Retr0bright Support Thread

[Merlin]

@ Ed.D / all

Post #2 in the thread now has the preferred recipe, that gives goof-proof results for most people.

If you are in a hot climate, the comments about using Saran Wrap / Cling Film apply, in that you should cover the parts once the Retr0bright has been applied, to prevent/reduce water evaporation.

This will reduce the risk of the concentration of the peroxide going too high due to water loss, which is the main cause of what we call 'bloom', i.e. white patches on the surface of the plastic.

You should still check on the parts once an hour, to ensure that you are getting the results you are looking for.

 

[bitman]

I'm starting on using retr0bright again - in my first attempt, I used the sun as UV source, but there's no sun now, so I need a good UV bulb (I have a Disco UV bulp which dosn't work)

What's the best place (UK, DE ect.) to buy good/cheap UV bulbs.

I've managed to get hold of 35% Hydrogene Peroxide - is it enough to dillute it with water to get down to 12%?

 

[Merlin]

You want a 'Grolux' UV bulb as used in aquaria and vivaria, as they give out more UVA light in the waveband you need.

A good pet superstore should be able to sort you out.

 

[Ed.D]

@Merlin, sorry for not noticing sooner, but thanks for adding the preferred recipe info.

Cheers,
Ed.

 

[bitman]

Today is big retr0bright day - I'm bleaching 4 x A1200 and few power bricks and mice. Hard to see from the before picture but one A1200 is very yellow.
I use 35% peroxide dilluted to 12%, parts is placed in the winther sun - no clouds today.

2 Questions:

1. What do you usually do with the power cords on the power supply when they are yellow too - also retr0bright?

2. I don't wanna treat my Amiga's with acrylic finish to prevent it from yellowing again. Can I use Boast wax, which also has UV filter? All my machines are in a room where the blinds are down all the time - so I guess they are not in UV light very much afterwards.

 

[Merlin]

Power cords are made of PVC as it has higher fire resistance than ABS, as well as being flexible whereas ABS is usually rigid.

Discolouration of PVC cables is usually down to heat and Retr0bright won't work on this kind of effect.

You can use Armor All, a wax polish coating or an acrylic lacquer. All the coating has to do is effectively seal off the surface of the plastic from the air, preventing oxygen from re-attaching to the bromine and making the yellow colour return.

 

[Spaffy]

Hello fellow Retr0brighters

Just a couple of questions as im gathering all the bits i need to restore my beloved Amigai. Has anyone used Adel professional creme peroxide ? I have a litre bottle which is 12% strength (40 vol) with the following ingredients,

Aqua (water derrr)
Hydrogen Peroxide (obviously)
Paraffinium Liquidum (liquid paraffin)
Citric Acid (speaks for itself)
Cetearyl Alcohol
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium Salicylate

Im just wondering if any of the above chemicals would have an adverse effect on the process because if not, as the title states, this is a cream peroxide of required strength which when mixed with the "Vanish" would be much easier to paint on to larger items without the use of Xanthan gum or other thickeners. It has the consistency of your average packet mix custard.

My other question is regarding the UV bulb. I have found this on evilbay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Max-Plant...5977908?pt=UK_Light_Bulbs&hash=item4162885c34

and although its a little above the harmonic resonance of Bromine (400nm) do you think it would do the job. Obviously its more expencive than the Maplin bulbs but after reading all the conflicting reports i dont fancy wasting time and money back and forth to my local Maplins testing bulbs and wasting materials.

Thankyou in advance

 

[Merlin]

@ Spaffy

That mixture for the creme peroxide should be OK; liquid paraffin is pretty benign as solvents go. The ones to avoid are the ones containing 'terpenes' or 'terpineol', as these are aggressive solvents and they will atttack the plastic.

I used both of the bulbs from Maplins in my original experiments. They do work, they are just slower than a more specialised bulb with more UVA. The one in your link should be OK.

Now all we need are pictures.... <hint>

 

[Spaffy]

Thanks for the help.
I have pictures of an A500 i picked up recently in the photobooth thread https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=25302 all stripped ready for Retr0brighting. Once the deed is done i will post it on here. Im hoping the h/p i have will do the job well as it will rule out the need for thickening in to a paste as its pretty much the right consistency already. I know it will be a bit more of a pain doing keys but its getting a "simple" idiot proof mixture im after which will help everyone else out.
Id rather line a piece of card with tinfoil and stick the keys to it with blutack, give them a quick brush with the solution and whack em under the light than faff about making a watery mixture and dunking them. They are guarunteed even exposure this way thus ruling out some keys not geting as much light as others making for a more uniform result.
Its also the one mixture for the case resulting in less waste.

