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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Marketplace => Topic started by: paul1981 on April 16, 2012, 11:56:20 PM

Title: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: paul1981 on April 16, 2012, 11:56:20 PM
I could hardly believe this when I saw it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amiga-500-Boxed-/160781804982?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item256f57a5b6 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Amiga-500-Boxed-/160781804982?pt=UK_VintageComputing_RL&hash=item256f57a5b6)

"Recently passed down to me as part of a loft clearance i have here for sale a Commodore Amiga 500+. The console firstly i would like to point out isn't dirty but at some stage in its life has suffered some discolouration on it's casing by being left in direct sunlight over a period of years it looks like. I have cleared the casing several times and it hasn't seem to make a difference - this hasn't been a smoker's machine by any way as it smells fine now and did before!..."

I almost feel sorry for this poor A500. I hope someone buys it. :cry:
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Argo on April 16, 2012, 11:59:46 PM
RetroBrite to the rescue. Well, it would make a good ad if it could restore something that badly yellowed.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: magnetic on April 16, 2012, 11:59:49 PM
Hahah not the worst by far though... You should see this a2000 i acquired a few months back there was a 2in layer of dust inside dont really know how that was possible!
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Methuselas on April 17, 2012, 12:30:28 AM
Wow....... O_O
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Mequa on April 17, 2012, 12:59:04 AM
Looks like that A500 needs a thorough clean before considering anything like bleaching with H2O2.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: mingle on April 17, 2012, 01:15:50 AM
Ugly - not really, discoloured, you bet!

I've seen a few 'customised' A500s that look like they've been given a thorough beating with the ugly stick.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Matt_H on April 17, 2012, 03:37:23 AM
I'd be more worried about the battery inside...
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Megamig on April 17, 2012, 03:49:30 AM
At least it is not a Atari ST!
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Methuselas on April 17, 2012, 04:01:44 AM
Quote from: matt_h;688930
i'd be more worried about the battery inside...




+100000
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: amiman99 on April 17, 2012, 04:11:13 AM
Quote from: Argo;688887
RetroBrite to the rescue. Well, it would make a good ad if it could restore something that badly yellowed.
I don't know if Retro-bright will help, this is a major discoloration.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: acadiel on April 17, 2012, 04:25:50 AM
You should see these three A2000's that I just cleaned out.  Came from a smoker's house.  Had to replace the floppy drives on all of them except one with hacked PC ones.  Had to blow them out, take the shells out in the sink and scour them with Comet, etc.

The keyboard on one is OK, but has a flaky enter key (the keyboard appears to have been preserved from the smoker's stain by a keyboard skin).  Will be figuring out how much to sell it for; it's a 512K model with one floppy drive, A2091, (I think) 512MB hard drive, 2.0 ROM, and doesn't appear the memory works on the A2091.  The problem with the A2000's is that they are heavy and expensive to ship, so it'll likely only go to the US.  I might try and hack two more PC floppies and install them into the unit. :)
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: fishy_fiz on April 17, 2012, 05:32:16 AM
Looks like one of those nasty recolourisation jobs, like someone decided they wanted an orange amiga but only got partway through. Doesnt look in too bad nick though really, just very orange :)
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: bbond007 on April 17, 2012, 06:58:02 AM
Quote from: acadiel;688941
You should see these three A2000's that I just cleaned out.  Came from a smoker's house.  Had to replace the floppy drives on all of them except one with hacked PC ones.  Had to blow them out, take the shells out in the sink and scour them with Comet, etc.


Watch out if you ever clean a badly smoked out PC. After cleaning one such PC, i actually had enough of the nicotine leach  into my hands to make me ill.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: bbond007 on April 17, 2012, 07:00:26 AM
Quote from: amiman99;688936
I don't know if Retro-bright will help, this is a major discoloration.


I seen photos of one such project. It did work but i remember reading that it was soaking for over 2 weeks.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Drummerboy on April 17, 2012, 07:05:38 AM
Hmm..

I think i saw worst Machines..
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Lurch on April 17, 2012, 07:44:38 AM
Cream Proxide 12%, wrap the A500 in glad wrap (cling film / plastic film for those state side) and 3 hours and some sun light later and you will have an amazing looking Amiga :-)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320652049668?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: J-Golden on April 17, 2012, 08:00:12 AM
HO-LY CRAP THAT THING IS UGLY!  I think it IS the ugly stick!

If a member buys it and tries to Retro-bright, I hope they post before and after pics because I WANNA see em!
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: dougal on April 17, 2012, 08:55:21 AM
I just emailed him to get a postage quote... I might actually BID on this if postage is fair.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Gilloo on April 17, 2012, 11:37:20 AM
This A500 was stored in manure or what else ? :)
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: curtis on April 17, 2012, 02:07:44 PM
Only problem with Retr0brite is that after a while the plastic will revert to the prior color unless you coat it with a sealant such as clear polyurethane.

Curtis
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Jupp3 on April 17, 2012, 02:17:01 PM
Nice tan!
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Tripitaka on April 17, 2012, 03:08:00 PM
Just respray the damn thing with white car paint and a good spray varnish. Replacing the keys would be a good idea too. Oh, but wait. Once you've paid out the extra for paint and varnish, the keys, and/or retrobrite and sealant, or whatever you choose to use, you could probably have just gone and picked up a better condition A500 in the first place. Could be a good bargain for someone local if they only pay the minimum bid and pick up in person though, I doubt if it's going to get a lot of bidders.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: amiman99 on April 17, 2012, 05:54:45 PM
Quote from: Lurch;688966
Cream Proxide 12%, wrap the A500 in glad wrap (cling film / plastic film for those state side) and 3 hours and some sun light later and you will have an amazing looking Amiga :-)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320652049668?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I need to try the film, I always have problem with peroxide drying too fast in the sun.
I will try it on the keyboard I'm restoring right now which is very yellow. I got it from someone and it is filthy, see the picture -before and almost after.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Lurch on April 20, 2012, 08:17:44 AM
Quote from: amiman99;689080
I need to try the film, I always have problem with peroxide drying too fast in the sun.
I will try it on the keyboard I'm restoring right now which is very yellow. I got it from someone and it is filthy, see the picture -before and almost after.



Nice, looking good. Would like to see the end product :-)
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: TCMSLP on April 20, 2012, 09:08:17 AM
I'm always curious ... can you retrobright keyboards?  What happens to the letter transfers?  Do they block the retrobright process?  Do they remain in place?  


Steve
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: Lurch on April 20, 2012, 11:50:50 AM
Quote from: TCMSLP;689768
I'm always curious ... can you retrobright keyboards?  What happens to the letter transfers?  Do they block the retrobright process?  Do they remain in place?  


I will let you know :-) But going by many threads I've read it shouldn't be an issue with keys/logo's.

The Cream peroxide product I'm going to try has good results and you can brush it on. However you need a lot of sun or bight UV light.

Heres a good read :-)

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=37808

They also recommend using a clear coat to keep it looking good as retrobright/peroxide process it starts to go back to it's original yellow after a year.
Title: Re: Possibly the ugliest A500 ever
Post by: amiman99 on April 20, 2012, 01:40:34 PM
Quote from: Lurch;689765
Nice, looking good. Would like to see the end product :-)
Here is the final result, looks like new
I let it sit about 4-5hrs in the sun, wrapped in plastic film with 30% peroxide cream from beauty shop.

As for keys, I noticed that the alcohol does more damage to the letters then soap and water during clean-up, looks like the peroxide does not affect other color surfaces, like letters and logos.