White PC Engine should be white

[Deletion]

Nicely done, Frank. That is a marked improvement.

[Firebomber7]

...I did this myself not to long ago. I left the overlay on the controllers and it turns out just fine.

Is that what you did to the one I got from you? I have another non-turbo and a turbo white pad, and they need to be whitened.

The ones you sold me looked pretty good. I sold a PCE unit to T2Kfreeker and did the bleach thing to that one. It looked a LOT better than before. I only left it in the bleach for an hour or two, in addition to scrubbing it with an old toothbrush in dish soap before hand.

[xelement5x]

Looks great!  Two questions though!

1) Did you just pour the hydrogen peroxide in the container, there's no mixing with water or anything else?

2) What did you do with the solution when you were done?  Just dump it in the back yard?

[Deletion]

Looks great!  Two questions though!

1) Did you just pour the hydrogen peroxide in the container, there's no mixing with water or anything else?

Yes, I used only hydrogen peroxide. There was no water or other ingredients added. I originally planned to make Retr0bright, but decided to try just hydrogen peroxide first because it was simpler and cheaper.

2) What did you do with the solution when you were done?  Just dump it in the back yard?

I poured the hydrogen peroxide back into the original containers for later use. For disposal it should be safe to pour down the drain.

[wilykat]

2) What did you do with the solution when you were done?  Just dump it in the back yard?

I poured the hydrogen peroxide back into the original containers for later use. For disposal it should be safe to pour down the drain.

In some communities at some concentration it's not allowed in drain so check the label and your local ordinance.  The one I've used is only 3% and is usually OK at that level.

If you have septic tank and no sewer hookup, take it somewhere else as well.

[Deletion]

Yeah, what wilykat said. This is the first time I've worked with hydrogen peroxide and never had to dispose of it. Based on what I found online it should be disposed of properly. See if your town's Dept of Public Works (or similar facility) accepts it. My town has two days every year in which residents can drop off hazardous waste.

[Necromancer]

Or let it sit out in the open for a week or two and let it naturally decay into plain old water and oxygen.

[xelement5x]

So is the hydrogen peroxide still usable to whiten something else after it's been used once?  It sounds like if it breaks down after a week (during which was probably used to whiten anyway), you could probably just dump it in your back yard.

[Arkhan]

So is the hydrogen peroxide still usable to whiten something else after it's been used once?  It sounds like if it breaks down after a week (during which was probably used to whiten anyway), you could probably just dump it in your back yard.

I did a marathon bleaching session once.  I used 5 bottles of peroxide and a fish tank.

I bleached 5 Commodore 64 1541 floppy drives, two C64s themselves, a 1581, and a mouse.

All with the same fishtank full of liquid, out in my driveway.


When I was done, I just dumped the peroxide all over a group of kids walking by.


Just kidding.  I dumped it on the ground and blasted it with the hose and let it dry. 

[turboswimbz]

So is the hydrogen peroxide still usable to whiten something else after it's been used once?  It sounds like if it breaks down after a week (during which was probably used to whiten anyway), you could probably just dump it in your back yard.

The peroxide will contimue to OXIDIZE (in this case bleaching) until it has become all Water and Oxygen.  Although as time goes on this will be less and less effective.  Becuase of this Higher level conctations of Peroxides should be disposed of in a proper method, (i.e. not straight down the drain or into a water source, and never mixed with other chemicals) let it sit for a period of time and mix it with large amounts of water if you have and concerns (hosein it down is fine as ark said).   

[RyuHayabusa]

I'm trying this out on a yellowed PC Engine I got with a boxed interface I recently bought. Tried using straight bleach first but it didn't do the job. I saw a little tutorial over at superpcenginefx about using bleach and while it helped slightly it didn't do the job. So, I cleaned it all up real good and now the plastic is sitting in a bucket of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Hoping it turns out nice and white. Have to admit I was kinda nervous about using the HP, especially after using the bleach. I cleaned everything up good but still don't want to risk making a cloud of toxic fumes and dying.

[turboswimbz]

I'm trying this out on a yellowed PC Engine I got with a boxed interface I recently bought. Tried using straight bleach first but it didn't do the job. I saw a little tutorial over at superpcenginefx about using bleach and while it helped slightly it didn't do the job. So, I cleaned it all up real good and now the plastic is sitting in a bucket of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Hoping it turns out nice and white. Have to admit I was kinda nervous about using the HP, especially after using the bleach. I cleaned everything up good but still don't want to risk making a cloud of toxic fumes and dying.

3% might not work well - you should go to a beauty store and get developer or look at a pharmacy for at least 10%-15%. While peroxide of this strength is more dangerous it is necessary to reduce the Oxygen to Hydrogen in the ABS plastic.  Basically your creating conditions in which the unfavorable reaction can run. Also throw in 1/4 teaspoonful of "Oxy" laundry booster for every pint of H2O2 you use.   

Also I can't say enough for not using bleach for this as hypochlorite contains CL. which is highly reactive:
 "Chlorine is higher up in the Group VII (Halogen) elements than Bromine and can displace Bromine; the downside is that you are essentially peppering the surface with tiny holes, as the Bromine is bigger than the Chlorine that has replaced it. This translates into the plastic becoming brittle as the lattice is no longer completely filled. You also haven’t really gained anything, since Chlorine can also pull Oxygen from the air and hold onto it, making the plastic change colour, although not as pronounced as before." - Taken from the retrobight site.

[Tatsujin]

Wow, you know the stuff, swimbz

[Keith Courage]

Bleach has always worked perfect for me. I use straight bleach with no added water. Let it sit for at least 12 hours. I generally let it sit over night in a small bucket in my bathroom. Then I wipe any marks left over off with a MR Clean Magic Eraser.

[ApolloBoy]

Bleach has always worked perfect for me. I use straight bleach with no added water. Let it sit for at least 12 hours. I generally let it sit over night in a small bucket in my bathroom. Then I wipe any marks left over off with a MR Clean Magic Eraser.

Doesn't pure bleach damage the plastic though?