 

[bitman]

I'm trying out a new bulp today - the Repti Glo 5.0 - according to the below table and the sales guy - there's a lot of UV-A (and B) in that bulp:

There's also a Repti Glo 10.0, but i try the 5.0 to start with. More product info can be found here:

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/compact_fluorescent_bulbs.php

 

[bitman]

I'm trying out a new bulp today - the Repti Glo 5.0 - according to the below table and the sales guy - there's a lot of UV-A (and B) in that bulp:

This mouse was treated on the left part only, and placed under the the bulp at 5-10 cm distance. It was there for 13 hours. The result is ok, but it needs more treatment. I stil prefer using the sun as UV-source, since it's much faster.

I'll use the bulp only, when treating small pieces (keys, mice, modulators etc.)

 

[martona]

Hey guys. I'm about to do this thing.

I checked and there's not a great selection of hair bleach that you can get at CVS here. I guess I could get some online, but what about this mixture by Loreal:

Water
Hydrogen Peroxide
Cetearyl Alcohol
Trideceth-2 Caroxamide Mea
Ceteareth-25
Glycerin
Pentasodium Pentetate
Sodium Stannate
Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate
Phosphoric Acid

The above is what makes up the liquid. You need to mix in powder that consists of the following to get a paste-like substance:

Potassium Persulfate
Sodium Persulfate
Ammonium Chloride
Sodium Silicate
Sodium Metasilicate
Silica
EDTA
Polydecene
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Do I just need the liquid and use something (as per the Wiki recipe) to thicken it? Or can I mix in the powder? Is there an unwanted ingredient in any of these? If the liquid is safe, does it have to be xanthan gum (or another recommended thickening agent) or can I use the powder?

Also, related: I heard that the C64 keys don't stand up well to retrobriting. That is, the lettering on the keys are prone to fade. Anyone care to weigh in on this? I have some 8-bit stuff in addition to my Amigas so this is pretty important.

 

[Merlin]

At first glance, I'd say that you would be OK with that one. One product that a lot of people have tried and got good results with is called BBlonde; it may be worth checking if they stock that at your store.

C64 cases come up well but if I recall correctly, the legends on the keys are not laser etched. They are decals and if this is the case then I'm not too surprised that they head South when faced with Retr0bright as it's quite an aggressive mixture.

On the up side, there are people who make key decal kits for the C64, so you could apply new ones. They are on a certain auction site *cough*

 

[martona]

Thanks Merlin, awesome as usual!

I've read good things about Bblonde too, and actually ordered some from said auction site (it's pretty cheap) but it will take a long while to get here and I wanted to see if I can get something here that gets the job done. ("Here" being the USA. Bblonde is a UK-only product I think.)

Thanks for the tip regarding the decals.

 

[Spaffy]

And so it begins. I have this afternoon started my Retr0bright experiment.
My weapons of choice are

and as you can see the peroxide creme looks and has the same consistency of wallpapaer paste so no need to add a thickening agent for larger components.
The A500 im using as my guineapig has already been stripped and washed ready so after mixing in the oxy agent i applied it with a brush to all the parts. In hindsight the pint mixture is enough to treat probably 7 or 8 mahines but hey ho on with the show.

I then rigged up the light and let the voodoo magic do the rest.
Im going to leave it for 24 hours before i start on the keys
more to follow

 

[Merlin]

OOOOOOOOooooooooooOOOOOOO......

*Suspense*

 

[Spaffy]

Well after 24 hours under the lapm its worked....... To an extent.
The formula definitly works as what was left in the jug had throffed up a little but the lamp isnt quite strong enough. So another application of solution and jiggled the parts about. Think il wait for a sunny day next time. Piccys to follow

 

[martona]

Just exactly how thick does the paste have to be on the computer parts? I mixed the Loreal solution and it ended up being rather runny, which means it couldn't be applied very thickly to the mouse I'm testing this with.

For the consistency, think maybe liquid soap. I coated the mouse with it and it's now under two Reptglo halogens, these are supposed to have the same UVB output as the desert sun. I'm not worried about the lamps (they turned my white shirt blue), but the mouse with the solution on it definitely doesn't shine blue like the Amiga in the pics above. Am I doing this wrong?

 

[Merlin]

I've always aimed for the consistency of wallpaper paste with my formula, so that you can maybe get a film of at least 1/8" (3mm) onto the surface.

No, you aren't doing this wrong. Your white shirt that turned blue is full of a benzoxazole optical brightener that 'makes whites seem whiter' by giving off a blue UV response.

There's a smaller amount in Oxy-type laundry boosters, so you won't get anything like the same glow.

The lamps will never match natural UV light for performance, so if you are getting slow but steady results, you are doing OK.

 

[martona]

The lamps will never match natural UV light for performance, so if you are getting slow but steady results, you are doing OK.

Lol, yeah, I meant the same UVB output as the sun in terms of wavelength, not intensity. Not sure if my 200 amp main fuse would let me try and match that.

Thanks for the advice. I'll check on it in a few hours and see if I can apply the paste thicker. (Which, by the way, has foamed up in the meantime and should be easier to work with now.)