Another Retr0Bright Success Story (PCE no longer yellow)

[blueraven]

Just finished a major (3-day) retr0bright session

Your photos look great! Did you use the original recipe as per the wiki or something different? Any tips?

Thanks!  I used the Xanthan gum recipe, and re-applied the gel about 3 times, leaving the foil box in the sun. As long as you have the peroxide and Oxy, you have the active ingredients for success. Make sure to thoroughly clean and dry your system with Dr. Bronners castille soap to make sure you have removed all of the oil and dirt deposits from the system before cleaning, otherwise it may come out splotchy.

Good Luck, send me a PM if you have any problems!

[henrycsc]

Blueraven,

Dr. Bronners castille soap

Where can you get this soap?  Is there a substitute?

[henrycsc]

Ok, I found the Dr Bronner's  $12/32 oz - awesome stuff it is!

I also found some 35% peroxide at a local janitorial supply place $20/gal.  This is very strong stuff if you find it, so be careful with it.  The guy that got it out of the 55 gallon drum "suited up" to get it, and he handles chemicals all the time.

This morning, I did my first hardware session of Retr0Bright!   I started too early & forgot to take before pics.  LOL  Anyhow, had a system that was very similar to my "before" so I put it in the photos for reference.

I did a bunch of sleeves, 1 PC Engine, & 2 Multi Taps in a 10 gallon aquarium with about 2 gallons of 8% H2O2 and Oxyclean only.

I also did a CD Rom 2 using a paste made of Cooked Corn Starch Gel + 35% H2O2 + Oxyclean using blender method
(Cornstarch gel = boil water, add cornstarch while stirring.  Keep adding until you get a thick pudding like consistency.  Let cool before using for Retr0Bright.)

I had everything in the full sun from sunup to sundown (temps varied from 30s to 60s).  The gel mixture did try up on the CDRom by about 2PM, and I ended up chucking it into the bath with the other stuff so it wouldn't cake up.  The results of the liquid appear better than my version of the gel, although the gel did get some serious foaming.

I would also add that if you do a bunch of huey sleeves like I did again, you need to check them periodically because the bubbles will cause them to float whatever you are holding them down with.  I probably had to resubmerge 4 times during the day.

Here are the results:








The CD Rom 2 Case was cracked when I got it... now its clean and cracked.

[blueraven]

Looks good henry!

So after using the paste, gel and liquid method which do you prefer?

[henrycsc]

For the item's ive done, I think the liquid method works great.  But you need more volume of peroxide to accomplish it than you would gel, also, using a glass container is important so you don't waste the strenth of the solution brightening a plastic container.

This is what I would suggest:

Liquid is great for:
- Small, flat items that can fit within about an inch from the bottom of whatever container you are using, without much wasted space (Great for controllers and taps)
- Items that you're not concerned about paper labels like serial #s etc to come off.
- Items that you want to clean inside and out and that have lots of tight spaces that are hard to get the gel into (like the grooves on the PCE)

Gel would be better for:
- Odd shaped or large pieces
- Large batches of items where you need tons of space to treat everything
- Items where you want to preserve the serial number tags (someone suggested taping the area off first, but I have not tried this for either method - I would suggest trying this method with a different item first)

Love your signature Blueraven.   That must have been an ASDFSOME day for Tats.   

[blueraven]

Very Awesome, Henry . Thanks for the feedback!

Yeah tats was in prime form that night 

[nat]

I have a question... What truth is there to the rumor that plastics treated with this process will only turn yellow again, but much much quicker? I'd like to hear from people who did this process 1 year (or more) ago, how are things looking today? I read a while back that although the procedure works on the short term, it actually acts as a chemical catalyst that "ignites" the process that turns the plastic yellow in the first place and before long your console will be yellow again, and a much worse yellow at that.

This is the single reason I have avoided this so far, but I'd like to know what kind of truth there is to it.

