I don't like my computers to be the color of urine, or, when it's extremely bad, incontinence.

It's weird how, despite so many people trying and documenting different methods, to this day the results are still all over the place.

I've retrobrighted several things expecting them to re-yellow, and none ever have. My oldest batch is going on 3 years now, and it still looks the same.

I tried this experiment a few months back: https://youtu.be/kuXXc2xfD9I retrobrited something, left it out in the sun for months, and it did not noticeably re-yellow.

I think it comes down to the exact composition of the particular plastic, and I bet there can be variance from batch to batch and a host of other factors.

tl:dr; it's still black magic.

Every revision of every product from every plastics manufacturer will have a slightly different chemical composition, so there's likely no one 'perfect' formula for whitening.

Well, my second try on retrobriting failed miserably. I had my old IBM PS/1 mouse which still worked but looked terrible. So I thought I'd retrobrite it but made the mistake of adding the buttons. This mouse uses a single piece of plastic for both the buttons and the heating process caused the plastic to shrink slightly. Probably because the plastic was of a different type. When I put the mouse back together, the edge of the buttons is half a mm shorter than the rest of the case and this caused the pin underneath to be just out of reach of the microswitches below. Basically, I ruined the mouse 😠

Well, live & learn - for the housing it worked perfectly - from a really ugly yellow with stains, it went nice beige. If I can find another mouse like this, I can just replace the parts.

I also cleaned my IBM Aptiva mouse but it was broken many years ago - I thought I could fix it but there's only a few components and I could see nothing wrong so either the cable is damaged somewhere or one of the few components is borked. The outside looks brand new now (this one was only used for a few years before it broke and didn't see much sunlight) so I ordered the same model that looked ugly (pay less this way) to get the parts inside to get a new full working mouse. I always liked this mouse though. The PS/1 one is nostalgic but too small to be comfortable but the Aptiva one was always a nice clicky mouse. Here's a pic I found online:

That reminds me of the time I killed a keyboard by putting it near a heater to dry after washing it. The keys jammed and would no longer travel smoothly. Something melted somewhere. The temperature wasn't even very high but it was apparently high enough.

Errius wrote:

That reminds me of the time I killed a keyboard by putting it near a heater to dry after washing it. The keys jammed and would no longer travel smoothly. Something melted somewhere. The temperature wasn't even very high but it was apparently high enough.

Yeah same with my mouse - I could put my finger in the water without burning it so the water temperature was not all that high and it still warped. I even let the plastic heat up along with the water since sudden changes of temperature are not good and are the main cause of warping but no dice.

The absolutely annoying thing is: I can't find this mouse ANYWHERE second hand. I can find dozens of the model before it, several dozen of the model after it but NONE of that specific model which is infuriating since I like having all the authentic parts. I'm still looking for a replacement keyboard as well since the model I have, while nearly identical from look, is a membrane keyboard but finding the right model is proving to be difficulty and if I find it, it's in some exotic language. I want either Belgian or UK layout (because of the position of the backslash that has become second nature to me) which makes it even trickier. I'll have to be patient I guess ...

Personally, I just let it go really yellow, before doing anything. My plan is to spray paint it, once it is too yellow for me to want to touch it. I know it is not urine. Just the thought of it is like.... Brrrrr... Check out perifractic recepie, were a retrobright went wrong and he had to paint it.

https://youtu.be/JG_9W-LzWXc

brostenen wrote:

Personally, I just let it go really yellow, before doing anything. My plan is to spray paint it, once it is too yellow for me to want to touch it. I know it is not urine. Just the thought of it is like.... Brrrrr... Check out perifractic recepie, were a retrobright went wrong and he had to paint it.

https://youtu.be/JG_9W-LzWXc

Yeah it's hard to get an even colour - that's why I went with the heating method, because water tends to be in motion when it's heated (rises to cool down again). I'm not a big fan of spray painting though (and certainly not from a can where you can't regulate well) - he was happy with it, but I saw many flaws - spray paint tends to pool at the edges so you lose the detail in areas. I'm sure that expert spray painters with the right tools ( = NOT from a can! Cans are terrible anyway) may get a great result by adding several thin layers but it takes a lot of practice to get it right.

Has anyone ever damaged anything from store-bought liquid hydrogen peroxide and some time in the sun? I know there are all these high-powered creams and tricks with heat and all kind of other crazy things, but for me, it's not worth the risk just to bleach faster. Low and slow, and she'll be right.

SirNickity wrote:

Has anyone ever damaged anything from store-bought liquid hydrogen peroxide and some time in the sun? I know there are all these high-powered creams and tricks with heat and all kind of other crazy things, but for me, it's not worth the risk just to bleach faster. Low and slow, and she'll be right.

The reason I didn't go for the sun method, is because of shadow. If you can submerge the item in water and heat it, it should give it the most even treatment. I've watched dozens of retrobriting videos and using the sun method often caused an uneven effect around the sides compared to the top.

Regarding molding.... Then perhaps this is a technicue for those that have acces to the correct presure chamber.

https://youtu.be/Pu1RTkWHA3o

My first attempt at the heating method went awry. It was a bunch of keyboard keys... using a meat thermometer I kept it between 150 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit at all times, but the plastic kept wanting to float above the water level. I kept having to "mix the keyboard soup". After 3-4 hours the keys had been restored to their original color but had warped considerably. I wonder to how high of a temperature it is possible to go without causing the plastic to become soft and warp.

keenmaster486 wrote:

My first attempt at the heating method went awry. It was a bunch of keyboard keys... using a meat thermometer I kept it between 150 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit at all times, but the plastic kept wanting to float above the water level. I kept having to "mix the keyboard soup". After 3-4 hours the keys had been restored to their original color but had warped considerably. I wonder to how high of a temperature it is possible to go without causing the plastic to become soft and warp.

Yeah I followed the 8bitguy guide for the temperature as well but I think his numbers are off. Heat activates the process but I think 160 is too high - it's what ruined my mouse. 8bitguy also used it on keycaps but those are pretty sturdy and hard to warp compared to a flexible part of a mouse. You need to look at what temperature works without it warping even the weakest of plastics. Heck, even 130F could do it potentially.

The problem is, finding the point at which damage occurs often involves a highly sophisticated procedure of raising the temperature until it's too hot, and then a little less.

Sous vide heater, should provide the exact temperature at all time. Just keep it below the temperature, were plastic will warp and bend.

Uh huh. And that temperature is.... 😉

SirNickity wrote:

Uh huh. And that temperature is.... 😉

That part varies depending on the type of plastic, for example ABS should be fine even at 80C but PET will need to be set lower, 60C max probably.