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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: jahc on November 29, 2002, 02:59:57 AM

Title: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: jahc on November 29, 2002, 02:59:57 AM
I want to buy an old A600 (because its portable and cool).. but I want a nice sparkly white one. Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?

Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2002, 03:06:41 AM
Quote
Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?

I don't see how Peanut Butter could help in this situation...  (I was just amused by this - JIF is a large brand of Peanut Butter here...  I'm sure it's a cleaner there, though...)

Quote
but I want a nice sparkly white one.

Spraypaint, perhaps?  I honestly haven't heard of anything that works.  (But the upside with paint is you can go with any color scheme you want!)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: on November 29, 2002, 05:37:54 AM
I've tried alot of stuff to get different cases back white... nothing did work. ;-)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Lo on November 29, 2002, 05:51:20 AM
I don't think anything would work short of
soaking the plastic in bleach.  Today I removed
the rather large side speakers off a 1020 PB
monitor and underneath was as white a tan
line as the little girl had whoose dog was pulling her
pants off on the old suntan lotion bottle.  Gee, I
guess that would now be semi-pornographic?

 :-o
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Tesral on November 29, 2002, 07:24:14 AM
Quote

jahc wrote:
I want to buy an old A600 (because its portable and cool).. but I want a nice sparkly white one. Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?



Spray paint.  You can make it any color you like.  The case on the 600 or the 1200 comes off easily enough.  Hang it on a wire coat hanger and play "body shop" with it.  I don't recommend bleach because it changes the plastic.

I have a frankenputer here with Linux on it.  When I bought the used AMD 200 for 25 US it had been painted a flat olive drab, and abused.  So it was a scratched up OD green.  Application of a can of satin black to the case cover and bezel made it look like a brand new machine.  (Run like a brand new machine, different matter, but I digress)

Oh and never by a computer from a smoker.  What smoke does to the insides of computers is terrible.  The outside is bad enough.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Desmon on November 29, 2002, 08:05:39 AM
@Lo
Quote

I don't think anything would work short of
soaking the plastic in bleach.  Today I removed
the rather large side speakers off a 1020 PB
monitor and underneath was as white a tan
line as the little girl had whoose dog was pulling her
pants off on the old suntan lotion bottle.  Gee, I
guess that would now be semi-pornographic?

 :-o

I tried bleach on my A4000 bezel, but it dinna do a damned thing. I eventually gave it to a panel beater friend who painted it a creamy white for me.

And some trivia for you. One of the girls featured in that old coppertone advertising campaign is none other than Jody Foster.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: JetFireDX on November 29, 2002, 08:11:20 AM
Is it yellow from cigarette smoke? I always found the cleaner we've got here called Formula 409 to take it out nicely. Gotta drench it in it pretty good, but the cleaner running off the case you can actually see turn a mucky yellow. Great stuff.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: on December 19, 2002, 01:51:23 PM
If the plastic turned yellow cos' of the light then forget it, it cannot be made sparkly white again, it's a chemical reaction in the plastic itself.  DO NOT TRY any agressive stuff on it, you will only make things worse, ever seen plastic been eaten away ?
A paint job is your only sollution. :-)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: vortexau on December 19, 2002, 01:58:26 PM
Why not try Toothpaste?
or ...
that Toothwhitener that makes teeth looks like they are in an android's mouth?
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Stom on December 19, 2002, 02:00:33 PM
Quote

jahc wrote:
.....Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?


Surely you mean CIF? ;-)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: The_Editor on December 19, 2002, 02:04:40 PM
VortexAU said :

Quote
that Toothwhitener that makes teeth looks like they are in an android's mouth?


Ah .. You mean McCleans .. That burns your gob off don't it !!     :-o









Colgate for ever
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: JurassicCamper on December 19, 2002, 02:07:09 PM
Quote

thierryd wrote:
If the plastic turned yellow cos' of the light then forget it, it cannot be made sparkly white again, it's a chemical reaction in the plastic itself.  DO NOT TRY any agressive stuff on it, you will only make things worse, ever seen plastic been eaten away ?
A paint job is your only sollution. :-)


This is not strickly true. UV light is responsible for the yellowing, however it does not penetrate all the way through the plastic.

Find an inconspicuous bit any use a compound cleaner or burnishing paste to remove the yellow.
Dont forget to buy some elbow grease at the same time. :-D  :-D

Firstly stick it in a dish washer with a couple of finish powerball tablets and you'll be amazed how it comes out.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: The_Editor on December 19, 2002, 02:09:26 PM
Be a damn site easier to use

 D D 7

Haven't seen it in a while though.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: JurassicCamper on December 19, 2002, 02:11:10 PM
Quote

The_Editor wrote:
Be a damn site easier to use

 D D 7

Haven't seen it in a while though.


What about DDT :-P  :-P  :-P
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: harvlaser on December 19, 2002, 02:42:37 PM
Quote
I want to buy an old A600 (because its portable and cool).. but I want a nice sparkly white one. Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?


If it's stained from cigarette smoke, 409, Fantastik, or another similar spray household cleaner and a towel will take it right off..

Harv
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: JoNty on December 19, 2002, 03:15:26 PM
Keep it nicotine yellow, just like my name.  :)

I don't smoke BTW.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: sir_inferno on February 22, 2004, 02:15:51 PM
Quote

JurassicCamper wrote:
Quote

The_Editor wrote:
Be a damn site easier to use

 D D 7

Haven't seen it in a while though.


