Retr0bright Support Thread

[Merlin]

Hi,

You need a modern car acrylic lacquer, since most of them contain UV blockers these days. Japlac or Krylon are the recognised brands for plastics, but most acrylic lacquers for cars will work.

A satin finish lacquer is best, however, a gloss finish will end up looking 'textured' if you spray it from about 8 inches away, so that you mess with the coalescence slightly.

 

[AJB]

Thanks for the quick advice Merlin. I'll give it another go whilst there's still some sun about. Hopefully the results will last a bit longer this time.

 

[moggsie]

Well, I've been Retr0Brightin' today seeing as we had nice sunshine. Bought this SNES from Scrappers last week:

https://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?t=51556

If you look at the piccies in the thread above this beauty had some nice browning on the front panel and some around the top edges. I had some RB made up from when I did my C128 (which was VERY brown) and I stored what was left in my attic. And to be honest, I cannot remember how long ago it was since I last used it - probably 2 years ago. It certainly wasn't in gel form anymore and looked more like a bottle of milk. But seeing as I didn't have any of the ingredients to make a fresh batch I thought I'd give it a try. And not being in gel form meant I kept having to reapply it once every half an hour due to being in direct sunlight. After about 2 hours I could see it was beginning to change colour. And after about 4 hours it was very different to when I started:

I had to bring it in after about 5 hours as I needed to get on and do other things but it was a job well done in a fairly short space of time. To be fair, this SNES did belong to FitzSteve before who had a go at retr0brightin' it so the work was partly already done. I'm still not 100% happy with the front panel so I will be trying again soonish.

But, overall, a very good result.

 

[AmmoJammo]

This is exactly what I was going to ask about... the splotchy results like in your other thread moggsie, I assume this is just because the bleach wasn't applied evenly, and simply doing another treatment will probably result in a more even colour?

https://www.amibay.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=52842&d=1380544038

I've just bleached an A500, ran out of bleach, not overly fussed, but it has some blotchyness on the case and keys!

 

[moggsie]

The best way to avoid the streaky finish would probably be to completely submerge the affected plastic in the RB solution in direct sunlight/UV. I did this with my C128 keys - put them in a bowl of RB and they came out perfect. Of course, for something a lot bigger like a case it would mean needing a lot more solution and that, of course, means more cost. I used the gel for my C128 case and had some streaks but nothing that really bothered me. I tended, as with the SNES, to keep checking every half hour to see if the applied RB had began to dry out and if it had I'd apply some more. It's a tad time consuming but worth it in the end!

 

[supaduper]

Looks like our retrobritin days are coming to an end if our UK gov have their way


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...mover-banned-open-sale-anti-terror-plans.html

 

[Merlin]

They'd have to ban BBlonde to stop us completely...:shhh:

 

[britlord]

ultraviolet bulb??

ultraviolet bulb??

Hi, Guys. I don't want to sound like a complete noob. But where can I get a ultraviolet bulb from here in the US..

Mike..

 

[ColourWheel64]

The sun's your best bet. Failing that there's WESCO, Monroes or Ellsworth to name a few

 

[britlord]

Hi, Guys. I don't want to sound like a complete noob. But where can I get a ultraviolet bulb from here in the US..

Mike..

The sun is ok (in the summer) but here. It's below freezing here, so the mix will freeze solid outside (that's no good). I've found them at Home depot. 75 watts and 125 watts for plants..

Regard's

Mike..

 

[Turranius]

I have a similar one as the 2nd link. It works fine.

 

[britlord]

I have a similar one as the 2nd link. It works fine.

Well in the end I went to Home depot for a buchey (Look) and found this bulb. Real ultraviolet (for plants) just $10. 120watts ye!! ha!!, and here's me Retr0bright that I'll be using LoL (Found out on Youtube and it works)..

Now when's me bloody A1200 coming, as I can see that the good old days are coming back (Wish that I wasn't middle age though)....

Mike..

 

[Beaps]

I picked up a PCE Duo-R today that looks like a granny's teeth. I have retr0bright amigas in the past with bblonde but I am a bit scared to use it on this.

 

[britlord]

Hi, Amiga Friends. The sally's stuff works (No mixing). I just left the covered parts under the UV light overnight and volla looks great eh?? I didn't even take the keyboard apart (Just remove the bottom plate) and brushed the stuff over all the keys. The computer wasn't all yellowed, just one side of the case and top and the keys, as I said Sally's salon care really works (Just wear plastic gloves) Before and after pics..

Mike..

 

[voyager_1701e]

Ooooops......some A4000 K/B keys getting a spa (hmmm hoping it doesn't stain the paver....too late now anyway!)

As usual, I went overboard on something...I'm sure too much Oxy!

The container was just under half full of liquid.....




More results and photos to come later. I've done 4 A1200 cases, 2 A4000 front panels (A1200's and A4000's got a dose yesterday), a Digital PC front panel, 2 A2000 / 1 A4000 keyboard cases today. So far, after yesterday, the A1200's have improved (hoping today's efforts will leave me completely satisfied ). I only did the Digital PC front panel today, and I can see the result is absolutely stunning so far wooohoooo! Hoping the keyboards will be OK with a single pass today.

