It is very unlikely that I will get to retrobriting my cases during the short summer months and will have to settle for winter. Has anyone had success using a grow light indoors with their cases? Which type of bulb would I need to get for this? How long did you need to illuminate the plastic?
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
I'm pretty sure retromancave did some intricate indoor experiments on his youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/RetroManCave/videos), though I'm unable to rediscover it on a quick look through.
Is there a link (video or text) which mentions in more detail a type of cook book recipe for using a grow light? Ideally, I'd want to use the most minimal requirements for the job. I'm a little concerned that the police might come knocking on my door though. Apparently, the utility companies can detect who is using these fancy bulbs. "The grow light is for my beautifying my computer cases" I'm sure that will go over real well. But I have no other option for natural UV until next June...
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
I'm probably going to do a test sample of retrobrite this evening. I have a used grow light that I'll setup in the garage, though our garages have windows and I'm concerned how this might appear with blue light coming out in the midnight hours. I don't want to be woken up by cops.
At any rate, has anyone tried retrobrite without the UV and if so, how did it come out? I don't have Xanthan gum, glycerine, or arrowroot (except for the kids arrowroot cookies). I was going to use corn starch as the thickener.
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
Attached is an image of what I plan on whitening up. I've shown it next to a non-yellowed drive bezel to offer perspective.
EDIT: I have some items which have printing over areas needing retrobrite. Will the printed lettering come off in the process?
EDIT: So I've found a few more items for the first test run. The LS-120 drive and the white 5.25" drive are only in the photo for a white balance comparison. The Travan drive bezel, the DVD drive bezel, and two 5.25" bezels will be soaked. The middle 5.25" bezel isn't very yellowed, but you can see it isn't as white as the bottom bezel. It has that black arrow on it though. Will the black fade on this? If so, perhaps I shouldn't soak it.
EDIT2: Apparently, you can pour in hydrogen peroxide to a pot of water and heat it at 150 F, e.g. the warming zone, for 5 hours without needing UV light.
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
Here's the light assembly, ballast, bulb, and solution. Its a 400 watt bulb. It appears to have a spectral peak at the ultra-violet boarder. I hope this is adequate for a 5 hour run. I don't want to run it 24-hours.
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
I think heat what is important in retrobriting. Using a light source might not be optimal as light is a major contributor to yellowing. But I could be wrong. I know UV makes certain plastics brittle.
A few months ago I tried retrobriting some old keycaps in complete darkness. I warmed up a bath of 3% hydrogen peroxide using my old photo developer warmer. It worked well, but some stronger peroxide would have reduced the time.
I'm interested to see your results using the UV lamp. And I wouldn't worry about the electric company tipping off the coppers. 400 watts is nothing.
I watched a video in which the guy used standard fluorescent tube lights, the 40 W kind you find on the ceiling of your garage, and the retrobriting worked. Same for black lights. Those don't emit all that much heat.
Its not the electric company that I have concerns with, it is nosy neighbours wondering what the purple glow is coming out of my garage windows.
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
The bulb puts out a good amount of heat, but its 4' from the target and surrounded by a massive concrete heatsink, so I don't think the items will warm up much.
Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.
I think heat what is important in retrobriting. Using a light source might not be optimal as light is a major contributor to yellowing. But I could be wrong. I know UV makes certain plastics brittle.
A few months ago I tried retrobriting some old keycaps in complete darkness. I warmed up a bath of 3% hydrogen peroxide using my old photo developer warmer. It worked well, but some stronger peroxide would have reduced the time.
I'm interested to see your results using the UV lamp. And I wouldn't worry about the electric company tipping off the coppers. 400 watts is nothing.
You are right about heat. All you need to do is put your peroxide + water in a tub, seal the tub to hold in the gas, and heat the water. I done it quite a few times and it works fine. Use liquid peroxide (not the creamy shampoo stuff), try to get the water between 125-175F (~52-80C). Will look just as good as leaving it out in 90 degree summer sunlight. 3-6 hours is usually enough.
Curious to see the output of this! I still think you're going to leave it on longer (than direct sunlight) to get a good result, but you can always do it over multiple days.
TBH I'd be more worried about the local weed enthusiasts getting the wrong ideas if they think you're growing in there. You can cover the windows with taped up garbage bags or mylar sheeting if you don't want anyone peeking in because that totally makes it look less like a grow-op. 😜
@FuzzyLogic - it's my understanding that both heat OR UV can speed up the reaction. Peroxide (dilution) on its own "should" do the job, but adding more energy makes the timeframes tolerable.
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