Anyone Here Tried Retr0Bright...

[Franko]

Just a quick update on how things are going...



The 9 key is from a brand new keyboard, The N key is how all the keys looked at the start...

The L,S and Enter Keys are after a 10 house coating

The 1, - and Spacebar keys are after a second 10 hour coating and are as good as new again...

Reckon so far it really depends on just how yellowed the keys are in the first place. The paste mixture seems to work well and it really just seems to be more a matter of time before you see the results...

(Still testing various mixes etc... post more results soon...

[Franko]

Well I think I've got the mixture that works for me...

Here's a quick pic of the old VIC20 case after its second 10 hour coating of Retr0Bright...



No patches or swirling or marks of any kind, looks just like it did when it was new...

The results that worked best for me were...

Mix the OXI powder with boiling hot water from a kettle adding the water a tiny bit at a time using one of those ink cartridge refill syringes just enough at a time to dissolve the OXI powder but leaving it as a thick paste and not runny at all.

Wait for the OXI mix to cool down a good bit then add the Creme Peroxide and mix thoroughly (at least twice the amount of Creme Peroxide compared to the amount of OXI mix). leave for about 5 minutes and mix thoroughly once again before applying the past with a paintbrush.

Lay out all the pasted components on a flat even surface and switch on the UV/BlackLight, leave to stand for 8 to 10 hours. It helps to either rotate the pieces or the lamp a few times during the process in order to make sure the UV light reaches all sides/faces of whatever you're trying to de-yellow.

The more yellowed the components are then you may need to repeat the process again until a satisfactory result is achieved. What I did notice though during all of this was that, the mix seem to become ineffective after somewhere between 8 & 10 hours and leaving the coated pieces for any longer does not give any better results.

This is I think due to the chemical reaction having worn off or gone from the mix after this time and so a new coat needs to be applied again (if necessary).

Got to be honest, after my first attempt at just immersing stuff in the Peroxide and showing no results, I did think this whole thing may have been just a wee bit over hyped but now after using the right mix and most importantly (I found) having a source of UV light. I'm now a true believer in Retr0Bright...

Got  loads of stuff that need treated now, old Amigas, VIC20s, C64s, SNES consoles and quite a few other bit's n bobs that are about to be given that "new look" once again...

Thanks to every one who helped out here with advice and tips and a special thank you to the guys at the Retr0Bright homepage who discovered this wee miracle in the first place...


The Stuff I Used...



11Watt Low Energy Blacklight

Creme Peroxide 12% 40vol

Vanish Oxy-Action

Cheers... :pint:

Franko

[Franko]

Been scouring the net looking for the strongest Peroxide cream I could find, everywhere I looked the max strength was 12% 40Vol stuff, then on eBay if found this stuff 18% 60Vol...

Pro Cream Proxide 18% 60Vol 1Ltr

Ordered a couple of bottles as I now prefer to use the cream/paste method (especially for cases) as opposed to immersing items in the liquid stuff. With a bit of luck this stronger stuff will prevent the need for two coatings (hopefully) although it may still require two goes for very badly yellowed items...

Only time will tell but anything that can help cut down the amount of time taken can only be a good thing...

[Franko]

Franko! Awesome, i''m gonna try it on my A1000

I'm just wondering how much you are actually mixing, water / oxi etc?

Cheers

The only water added is just enough to turn the OXI powder into a paste, hence the reason for using the syringe...

Don't add any other water to the mix at all or you'll end up with something that wont stick and stay in place like a paste and will most likely just make the solution much less effective...

[Franko]

That does it! You sir, get shot on sight.
Your urine fixation has done you in :quickdraw:

:lol:

I've been thinking lately that perhaps XDelusions avatar is a real photo of when he or she was younger...

[Franko]

I'm going to try wrapping a fish tank in kitchen foil (Shiny side facing inwards), fitting two UV strip lights at the top, lining the lid with foil and using it as a chamber to leave cases inside whilst being treated with Franko's paste formula.

I think I'll give the cases a good scrub in the bath with hot water and biological washing powder first (works wonders on the removable bits of your oven too btw), followed by half an hour in the dish washer for good measure.

Will post photos before and after each stage.

Be waiting to see the results...

Yup good old soap powder is excellent for cleaning plastic cases, even monitor screens and DVD/Video recorder fascias and the like...

