Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: HopperJF on June 09, 2004, 04:56:41 PM
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Hey everyone
I've decided I am going to set up my A600 as a gaming rig, but it is yellow.
I have heard a few tales of people who have successfully made their Amigas their original colour, or even nicer looking.
Are there any ideas?
Ive heard of people spray painting the Amiga white, and applying certain industrial liquids....
Any help into making this (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/My_A600_a.jpg) look like this (http://www.edgar-elsen.de/CPU_-_Amiga/68000/amiga600.jpg) would be greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Mike.
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HopperJF wrote:
Hey everyone
I've decided I am going to set up my A600 as a gaming rig, but it is yellow.
I have heard a few tales of people who have successfully made their Amigas their original colour, or even nicer looking.
Are there any ideas?
Ive heard of people spray painting the Amiga white, and applying certain industrial liquids....
Any help into making this (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/My_A600_a.jpg) look like this (http://www.edgar-elsen.de/CPU_-_Amiga/68000/amiga600.jpg) would be greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Mike.
Get another one.
www.ebay.com - prices start at £20.
Look at this for example: (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3544&item=8108889253&rd=1)
Unless you are willing to paint it ofcourse :-)
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Morley wrote:
HopperJF wrote:
Hey everyone
I've decided I am going to set up my A600 as a gaming rig, but it is yellow.
I have heard a few tales of people who have successfully made their Amigas their original colour, or even nicer looking.
Are there any ideas?
Ive heard of people spray painting the Amiga white, and applying certain industrial liquids....
Any help into making this (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/My_A600_a.jpg) look like this (http://www.edgar-elsen.de/CPU_-_Amiga/68000/amiga600.jpg) would be greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Mike.
Get another one.
www.ebay.com - prices start at £20.
Unless you are willing to paint it ofcourse :-)
I don't really think I want another A600...
I only bought this 600 in December 2003.. I wasnt expecting it to be yellow.
I asked the seller what condition and he said it was in good condition, slight yellowing. Its VERY yellow as you can see in the picture.
Not to worry.. are there any A4000 users here who have refurbished there cases? I've definitely heard about this..
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As I said in the other thread, your 600 seems to have a permanent discoloration. It is _not_ possible to get it any whiter, only hope is to use JiF or similar to get rid of the dirt on it, if any.
Having said that, discoloration is the most common "failure" on Amiga's, next to RTC battery leak on the A4000's. I wish I knew that 10 years ago when I placed my 1200 by my window and had it there for 6-7 years, today it's even more yellow than your 600.
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A can of good quality spray paint is about your only hope....
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There's another thread on here somewhere, all about cleaners. The original consensus was painting the case... But several people also mentioned a foaming cleaner, which might be a good thing to try first.
Here it is... even had a similiar title... (http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=381) (Is it that hard to do back searches?)
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Some possible methods to remove the yellowing:
Acetone
I have tried using acetone. It works even for an extremely yellowed plastic, since it will actually remove some of it. There are some downsides, though:
- Hard to get the resulting whiter colour an even shade
- Hard to get at the all details
- Will make the surface of the plastic slick and shiny, instead of the porous surface that is the norm
- If you use it on the keys, will most likely destroy the lettering on them
- Eww, stinky
Tub of water and some bleach
I haven't tried using bleach yet, I read about it somewhere. Supposedly being submerged in a water+bleach solution will make the case whiter again, and could be usable for the keys.
Can anyone confirm if bleaching works well? :-)
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"Paint it Black" :lol:
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That case is so yellow, I wouldnt hesitate to paint it with a good white spray paint. Clean it first with warm soap and water, let it dry completely in the sun, and then spray it with very very light coats of primer and then gloss white paint. Spray it lightly enough that you'll need to do about 4 coats.
I've only painted black, but white should look good too.
-tom
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'cause of the way the letters are applied to the keys it'd have to be a mild bleach (ie. mix with a good amount of water ;-)). If you wanted to paint it a quick bleach & rinse would help the paint stick anyway - be careful not to get fingerprints on after washing as the paint won't stick as well.
If done right pain will last ages :-) You could always do it in a cammo pattern, as a friend once did with his C64 - looked very cool!
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Why not just buy a new case/keyboard from Vesalia. It's like $12...
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You know, since the damage is already done and the case is really yellow, maybe you should think about doing something cool and creative with it instead of painting it just plain old white.
Pick a color that would be impressive, like red or a cool indigo or something. Just stay away from glossy paint. Use flat paint. Pull the case apart, remove the logo plate, prime it with some white primer and then apply a few coats of your favorite color and when they are dry hit it with a little gloss coat or dull-coat.
I wish I still had the machine, but, I once had an A500 "parts pile" which essentially consisted of 10 broken A500's with nasty yellow keyboards. One day we made one functioning, but ugly, system with it. I am also a Warhammer gamer, so, I have an airbrush for painting my larger models so we used that to paint the crappy old case in a multi-color pattern. It came out great. I will try and dig up pictures if I can.
- Mike
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OK this is what I am going to do (eventually):-
1. Bleach and water job (case only - keys are white apart from about 2)
2. Toothpaste! (Yes someone suggested it)
3. Acetone
I will post a picture of results after I have done all 3..
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After having tried acetone, I would suggest that only use it if the other stuff fails to get the results.
Bleach sounds promising.. please post some "before and after" pictures so we see what works!