 

[voyager_1701e]

Ive found a problem with Retrobright!

Ive found a problem with Retrobright!

I've found a big problem with Retrobright!!!!!!






After commencing the procedure...I'd made a mess in the kitchen. Of course I started cleaning up the kitchen.......and I cleaned the microwave...did the rest of the washing up....cleaned the benchtops.....took the garbage out then I started on the laundry!!! WTF??? I would not have done ALL that if I hadn't Retrobrighted! Ok so its not a problem at all

Anyway...results from yesterday and today's session. Mostly I am happy with the results.

The Digital PC front panel result was outstanding, done in only 7-8 hours of sunlight (1 application).

The 4 A1200 cases are not perfect but I'm quite happy, just some faint yellowing remains (which the photos don't really show (Done in 2 applications over 2 days. Approx 15 hours sunlight).

The keyboards have definitely improved, but not yet totally satisfied (results from 1 application 6-7 hours sunlight)

The A4000 front panels...I wasn't so sure until I put the before/after photos side by side! The colour is even, and it seems like its the same colour back and front, so maybe that's the normal colour (I expected it to be whiter) - these 2 done in 2 applications over 2 days (15 hours sunlight). Approx 15 hours sunlight). But looking at the original photo of the 040, I'm now happy! And also, I've only done 1 of the A4000 power buttons, you can see the difference there. Anyone notice the Retrobright completely dissolved the 030 CDROM and floppy drive???

See photos!

For the Aussies, Hairhouse Warehouse has the Peroxide $10 for 950ml. Local chemist had the Glycerine I think it was $7-8 for more than Ill ever use, and the Arrowroot wasn't expensive from Coles. Coles has an Oxy for about $6. I followed Tezza's recipe by heating the peroxide/glycerine/arrowroot then added the Oxy (I mixed the Oxy in hot water before adding to the rest of the mix). I suspect I used too much Oxy as it was too foamy, although the consistency was correct. I did use the blender to blend the 1st part of the mix, and I feel that it introduced to much aeration in the mix. Next time Ill try hand mixing.

I did use cling wrap on the parts on the 2nd day, which did stop the gel from drying out.

Next week Ill try the keyboards again...and I've had 1 set of keys in the liquid mix for 6 hours in sunlight, Ill leave them tomorrow in sunlight and take them out after work...hopefully they will be good, as they were awful!

BUGGER.....I just missed an A4000 mainboard on the other bay really cheap while I was typing this out

Happy for any comments / tips.....

 

[fitzsteve]

Looks really good, the colour of the A4000 looks perfect.

Nice work
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.3.5; en-gb; HTC_DesireHD Build/GRJ90) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1

 

[voyager_1701e]

I was wondering why the other H2O2 I've seen in photos here were clearer liquids than mine...and I realised the stuff I bought has a shopping list of other items in it!
CETEARYL ALCOHOL
CETEARETH-20
LAURETH-3
CETRIMONIUM CHLORINE
ETHOXYDIGLYCOL
PARFUM
PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL
DISODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE
SIMETHICONE
MTHYLPARABEN
OXYQUINOLINE SULFATE
PHOSPHORIC ACID

Phew!!
Until some of our resident chemists can comment, this might NOT be the right stuff, even though the results are mostly there...

I went to the local chemist yesterday, got 6% (20 VOL?) for $10 for 450ml....alot more expensive, but pure....only diluted. Did the keys from dawn till dusk today in sunlight....and the results aren't bad, but some do need another go. I used a raised wire platform above some tin foil, with the keys in a clear plastic container in liquid only. See the photo for the results, before and after. Almost no frothing this time, so maybe a tad more Vanish!

 

[Merlin]

CETEARYL ALCOHOL - Ceto Stearyl Alcohol - surfactant
CETEARETH-20 - Ceto Stearyl Alcohol - 20 moles EO - surfactant
LAURETH-3 - Lauryl Alcohol - 3 moles PO - surfactant
CETRIMONIUM CHLORINE - antiseptic
ETHOXYDIGLYCOL - Ethyl Diglycol - coupling agent
PARFUM - smelly stuff - scent
PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL - emulsifier
DISODIUM PYROPHOSPHATE - alkaline detergent additive
SIMETHICONE - silicone - makes it look 'pearlised' and reduces foaming
METHYLPARABEN - preservative
OXYQUINOLINE SULFATE - preservative
PHOSPHORIC ACID - stabiliser for the peroxide

The diglycol is a bit iffy, as that is a type of solvent, but other than that, you should be OK. What makes le laugh is the convoluted 'Boswelox' type names they come up with to try disguise the formulation!

 

[manic23]

BBC Micro Retr0Bright

BBC Micro Retr0Bright

I plan to Retr0Bright my BBC Micro soon. I was wondering, do you think the Retr0Bright will mark/discolour the black plastic on the top of the computer around the keyboard or shall I mask that off?