Retr0bright Support Thread

[fireaza]

Okay, we've had a sunny day today, so I was able to try re-Retr0brighting that piece from before, but this time with the stronger hairdressers cream. It did a MUCH better job than the 6% straight hydrogen peroxide. This leads me to think there's a limit to how much weaker hydrogen peroxide can do, despite the general consensus being weaker strengths will work just as well, only slower. This did more in half a day than the 2 days straight for the 6%. Can anyone offer some insight on this? The 40vol 12% hairdresser's cream seem to be fine for SNES plastic (it does a good job, and doesn't cause marbling unless you let it dry out), but I'd really like to see a solution for NES plastic. The 6% does work, but it still leaves a little bit of yellow, like I saw when I tried to re-Retr0bright that piece of SNES plastic from before. I can't use the 12% 40vol, since this causes marbling. Do you think 8% 40vol hairdresser's cream would do the trick? It would be stronger than the 6% straight, but weaker than the 12% cream, so if the marbling I'm seeing is due to the hydrogen peroxide being too strong for the NES plastic, would this be OK to use?

Also, I'm using that spray I mentioned before. As per Merlin's reccomendation, I'm spraying from 8-12 inches away, but it seems to be going on VERY lightly and a lot of the spray is missing the plastic. Do I need to do multiple coats to ensure the whole thing is being sealed?

[WonkeyDonkey]

Post edited.

Message no 719 in this thread mentions about spraying and the orange peel effect. There is also mention a couple of pages back about marbling effect.

From what I have garnered in several threads on here, spraying is best done in light even coats, with the lacquer held not too close, and that it would therefore take several coats. It would seem fair to assume that the case is the same when applying a protective coat too.

[fireaza]

Well, I've finished re-Retr0brighting that SNES plastic, and I've applied the UV coating. Oddly enough, the instructions also call for it to be sprayed from 8-12" away. Anyway, one coat seems to do the job, and it dries with texture and appearance of the original plastic, provided you don't put it on too thickly (1 even coat, as per the instructions). Hopefully this should do the job!

Getting back to my hydrogen peroxide issue, do you think a weaker version of the hairdresser's cream that works well for SNES plastic would be safe to use on NES plastic? I'd love to simply use a stronger percent of straight hydrogen peroxide, but I can't find anything stronger than 6%.

[RED IMPACT]

I picked this solution up at Superdrug today for the price of a a big packet and half of Haribo!

Cant wait to get Retr0brighting!

[CrazyC]

Hullo,
Am new to this stuff but anyway, got a spare set of keys and some of the bblonde cream (nothing else), and took advantage of the sunny day on friday.

The three pics attached show before, then after three hours, then after around 6 hours.

I haven't yet tried putting the lacquer on as this was just a test

[fireaza]

I did some more re-Retr0brighting yesterday, and I noticed a small amount of marbling that wasn't there the first time I did it. I figure it can't be the hydrogen peroxide, since this is the same stuff I used the first time. However, this time I had the plastic outside for much longer, I'd put it out the night before, so it was out all day. Would the long time spent outside possibly be the cause of this?

[rkauer]

Overexposure can cause this problem, especially if you let the mixture dry over the plastic.

[fireaza]

I had it wrapped in cling wrap, and the mixture was still wet when I cleaned it up, so it must have been over-exposure, thanks for the tip! Seems like around 7 hours is enough time. Enough to do the job, but not enough to cause damage.

[Tajmaster]

Is this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blacklight...item41646d8e03

A suitable UV bulb for retrobrighting inside the house?

[RED IMPACT]

Is this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Blacklight...item41646d8e03

A suitable UV bulb for retrobrighting inside the house?

Yep...but is cheaper from Maplins as per the 1st post!