Retr0bright Support Thread
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Hey guys,
I have been using Retrobrite for about 4 years now with usually great results (except Atari XE/ST cases - they do not seem to like Retrobrite!).
However I recently read a blog by a guy named Tez who shows pictures of items before retrobriting..... after retrobriting.... and 3-4 years later.
He contends that items he has retrobrited quickly return to their yellowed state within a couple of years of undergoing the process.
His photos bare this out. So, I dug out some of my gear that had been retrobrited 4 years ago and lo and behold, they have gone yellow again. Not AS yellow as they originally were before retrobriting, but at least 50% as yellow.
Any thoughts on this?
I have been using Retrobrite for about 4 years now with usually great results (except Atari XE/ST cases - they do not seem to like Retrobrite!).
However I recently read a blog by a guy named Tez who shows pictures of items before retrobriting..... after retrobriting.... and 3-4 years later.
He contends that items he has retrobrited quickly return to their yellowed state within a couple of years of undergoing the process.
His photos bare this out. So, I dug out some of my gear that had been retrobrited 4 years ago and lo and behold, they have gone yellow again. Not AS yellow as they originally were before retrobriting, but at least 50% as yellow.
Any thoughts on this?
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Retr0bright Support Thread
So there's a new Retro Bright kid in town (Aus anyway) - Vanish Crystal White:
And the results are great:
After 4 hours in our hot Aussie sun:
My tank mouse now looks better than my NOS mouse (nos on right):
So there is no spotting at all! Prefect result.
With our high Aussie UV levels i was able to turn the mouse upside down for the last half hour and discover the insides where already prefect. In future i reckon it will only need an hour each side in this weather.
My only change will be for case work, it's a gel but it needs to be thicker to stay in place on items that can't be submerged.
So there's a new Retro Bright kid in town (Aus anyway) - Vanish Crystal White:
And the results are great:
After 4 hours in our hot Aussie sun:
My tank mouse now looks better than my NOS mouse (nos on right):
So there is no spotting at all! Prefect result.
With our high Aussie UV levels i was able to turn the mouse upside down for the last half hour and discover the insides where already prefect. In future i reckon it will only need an hour each side in this weather.
My only change will be for case work, it's a gel but it needs to be thicker to stay in place on items that can't be submerged.
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Looks good. We can also get the exact same version here in DK so I guess it should also be available in most of EU.
The mouse doesn't look submerged on the picture though? Did it not need that?
Also, what kind of concentration did you use?
The mouse doesn't look submerged on the picture though? Did it not need that?
Also, what kind of concentration did you use?
Retr0bright Support Thread
Cheers, The last half hour or so was upside down so submerged and that seemed to finish it off nicely. Before that i was re applying the gel every half hour.
I used it straight, no dilution at all - this was my very first attempt ever at retro bright so I'm very pleased with the result.
What's the best thickner to use so the gel will just sit on the surface of a case and not slide off?
Cheers, The last half hour or so was upside down so submerged and that seemed to finish it off nicely. Before that i was re applying the gel every half hour.
I used it straight, no dilution at all - this was my very first attempt ever at retro bright so I'm very pleased with the result.
What's the best thickner to use so the gel will just sit on the surface of a case and not slide off?
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Xanthan gum should supposedly be good for this purpose, however I have not tried it since I had trouble finding a place to buy it. I found one online shop, but it was quite expensive so I experimented with corn starch instead which is very cheap and readily available. It worked, however it is a little trickier to deal with than xanthan gum, which can just be added directly.
If you decide to try corn starch, I would recommend to first make the thickener using water and starch. I cannot remember the ratio you need, but try it out. Both ingredients are cheap.
Put some water in a cup, add some starch, stir until dissoved and heat it up in the microwave (or use a pot on your stove). Take it out and stir regularly. When it reaches a certain temperature, the starch will react, the mixture will thicken and become transparent. Here you can adjust the thickness by adding water/starch and reheat. Be careful not to make it boil, or it can make a mess (hence why it is good to take it out, check and stir every so often). You will want it quite thick (so a spoon can stand by itself in it) so it can be added straight to the Vanish without diluting it too much. If you make it in a pot, I would be even more careful about letting it boil it since the squirts could probably give you some nice burns since it sticks like napalm..
This is how I made a gel from hydrogen peroxide when I last needed to treat some cases. I will probably try with pure Vanish next time since it is easier and probably safer to use.
Edit: An extra note regarding using corn starch - when I used it with peroxide it seemed to become thinner as time went by. It was good for most of the day, but the next day it was much thinner. Maybe the starch molecules was torn apart by the peroxide? Anyway, it worked for as long as I needed it.