But this stuff from ScrewFix is the best thing ever to keep all the above and much much more looking like new and in tip top condition, (it gives it that squeaky clean feel and the smells like you've just opened something brand new for the first time from an airtight sealed package)...

ScrewFix UPVC Cleaner...

[Franko]

Thought I'd post a before and after shot of one of the A1200s that I gave the Retr0Bright treatment. The case wasn't too badly yellowed but the keyboard was, I'm very impressed and happy with the results...

Before...


After...

[Franko]

Good job Franko. My A1200 looks like new after giving it a treatment.

Nice to hear that, pretty amazing stuff eh...

Did you have to use a UV light or did you just use day/sunlight

[Franko]

I never got any results using indoor lights or even daylight the magic only happened when I used the UV light, dunno why but I'm just happy it works...

[Franko]

Frank0Bright!

Can't take credit for this one I'm afraid it's all down to the guys who came up with this amazing little gem on the various forums...

[Franko]

So, have you tried this e&ay product yet? I think it is time the good Lord tried some of this shit out, I have many yellowed retro in need of some beaching.

Yup tried and tested, I'd say it works a wee bit faster than the 12% stuff but you have to be a bit more careful with it on the "brown" keys (Function, Ctrl keys etc..)

As if you leave it too long on these keys it can cause some cloudy extra light marks on the keytops (but not the sides for some reason)...

I't really good for heavily yellowed keys and case's but if you want to play safe stick with the 12% stuff as I never had any problems with it just takes an extra couple of hours to work compared to the 18% stuff...

[Franko]

Hmmmm okay cool, did you get the 12% stuff off ebay? Got some spare A1200 keys to practice on first

Ah....found this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ReOxide-Cream-peroxide-12-40vol-250ml-/220750885347?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Hair_Care_Hair_Colouring_Dyes_PP&hash=item3365c731e3

That's the same brand as the 18% stuff I got from eBay and it worked fine, it's also cheaper than the Sally Express stuff I bought originally...

Creme Peroxide 12%

[Franko]

@ Spaceman88

While haven't a clue what "TAED" is, I tested two different brands of Oxi Clean and both worked fine and there was no mention of TAED on the label...

I will say this though only use a very small drop of OxiClean as after many different tests the best results are obtained by not using too much...

If you use too much of the Oxi then during the long hours of coating it actually froths up too much and lifts the mixture away from the object then goes hard and crusty and thus not actually doing it's job...

[Franko]

@ Lauri.lotvonen

Neither did it and didn't fancy trying to make the gunk up myself (would never have thought about wallpaper paste though, neat idea) but it was thanks to RMK305 who told everyone about the creme peroxide...

@ Nicholas

Ahh... so that's what it stands for... used the Vanish Oxi Action stuff myself and there were no bad results...

[Franko]

I just love this stuff! Whitened my one of my A600's using it :



The difference isn't amazing, but the A600 wasn't that badly yellowed afterall. I like my every retro gear good as new.

*humming - like a virgin, touched for the very first time* :lol:

It's brilliant isn't it...

I've been Retr0Brightning every thing in sight for weeks now from my old VIC20s, C64s & Amigas to (believe it or not) the heating radiators in my house, makes everything look like it's brand new and just came out the box...

[Franko]

@Franko - before I order this stuff what do you think of this? http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Lighting/Energy+Saving+CFL+Stick+Lamps/Low+Energy+Ultra+Violet+Lamp+11W+BC/d220/sd3283/p58036
want a fitment I can use.......and I'm going for that 12% ebay stuff.....I gotta brighten my A4000 case up so I can put it back on .....then I have a whole stack of retro to do!

The only reason I went for the 2 Pin G23 bulb was that it fitted the kind of desk lamps I use, if those ones fit yours then go for them...

Should say though that it's best to have two of them as if you place the lamp directly above the case the sides don't get done (discovered that though trial and error)...

Best to have 2 lamps placed so that the UV light hits all surfaces of the objects being done, otherwise you have to remember to turn them every couple of hours to get the UV light to affect each surface...

I did try at first reflecting the UV light with mirrors and tin foil but the results were poor...

PS:The 12% stuff works fine compared to the 18% stuff (only about an hour to an hour and a half soaking time difference)...