Amiga 500 - Retrobrite?

[Retro-mania]

Hi there

Might sound like a stupid question, but does anyone know of anyone willing to offer a retrobrite service?

I bought a rather yellowed A500 with thoughts of sorting it out, but now I am not sure I can do this myself.

Anyone up for the challenge?

 

[Timtheloon]

The only problem is, if it goes wrong will you be able to forgive

I have had different experiences of retrobrighting in the past. My a500+ came out amazing and is still going strong but I have another A500 case which now has a nice marble effect it didn't go well lol

 

[Retro-mania]

The only problem is, if it goes wrong will you be able to forgive

I have had different experiences of retrobrighting in the past. My a500+ came out amazing and is still going strong but I have another A500 case which now has a nice marble effect it didn't go well lol

Hi there, great question. If it went wrong I guess I would ask to “go again”. But hey, I realise this is no exact science.
It would seem that not using cling film and regularly re-pasting might be the way forward?
Thing is, I have a yellowed 500 and would love it to be at least close to how it used to look.

 

[Timtheloon]

I would suggest trying it for yourself, even if you just go for, say the trapdoor to see how it goes, there are plenty of YouTube videos on the process.

but also be prepared for the return of the yellowing. there have been lots of report that the yellowing returns after a few months, my attempt on my A500+ has held pretty strong but I can tell it is not as good as when I first did it

 

[Retro-mania]

I would suggest trying it for yourself, even if you just go for, say the trapdoor to see how it goes, there are plenty of YouTube videos on the process.

I don’t have the kit to do it indoors and down here in Brighton you just cannot rely on it being sunny without showers at the moment But yes, I take your point. Guess I should take that leap of faith!

 

[Timtheloon]

Your not that far from me in Portsmouth lol and the weather now is a great time to try it

 

[Timtheloon]

there is also sunbrighting but I think you need something like the Australia sun to see any results I left an amiga case out for over 3 weeks and there was a change but not the amazing change we hope for.

 

[Watson]

@Retro-mania

Retro-Bighting is easy peasy lemon squeezy.

As @Timtheloon stated now is a great time to do it.

Method 1.
Buy some B-Blonde 20% vol. It's a ready mixed creamy paste. You just spread it on evenly and put it in the sun and agitate every 15 minutes. If your case is lightly yellow that may suffice, but, if badly yellowed, you will need to add more and keep agitating as it dries out in the sun. You could wrap it in some cling film to stop it from drying out but, i have found this can cause the marble / streaking effect.

Caution: protect you hands and fingers because this stuff burns when in contact with the skin.

Method 2.
Buy "pure" hydrogen peroxide. . fill a suitable holding container and completely submerge the case. then place it in the sun and leave it for a day to do it's magic. The result's when using this method are great. You may need to repeat to get the desired results.

Note. I think 12% is the max grade available to consumers, in the UK, but lab / industrial grade is generally 98%.

Methos 3.
Pay someone for their time and cost of product. But don't hold them accountable if it ends up going wrong

 

[darefail]

Watson's method 1 is the best but I would do it with 30% H²O².
Take a painting brush and apply everywhere. Repeat again when it is not shiny(dry).
If the sun is direct without any clouds, you will see a big difference in 1 hour.

 

[lilwashu]

I have had really good luck with the vapour method recently as seen in this video:



A500 cases are easy to come by so not too much issue if other methods go wrong but the above seems to have no chance of marbling etc. You do need warm/sunny days for it to work well whereas the cream will work on cold/some sun days (and I had better luck with it in such conditions).

 

[butjer1010]

There is a solution for marble effect Plastic primer, and RAL 1015 spray paint I did it once either, it was catastrophic, and i did a good job with spraying the case. It looked awesome after spraying. Just in case retrobright went wrong...

 

[Ramon Fuschnik]

I recommend Watsons`second method, I`ve never tried anything else due to the good results I got. I usually drown the parts in 5% hydrogene peroxide solution inside a milky-transparent plastic container I got from a DIY market and expose them to sunlight an entire day (on warm summer days). I know it's not top notch scientific evidence, but I`ve got the impression that it`s either the mix of sunlight and heat or even mostly heat itself that does the trick as I have not had good results testing with a strong UV-lamp in a cold environment.

Make sure to put something heavy on top as the parts will start floating due to the oxygen produced during the process.

 

[manicx]

I avoid cream because the danger of marble effect is just there. I prefer 35% peroxide mixed with water to 1 peroxide/3 water quantity. Get a plastic box from IKEA, the Samla 79x57x18 cm/55 l is fine. Mix the water with peroxide, put plastics inside, put transparent membrane on top, leave it to cook under the sun for a few hours. I prefer to do it in summer, I recently did some A4k plastics with high heat here in Greece but since the size of them was small, I used glass container.

 

[miggymad]

Vapor method with UV LED lights has worked every time for me.

Line the plastic box and lid with aluminium foil. Add your LED's around the sides and on the bottom. Glass dish with peroxide and water, heated up to around 45C - 50C using one of those cheap 12v water heaters.

You can suspend big items such as an A500 case from the lid using thin wires over the mix below. Check every hour to top up the peroxide mix if required.

I followed this video to make mine plus adding the ability to suspend larger items from the lid at a later stage.

 

[Retro-mania]

Thank you all for your help and recommendations. Whilst I pluck up courage to attempt retrobrighting, does anyone have a simple solution for effectively cleaning my 500 case without taking it apart?
I read that IPA will damage the plastic and cleaning wipes like Dettol are a No No. So just for now, to de-gunk without taking the case apart, what can I use for a simple cleaning solution?

 

[Ramon Fuschnik]

A vaccum cleaners`hose for the bad dirt and a piece of cloth and soapy water will do ok I guess but if you are serious about really making a difference to your case there`s no way around taking it apart. Don`t worry, it`s not too bad at all. There are some tear-down-a-500 videos on the net. Then use a sponge + an old tooth brush and the above mentioned soapy water for the coarse dirt. After that, I usually put my stuff in the dish washer.

 

[Deleted member 20864]

The most cheapest and slowest service is provided from the sun. Just put the case into the bright shining summer sun for a couple of days.
The UV light will do the job. Clean the case before this treatment.

br Lao Mu