole bunch of "finish sprays" that are available from Krylon for example.

[Merlin]

If you want the 'gold-plated' solution, go with the krylon; seriously, if you spray it from 8-12 inches away it won't matter much it it's gloss or satin, as you are messing with the coalescence anyway.

For the 'silver plated' solution, go with any 'sealer spray' or acrylic lacquer in an aerosol can, e.g. Japlac, car auto acrylic, etc.

As long as the surface is sealed off from the air, it won't go yellow again. The UV protectant is just aded insurance.

[fireaza]

Thanks for that Merlin! I found some matte sealant spray with UV protection at an art shop, that should do the job.

And I'd try it out, but the piece of plastic I tried to re-retr0bright (which has been outside for two days now) hasn't changed color at all! There seems to be a limit to how far the 6% can go, looks like I'd need to use the 12% 40vol of the hairdresser's cream to get the kind of results I got the first time. If that works, it looks like the hairdresser's cream is suitable to use on SNES plastic, but for the NES, I need to use the 6% straight hydrogen peroxide.

[ajk]

Also try the spray on some other (preferably similar) piece of plastic first, so you'll have an idea of what it looks like and can practise the technique.

[fireaza]

Yep, that was the plan, gonna try it out on the underside of the plastic Now I just need a sunny day to try the hairdresser's cream out again...

[Beaps]

I have done my 1541 II drive I its not evenly got rid of the yellowing. Its kinda made it like a stripy marble effect.

I blasted it again with the BBlonde & its a little better. How can I get rid of it completely of can I not?

[Merlin]

Stripey 'marble' effects are usually caused by the masterbatch of the plastic not being mixed properly before it's extruded into the parts. What you are seeing is either differences in the polymer composition, or areas where the flame retardant wasn't moxed in properly.

The 'marbling' is caused as the plastic flows within the mould and unfortunately you are stuck with it. If it's really bad, it's off the the car paint shop for a suitable colour to respray it. I can recommend Austin Rover Old English White as a possible match for the 1541-II.