What about DDT :-P  :-P  :-P



A mosquito was crying with pain, for a chemist had poisoned its brain! The cause of its sorrow, was 4,4'-Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Gopal on February 22, 2004, 03:13:12 PM
I´ve just completed removing black spray paint from a a4000 box, and restored the white color under with nail polish remover. I used cotton balls on the surfaces and Q-tip (ear cleaning cotton stick) for the difficult places.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: restore2003 on February 22, 2004, 05:43:33 PM
Im sure Michael Jackson can help you with that issue  :-D

ok ok, bad joke  :-(
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: MaDDuck on February 22, 2004, 06:22:37 PM
Quote

restore2003 wrote:
Im sure Michael Jackson can help you with that issue  :-D

ok ok, bad joke  :-(


Very topical, bad and YES funny!!!
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: shIva on February 22, 2004, 06:56:30 PM
Quote
Is it possible to clean a yellow case with JIF or something to make it white again?


i used special foam cleaner for plastic to "unyellow" a keyboard. it worked really good :-)

i used "KONTAKT CHEMIE" and "DATA FLASH - FOAM CLEANER"

just spray it on the parts you want to clean, go and have a cigarette ( or anything else which takes 5 mins ;-) ), get the foam off the parts - finished
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: MaDDuck on February 22, 2004, 07:05:45 PM
Sounds intresting!!!
What are the US equivelants of those?
OR
What are the main/base ingredients, so I know what to look for?


THX!!
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: shIva on February 22, 2004, 11:48:06 PM
(http://image01.conrad.com/m/9000_9999/9900/9950/9958/995803_BB_02_FB.EPS.jpg)

this is the "DATA FLASH - FOAM CLEANER"
there´s nothing written about the ingredients on the label. just some warnings about handling/using and that it is extremely flammable.

the foam cleaner smells similar to oven cleaner spray for the kitchen, perhaps it´s the same (tho i haven´t tested it yet)
it could be worth a try to look for foam cleaner in electronic shops (there i got mine, too)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: manicx on February 24, 2004, 02:49:14 PM
So, if I use the above spray on actual keys (not the keyboard plastic) will it remove the letters on the keys? My A1200 has a few yellow keys (I am not smoking and I have not a clue why certain keys got yellowed)... I can buy one of those since I have some pals in Germany...
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: borat on April 24, 2004, 03:55:04 AM
Were/Are the A500s as white as the 600s? Mine looks like the colour of my old 386...beige colour i think?

Is it meant to be that colour?
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Lo on April 24, 2004, 04:08:09 AM
Quote
the foam cleaner smells similar to oven cleaner spray for the kitchen, perhaps it´s the same (tho i haven´t tested it yet)


Oven cleaner in the US is made with  :pissed: SODIUM HYDROXIDE  :pissed: Very Toxic, burns skin etc.  I suspect it would melt plastic  :-?

Perhaps you meant counter-top spray?
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Karlos on April 24, 2004, 04:17:34 AM
Be careful with sodium hydroxide - it has a habit of turning you into a sloppy mixture of sugars, amines, monosodium amino acid salts, glycerine and soap. Not nice.

Sodium hydroxide should only attack polymers that are susceptible to nucleophiles and bases so most plastics used in the old yellowing cases should be fine. Certian materials like polyurethanes and so on might be allergic to it.

As for that oven cleaner aroma; you can't place sodium hydroxide by smell though. And if you could, it would dissolve your nasal tissues rather badly.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Eco on April 24, 2004, 05:33:48 AM
Inspired by some earlier threads on the subject, I used acetone on my A600 power supply. It did get rid of the yellowing, but you have to be really thorough in applying it, the item will smell afterwards, and you lose the even porous texture of the plastic (it will be slick and slightly unevenly unyellowed)  :-D
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Ilwrath on April 24, 2004, 05:48:47 AM
Quote
Inspired by some earlier threads on the subject, I used acetone on my A600 power supply. It did get rid of the yellowing, but you have to be really thorough in applying it, the item will smell afterwards, and you lose the even porous texture of the plastic (it will be slick and slightly unevenly unyellowed)


Well, that doesn't sound very promising.  I think I'll skip on doing that.  ;-)

Searching around a bit, I found this product available in the US....  It sounds like the North American version of the foaming cleaner....  Anyone tried it?  
Rite Off -- Hood Cleaner (http://www.americangaminginc.com/americangaming/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=1499&secid=11&linkon=subsection&linkid=42)

If so...  How well does it work?  If no one has tried it, I might pick one up and try it on an old A500 power supply, or something, and report back.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: jahc on April 24, 2004, 10:48:25 AM
The A600's were much whiter than A500's.
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Cass on April 24, 2004, 03:28:13 PM
From Danamania's web site, i found some helpfull tips (I don't know if they apply to Amigas as well ;-) ).

(http://www.danamania.com/albums/beige/abm.thumb.jpg)
Quote

What a little time and a lot of bleach can do. I pulled the case apart and soaked all the plastic parts (keys included) in chlorine bleach for a few hours. After a rinse and a hand-drying, it all came up much nicer looking :) *


________
VOYEUR UPSKIRT (http://www.fucktube.com/categories/1167/upskirt/videos/1)
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: T_Bone on April 25, 2004, 02:10:15 PM
Quote

restore2003 wrote:
Im sure Michael Jackson can help you with that issue  :-D

ok ok, bad joke  :-(


The Amiga is too OLD to be of any interest to MJ!
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Kronos on April 25, 2004, 02:30:34 PM
Quote

T_Bone wrote:
Quote

restore2003 wrote:
Im sure Michael Jackson can help you with that issue  :-D

ok ok, bad joke  :-(


The Amiga is too OLD to be of any interest to MJ!


A1200s are between 9 and 12 years ........
Title: Re: Yellow cases.. can they be made white again?
Post by: Speelgoedmannetje on April 25, 2004, 03:02:21 PM
There ain't much yellowing on me ST (http://www.amiga.org/images/subject/icon26.gif)