You CAN unyellow an Amiga

[justthatgood]

Umm, I'm not going to even say a thing. Just a little hint of OCD I would think.

[voyager]

1) Soaked it in ammonia for 1 hour
2) Soaked it in bleach for 2 weeks
3) Ran it through the dishwasher

Pure ammonia and pure bleach? Dit you clean it of after the ammonia or direct in the bleach?

[mr_a500]

I have also found a way to un-yellow an Amiga that I'd now like to share:


First, soak the case in the urine of a pregnant African rhino for approximately 27 hours and 15 minutes - no more, no less. It must be a pregnant rhino or it won't work.

Next, place the case upside down on the anthill of the Mexican fire ant and leave for 3 weeks. Make sure to place it there verrry carefully - those fire ants can get nasty.

Finally, get a bottle of heavy-duty plastic cleaner from the hardware store. Spray, scrub, then wipe and let dry.


You might be able to skip the first two steps, but I've only ever tried it this way so this is the way I like to do it.

[uncleted]

Just to be the chemistry safety nerd: for those few unaware, mixing ammonia and bleach is a VERY bad idea, so if you intend to try this at home make sure you rinse the case off thoroughly between the steps.

I will also vouch for using the dishwasher to clean plastic.

[gdanko]

uncleted wrote:
Just to be the chemistry safety nerd: for those few unaware, mixing ammonia and bleach is a VERY bad idea, so if you intend to try this at home make sure you rinse the case off thoroughly between the steps.

I will also vouch for using the dishwasher to clean plastic.

To be honest I think the ammonia had nothing to do with it. I would bet soaking in bleach for a week then dishwashing would do it. I am going to test that next on another yellowed item.

On a side note... It is a proven fact that old Classic Macs that do not want to boot can often be revived by removing the logic board, taking out the battery and any simms, and running the board through the dishwasher. I've fixed about 3 that way. You tend to be skeptical at first but once you see it works, you swear by it! In fact, I have one in the garage that needs a dishwasher trip. :-)

[irishmike]

@gdenko

Being that I am an Apple technician by trade, I would advise against the washing of the mainboard.  The fact is, that probably the PRAM got messed up and removing the battery actually fixes this.  So if you replace the battery, it will likely be fixed.  No Dishwasher required (or advised)!!!!  Obviously, the next step if the Battery replacement alone did not take care of it would in fact be to reseat the RAM.

I think the dishwasher part is a bad idea.  If the mainboard needs to be cleaned, denatured alchohol is a good way to go.  My fear is the dishwasher method will actually induce corrosion, therefore, even though the symptoms may not appear right away, eventually the electronics will fail.

[gdanko]

Tried all of that before the dishwasher.

[Belial6]

If you do use water to wash electronics (i.e. the dishwasher), you should still do an alchole rinse after.  Water tends to have all sorts of minirals in it, and it can stick around for a very long time in cracks and crevices.  The alchole will rinse away the minerals, and will evaporate much faster and cleaner.

[leirbag28]

 I FOUND a way to whiten Amigas.  But it was by accident...........let me tell yu that I have never done a full expeirment of it but here it is.............................

I had a Bottle of GREEN Alcohol I was using, I closed ti and put it ontop of My 1084s Monitor....apparently some alcohol dripped on the side of the bottle......down to the base of the alcohol base where it remained.............for I dont know how long..maybe 1 hour to a day.....................well when I removed the bottle............that very spot was much whiter then the rest of the monitor........I thought to remove the entire casing of one of My Amigas..........the A600 specifically............but never did it.......

Anyone dare to try it?.I would say experimnt with the original A600 mouse case first........it wouldnt hurst to whiten a mouse :-)

let me know if it works

[uncleted]

You have to be careful with what type of alcohol you use for cleaning.

Isopropyl alcohol should be fine on plastics, however other kinds (and their additives) will melt or damage plastic.

[pierre]

strangly facinating!  I realy wonder what long term effect this has on the plasic... it can't be good.  I can just see this on atique road show 2020, this amiga would be worth $3000 but somebody soaked it in bleach and distroid that plasic, in this condition is only woth $40. hehe.
I used to work on vintage guitars and it amazing the STUPID things people did with there classic instuments thinking they where "improving" them. (paint, laquers, glue... stupid!) I just shake my head, feel that same way when I look at some the pictures on this site, hacked towers, spary painted boxes...I guess as long as the owner is happy.... (some ppl did realy cool modes also!)

--that all being said it was also amazing what some of the techniques to repair things.  So many be this is the way to go...

[LoadWB]

@pierre

Hey, I wouldn't knock the stupid things people do to their stuff.  It just makes the rest of it more valuable, right?

Think of this: I bought a CD32, never been opened.  I opened it and played it.  That now makes the remaining unopened CD32s more collectible.

Last year I bought Pitfall and Pitfall II carts for the C64.  They came in what appeared to be originally shrink-wrapped boxes.  My friend says "Ooooo, still sealed!  What are you going to do with them?"  I ripped off the plastic wrap and exclaimed "I'm gonna play the $#%^&ers!"

I think I saw him twitch :-)

[pierre]

@LoadWW
Nice, (very toy story 2 of you!)I'm not knocking anything. I agree, by all means have fun with your amiga... I know I do wich is why mine are not "white" anymore, not that they are "nasty" either.  But I don't care just take the whole thig and stick it in the clothing washer if ya like, just make sure you use softner in the dryer and you should be good to go!
(I joke)

[thedaemon]

RE: pitfall sealed

I still to this day open up all of my "toys" I buy and comic books etc. I even opened up my seal death of superman when I got it. What's the point of having it if you can't make use of it?

[pierre]

yeah I usualy open stuff ON THE WAY HOME, in the car anywhere!
If I wasent going to use it why buy it...
sorry for eh OT at this point....just fun to chat

[Anding]

I heard that the French Foreign Legion use dishwashers to clean their FAMAS assault rifles with great success.

How about the keyboard?  Surely the risk is that the letters will come off?