Anyone tried retrobrighting their old yellowed consoles? My SNES is pretty yellow.
This video seems to produce good results.
I've never used actual retrobright, but hydrogen peroxide alone and sunlight has worked wonders for me. I can't remember if I used it on a SNES, but I distinctly remember buying an incredibly yellowed SNES controller because it was cheap (significantly cheaper than one that wasn't yellowed, but was all scratched up), and making it look like new.
There are good results, but it will often slowly revert to some extent (4-5 months) and the plastics may become brittle, so do it while acknowledging some risk.
mikejmoffitt wrote:
There are good results, but it will often slowly revert to some extent (4-5 months) and the plastics may become brittle, so do it while acknowledging some risk.
I've read the precise opposite elsewhere that the chemical process actually strengthens the plastic. I thought the brittleness was from the *original* yellowing and might not be affected by this process.
I actually like the yellowed SNES look, myself.
rainwarrior wrote:
I actually like the yellowed SNES look, myself.
Gives it some distinguished character, eh?
This just in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZYbchvSUDYTLDW: it seems that a plastic bag, an ozone generator and the sun is the best solution.
Hmm now I'm finding links that seem to corroborate that it does permanently change the chemical structure of the plastic.
http://www.vcfed.org/forum/archive/inde ... 30057.htmlNow I'm wondering if an expert console modder could simply paint over the yellowed plastic with precisely the same color gray as an original console
nesrocks wrote:
TLDW: it seems that a plastic bag, an ozone generator and the sun is the best solution.
What do you mean? The ozone technique didn't make the key as white as the hydrogen peroxide + sunlight did, which was what he ended up using on the computer case in the end.
I'm pretty sure that the stuff I use is the same thing as the cream he showed in the video. It worked great the few times I've used it, but apparently it can fail sometimes, as seen in the video.
EDIT: Here are the results:
Attachment:
retrobright.jpg [ 78.65 KiB | Viewed 3219 times ]
Ozone + sunlight is still quite yellow.
tokumaru wrote:
nesrocks wrote:
TLDW: it seems that a plastic bag, an ozone generator and the sun is the best solution.
What do you mean? The ozone technique didn't make the key as white as the hydrogen peroxide + sunlight did, which was what he ended up using on the computer case in the end.
He said it probably would have restored it completely with more time. He didn't have a large enough zip bag to use it on large items like the case.
thefox wrote:
He said it probably would have restored it completely with more time.
Then I guess someone has to test it before claiming it's the best solution based on his hunch. From the testing that was done, it's clearly not the best solution.
GradualGames wrote:
Hmm now I'm finding links that seem to corroborate that it does permanently change the chemical structure of the plastic.
http://www.vcfed.org/forum/archive/inde ... 30057.htmlNow I'm wondering if an expert console modder could simply paint over the yellowed plastic with precisely the same color gray as an original console
Sounds like retrobright and such solutions are only good to make old machines look new again, but bad for preservation.
At least their spirits may be preserved in decap photos, circuit diagrams and ROM dumps, and may be revived in FPGAs and such in the future.
One strange thing about the SNES is how the top and bottom parts of the case often yellow differently.
Yeah it sounds like it doesn't even last. I don't see the point. Hence why I'm now considering getting a paint job that just makes it look 99% like the original shade of gray. Only thing is the super nintendo logo would probably get covered up by the paint, unless I were to make some sort of highly precise stencil around it perhaps, haha.
My experiences with painting plastic weren't the greatest. Even if you can match the color, painting it uniformly and making sure no dust or hair comes near the thing while the paint is wet is pretty hard.
With only 4 hours of exposure and with no ozone left in the bag after 20 minutes (someone mentioned in the comments that the ozone generator must be running the entire process, as the ozone decades fastly), it already caused an effect. I think it is pretty safe to say that with more time the results will improve, and it seems to be the least intrusive method. It is speculation, indeed, so if someone can finally test it, that'd be great.
tokumaru wrote:
My experiences with painting plastic weren't the greatest. Even if you can match the color, painting it uniformly and making sure no dust or hair comes near the thing while the paint is wet is pretty hard.
How long did retrobrighting those controllers last? I keep reading things that sound like they aren't a permanent solution. Maybe what I want is just UV protectant to prevent any *further* yellowing.
I have had a SNES and Dreamcast turn yellow just by sitting in the closet with no possible UV exposure. I've read that oxygen in the air reacts with the fire retardants in the plastic over time, causing the discoloration, with UV only speeding up the process.
tokumaru wrote:
One strange thing about the SNES is how the top and bottom parts of the case often yellow differently.
Oddly enough, my SNES has no yellowing aside from a little on the plastic surrounding the controller ports. You'd think it would be the same throughout.
Kickstarting the discussion about new SNES shells again, eh?
calima wrote:
Kickstarting the discussion about new SNES shells again, eh?
I wish. I'd back such a campaign, as I estimate that most of my Super NES (1/1/1) Control Deck's chassis is as yellow as that of an Apple II Plus computer.
I realized that the only part of my SNES that is yellow is the top half of the shell. But the part with the logo on it and the eject button and such look brand new. I'm tempted to spray paint just the offending portion if I can find a matching color.