If you decide to try corn starch, I would recommend to first make the thickener using water and starch. I cannot remember the ratio you need, but try it out. Both ingredients are cheap.
Put some water in a cup, add some starch, stir until dissoved and heat it up in the microwave (or use a pot on your stove). Take it out and stir regularly. When it reaches a certain temperature, the starch will react, the mixture will thicken and become transparent. Here you can adjust the thickness by adding water/starch and reheat. Be careful not to make it boil, or it can make a mess (hence why it is good to take it out, check and stir every so often). You will want it quite thick (so a spoon can stand by itself in it) so it can be added straight to the Vanish without diluting it too much. If you make it in a pot, I would be even more careful about letting it boil it since the squirts could probably give you some nice burns since it sticks like napalm..
This is how I made a gel from hydrogen peroxide when I last needed to treat some cases. I will probably try with pure Vanish next time since it is easier and probably safer to use.
Edit: An extra note regarding using corn starch - when I used it with peroxide it seemed to become thinner as time went by. It was good for most of the day, but the next day it was much thinner. Maybe the starch molecules was torn apart by the peroxide? Anyway, it worked for as long as I needed it.
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Hi djos
can you confirm; did you use the crystal stuff straight out of the bottle and its a gel?
in the first pics I thought it looked more like a liquid. How would you describe the actual viscosity?
Please
great results btw!
can you confirm; did you use the crystal stuff straight out of the bottle and its a gel?
in the first pics I thought it looked more like a liquid. How would you describe the actual viscosity?
Please
great results btw!
Retr0bright Support Thread
Hi mate, it is a very very thick liquid, i just poured it over the mouse bits and covered it with cling wrap. I didn't dilute it at all.
Hi djos
can you confirm; did you use the crystal stuff straight out of the bottle and its a gel?
in the first pics I thought it looked more like a liquid. How would you describe the actual viscosity?
Please
great results btw!
Hi mate, it is a very very thick liquid, i just poured it over the mouse bits and covered it with cling wrap. I didn't dilute it at all.
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Corn starch is quite easy to use once you find the correct ratio. Heat, stir, heat, stir etc. until you're done.
Don't know if gelatine will work or the Vanish will ruin it.
Edit: Maybe a transparent plastic bag could be used instead? If you squeeze out most of the air before you close it, you can just flip the bag once in a while to redistribute the gel and cover all sides with UV.
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Retr0bright Support Thread
Another good day for retro bright using the vanish crystal white - this time i did all the keys from one of my a500's except the one i didn't realise had rolled off the Desk and under my filing cabinet! Doh!
Before:
After:
I just need to do the case now.
Ps amazingly it makes the entire case look less yellow'd.
Another good day for retro bright using the vanish crystal white - this time i did all the keys from one of my a500's except the one i didn't realise had rolled off the Desk and under my filing cabinet! Doh!
Before:
After:
I just need to do the case now.
Ps amazingly it makes the entire case look less yellow'd.
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Adjust the white balance using the white table top as reference.
Retr0bright Support Thread
I meant in real life.
Ps yeah the lighting conditions weren't quite the same. If you compare the ü key to the other's you get a good sense of the color change.
Btw, the second pic is the most accurate in terms of color accuracy.
I meant in real life.
Ps yeah the lighting conditions weren't quite the same. If you compare the ü key to the other's you get a good sense of the color change.
Btw, the second pic is the most accurate in terms of color accuracy.
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Retr0bright Support Thread
It's a nice sunny weekend so I've been doing some retr0briting.
This is the same SNES pad before and after.
Same Amiga keyboard too.
I use this.. nothing else except the sun It is in a cream form :
It's a nice sunny weekend so I've been doing some retr0briting.
This is the same SNES pad before and after.
Same Amiga keyboard too.
I use this.. nothing else except the sun
It is in a cream form :
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Retr0bright Support Thread
This is the front bezel of my GameCube. It's not 100% perfect but as perfect as it's going to get.
Below you see the difference with the memory card slot covers
This was all the same yellow
This is the front bezel of my GameCube. It's not 100% perfect but as perfect as it's going to get.
Below you see the difference with the memory card slot covers
This was all the same yellow
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Impressive work, does the cream just stay on and not slide off (and not require constant reapplication)?
Im curious as to how you do the large items as I've only ever done things that can fit in a glass baking dish covered in cling wrap and I really want to fix my a500 cases too.
Im curious as to how you do the large items as I've only ever done things that can fit in a glass baking dish covered in cling wrap and I really want to fix my a500 cases too.
RED IMPACT
Active member
I imagine that it is very similar to bblonde, with that in mind I have done large/lots of items in the bath or outside with keeping an eye on it drying out