[SignOfZeta]

My system looks the same, but I used Amor All on it and I keep it under the usual IFU dust cover.

The process does work the way you described, but I'm not sure how the process could keep going with all the stuff washed off. Maybe if you used a *really* strong mixture, so strong that it destroyed the plastic's original anti-UV capability? Maybe that's one reason why people caution against overly strong mixtures.

Sunlight is the real enemy.

[henrycsc]

By The way, here are the sleeves after their 2nd session.  I think the ones that are yellower didn't get enough UV during their bath....  It would be good to do these in a tank with an agitator... Maybe I need to put a pump on the tank next time and have hucard sleeve fishies.  Now wouldn't that be a conversation starter?



Here are some of them after their 1st bath (a month or so ago), just for reference. 


And the grimy sleeves before any treatment:

[blueraven]

I have a question... What truth is there to the rumor that plastics treated with this process will only turn yellow again, but much much quicker? I'd like to hear from people who did this process 1 year (or more) ago, how are things looking today? I read a while back that although the procedure works on the short term, it actually acts as a chemical catalyst that "ignites" the process that turns the plastic yellow in the first place and before long your console will be yellow again, and a much worse yellow at that.

This is the single reason I have avoided this so far, but I'd like to know what kind of truth there is to it.

nat, I have a retr0brighted unit from last spring unit that has been exposed to sunlight and semi-daily play during the day in California. Although not in direct sunlight. I will post follow-up pics as soon as I notice (if ever) a difference.

Alternatively... I have a broken faceplate that HAS been retr0brighted that I could put on the roof of my toolshed, or in a west-facing window sill to test the longevity of the peroxide.

[GameFreak]

I want to try this process in the next couple weeks when I get some extra time.

I have a question... What truth is there to the rumor that plastics treated with this process will only turn yellow again, but much much quicker? I'd like to hear from people who did this process 1 year (or more) ago, how are things looking today? I read a while back that although the procedure works on the short term, it actually acts as a chemical catalyst that "ignites" the process that turns the plastic yellow in the first place and before long your console will be yellow again, and a much worse yellow at that.

This is the single reason I have avoided this so far, but I'd like to know what kind of truth there is to it.

I would like to also know how things look in the long term after the process.

From what I can tell just by reading up on this, the question "how long does it last?" depends on how much direct or indirect sunlight is hitting it over time. So if I retrobright I should probably try and cover my system from light when I am not using it (or showing it off). Right?

All of my hucards that have cases are really really white. But my loose hucards are different levels of yellow and none are bright white. None of them have been retrobright, but it's something to think about.

[blueraven]

From what I can tell just by reading up on this, the question "how long does it last?" depends on how much direct or indirect sunlight is hitting it over time. So if I retrobright I should probably try and cover my system from light when I am not using it (or showing it off). Right?

This is basically what I do, I keep the CDROM2 and PCE in the IFU and closed when I'm not using It. A lot of it is direct exposure to sunlight but smoke damage is also a factor.

I box it up not really for fear of sun damage, but more to keep it away from wear and tear. Like for example, right now, when I am watching my neighbor's dog.

All of my hucards that have cases are really really white. But my loose hucards are different levels of yellow and none are bright white. None of them have been retrobright, but it's something to think about.

I've never applied it directly to a hucard. Cases, controllers, systems, and even a GE Watercooler, but not a Huey.. Yet....

[blueraven]

I have a question... What truth is there to the rumor that plastics treated with this process will only turn yellow again, but much much quicker? I'd like to hear from people who did this process 1 year (or more) ago, how are things looking today? I read a while back that although the procedure works on the short term, it actually acts as a chemical catalyst that "ignites" the process that turns the plastic yellow in the first place and before long your console will be yellow again, and a much worse yellow at that.

This is the single reason I have avoided this so far, but I'd like to know what kind of truth there is to it.

Mine still looks the same as it did when I first put it through the process awhile back. Although I have to say that it hasn't been a priority to put it in the sun.