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RetroBrite Past the point of "original whiteness?" Suggestions?

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First post, by AngieAndretti

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I'm nearing completion of my latest Retro PC build: Super Socket 7 AMD K6-2+ 550 w/ Voodoo3-3000 AGP and AWE32 OPL3 sound.

We have a front-mounted CD/DVD drive as well as 5.25" and 3.5" floppy drives. Problem is the person I'm building this for saw it and commented "man it's just a shame that one disc drive doesn't match everything else in color," referring to the 5.25" drive. I've looked at pictures and I doubt this particular drive was ever truly white. I've searched eBay for white 5.25" drives, and the only thing I've found that looks true-white is the Epson SD-700, which neither of us like the design of.

So here's my question: How can I make the front-panel of the 5.25" drive that's already installed match the rest of the PC's color as closely as possible? Good news is I have another identical "parts drive" so I can afford to try something with my spare panel but I'm not sure if this is something we can accomplish with peroxide-based whitening, or whether some type of paint would be the only realistic option. What do you guys think?

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Reply 1 of 6, by keenmaster486

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I don't think it's possible to retrobrite "past original whiteness." But I could be wrong.

Personally I like the contrast of the grey drive with the white case. If it were yellow that would be a different story.

But yeah, your only option might be to paint it.

World's foremost 486 enjoyer.

Reply 2 of 6, by TheMobRules

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I don't think peroxide can get that 5.25'' drive to the point of matching the rest of case. In fact, I'd say it's currently not far from its original color.

The only think I can think of is spray painting the drive front, the problem is finding a color that matches the case, I think white would end up too bright so you may get stuck in beige hell when trying to choose the color. On the other hand, I find that spray painting plastic is usually easier and the end result is much more durable than painting metal parts, which chip off at the slightest friction.

It should be possible to find beige drives that are a good color match, for instance I have a YE-Data 5.25'' that could probably be close after some redrobright sessions.

If it was me, I'd leave the drive as it is... that kind of contrast was common even back then, I had grey 5.25 AND 3.5 inch drives in my beige 486.

Reply 4 of 6, by AngieAndretti

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bofh.fromhell wrote on 2020-09-23, 02:36:

I would paint the ODD, the 3.5" FDD and the blankingplate the same colour as the 5.25" FDD.
Maby the buttons would get painted too.
Everything in pure white would just look weird (imho!).

I wouldn't mind that option myself, but he really wants everything to match the case so that's what I'm going to try for. I think the plan at this point is to bring one of the blank drive panels from the case to a local paint store and ask them to match it to a can of spray paint. If the paint job turns out awful, we'll still have that spare front-panel for the 5.25" drive and he'll have to live with it as-is.

Reply 5 of 6, by AngieAndretti

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Well here's the result - The drive has been painted.
If anyone's curious, the product used is Rustoleum Painter's Touch Smokey Beige.
Recipient says he's happy with it.

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