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Eco wrote:
After having tried acetone, I would suggest that only use it if the other stuff fails to get the results.
Bleach sounds promising.. please post some "before and after" pictures so we see what works!
That is the plan ;-)
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hopper, i'm following your cleaning project with lots of interest - i've tried nearly every cleaning detergent on my two a500's, no result at all... hoping some bleach will do the trick :-)
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Trouble is it's actually the plastic thats changed colour, not got dirty. Bleach can turn biological materials white, and clear it off like nothing else (hence it's good to use before painting). The Acetone will, as stated, actually remove the top layer ...
Aaanyway, for paint use a satin finish rather than matt - matt looks horrible when the everyday muck sticks to it, and it won't just wipe clean. Use car paint rather than Plasticote, as that stuff goes wierd over time ... if you wanted to do a pattern, why not red & white checkers? :-D
Good luck with the cleaning!
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For some reason The idea of an orange A500 seems to be ok in my head.
Get some car spray paint, and spray it orange. make sure you use a really thin paint so that the original texture shows through.
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@HopperJF
Have you gotten around to messing with the bleach yet? We want pictures :-D
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2. Toothpaste! (Yes someone suggested it)
Is that the Whitening Toothpaste? :-o
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Expect pictures within the next few days... I hope this works :-)
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I tried bleaching the thing & scrubbing for hours and heres the results...
Before the bleach treatment (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/My_A600_a.jpg)
Shortly before I started (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/DSCF0001_1.jpg)
After hours of bleach drowning and scrubbing (http://img53.photobucket.com/albums/v162/Mike_5DOS/DSCF0002_1.jpg)
I'm not sure whether it has made any difference... can anyone see much difference? It still not white but to me it looks slightly lighter but that just might be psychological after all the cleaning.
If it still looks bad then it looks like acetone is next... *gulp*
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Remember to set the white balance before taking pictures, if your camera allows for that.
I think the case looks whiter and cleaner. I don't think that scrubbing will help too much after the gunk on the surface is gone, you could consider adding more bleach and just letting it soak for a few hours :-D
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I took the picture on the default colour setting, which is the same as it was set when I took the old photo of the system.
I think it looks a lot better too, maybe after a few more bleaching sessions...
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Whoops look like it's the different in light between indoors and outdoors.
Can't tell if it's lighter now or not. Take a picture indoors.
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Now would be a good time to try my borax theory, which, if nothing else, might remove any yellowness *induced* by the bleach.
Borax theory, normal version: Take about two tablespoons of borax and a sponge soaked in warm water; scrub.
Borax theory, soaking version: Heck if I know; mix up a good amount in hot water, and soak the plastic in it. If nothing else, it might oxidize any 'bleach yellow' (as you can sometimes notice on your socks) to a 'pure white' tone.
Of course, others have said borax scrubs alone don't seem to counter the Amiga yellowing, because it was a defect *in* the plastic, instead of just the usual mix of atmospheric tars and oxidation on the surface.
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I'll take a picture of it all indoors properly when i'm finished
I still want to try the bleach a few more times, then try the borax and/or acetone
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HopperJF wrote:
I'll take a picture of it all indoors properly when i'm finished
I still want to try the bleach a few more times, then try the borax and/or acetone
:nervous: ... I'd find acetone quite likely to melt the whole thing... Though of course, melting it might expose clean plastic underneath, if you don't mind thumbprints and such permanently embossed in the case. Still, could be a nonsoluble form of plastic... try with a Q-Tip on the interior first, if you dare.
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Acetone will not melt the WHOLE thing (so it will not melt like molecular acid being poured on it). However, it will remove the surface layer, and the yellowing with it. I know, because I've tried it!
The process will make the typically porous plastic surface of an Amiga case smooth and shiny. It may be hard to get the yellowing out of all the tiny details. Depending on the method of application, you may also leave other marks on the surface.
Photography tip: If your digital camera has a "manual white balance" option, turn it on and use it on a blank sheet of paper. Your camera will then remove the colour cast induced by lighting conditions, resulting in a much more accurate colour reproduction, especially for white-ish surfaces like the case.
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On most plastics, acetone is very harmful. My kid sister ruined a mini-component stereo of mine a few years back with nail polish remover (w/acetone). She touched the controls and disolved the print on them. Plus made them permanently tacky... Very much like the adhesive on duct tape.
If you did decide to try acetone, I'd test it on the interior of the case before using it as a plastic cleaner/bleach.
[Edit]
It's probably to late for this suggestion as you've already soaked with bleach. But considering how much yellowing you were able to remove before soaking, might you have used powdered cleanser (w/ bleach) and water to make a paste you could apply to just those areas that were still yellow?
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Inspired by all of this, I soaked my A1200 case in bleach for a few hours after first giving a gentle scrub with ordinary washing-up liquid. It definately does lighten it up - the case is now lighter than the keys (previously they were the same.
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Hi HopperJF,
are you a smoker? if yes you have already done your best . . .beleive me ;-)
Ciao
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The old owner was a smoker.
Bleach does make the case lighter, I think its just how many sessions you want to do, I think it can get much whiter still.
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What's the big deal about that removing yellowing anyway?
I collect computers and I am always way too glad if they work.
My first CDTV went to silicon heaven :cry:
THAT is something of concern, not that yellowing.
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The A600 works, so I want to make it look good as well as work good.